"What happened?" I asked, an instinctive feeling that something was wrong.
Richard didn't speak, he just smashed the bottle of pale green water onto the ground.
I looked closely, Richard's injuries hadn't recovered much.
Many wounds were still bleeding, making him look rather pathetic.
"What's going on?" Seeing Richard remain silent, I asked.
"It's useless..." Richard gritted his teeth, his face turning pale.
"These things can't heal your wounds?" I asked, surprised.
Richard took a deep breath, then slumped into the chair, his body trembling uncontrollently.
"I've lived here for so many years, and I've used this lake water many times. Now, this lake water doesn't have as much effect on me as it used to..." Richard said, a hint of sorrow in his expression.
"Is it because there's not enough?" I asked.
"No, even a single drop of lake water can heal wounds," Vixi said with a serious expression, speaking slowly.
Hearing this, I immediately felt that something was wrong.
"The effect is very obvious at the beginning, but it gets worse as time goes on..." Richard looked at me and gave a bitter smile, "It seems the time has come..."
What on earth happened?
Seeing their expressions, I felt like I was playing hide-and-seek.
I had no clue.
Just as I was looking bewildered, Richard suddenly leaned towards me, his face contorted with ferocity, "Zukadi, is it on you?"
I frowned, unsure how to answer.
To be honest, I had already lowered their guard before, but their current behavior made me vigilant again.
"No need to ask," Vixi stopped Richard and then looked at me, "It's okay."
Under these circumstances, I didn't want to hide anything anymore, so I nodded seriously, "Yes, Zukadi is on me!"
As I said this, I was prepared.
Richard might suddenly lash out, or even use some extraordinary means to snatch it from my hands.
However, after I said this, Richard suddenly slumped to the ground like a deflated balloon, a look of relief appearing on his face.
"It seems my guess was right!" Richard looked at me, not forcing me at all, "I know it's normal for you to be wary in this situation."
After he said this, I didn't know how to respond.
"Are you willing to hand it over?" Vixi asked.
"I'm not sure if handing it over is a good thing or a bad thing..." I looked at them and expressed my thoughts, "I have many attachments, and I don't dare to gamble right now..."
"Are you talking about the sacrifice?" Richard asked.
"It's not just that, I'm also very curious about what kind of reaction will occur if all three items are gathered," I said, then adopted a defensive posture, "Simply put, I don't trust you yet..."
Hearing this, Vixi and Richard smiled, making no further moves, and simply returned to their seats.
"It's okay, we have plenty of time," Richard said.
I sat on the side, no longer speaking, my mind in a state of chaos.
I didn't know what I should do.
"You probably don't understand what it's like to live in a place like this for endless years," Richard said, producing a bottle of red wine from somewhere, "Loneliness, solitude, coldness, boredom, exhaustion, despair..."
"Every emotion is engulfing me!" Richard looked at me, his gaze becoming extraordinarily deep, "To put it bluntly..."
"If I could die completely using this method, it wouldn't be a release for me," Richard said slowly.
Vixi's gaze swept back and forth between me and Richard, her eyes flickering, and it was unclear what she was thinking.
"But I don't want to die now," I said seriously, "Perhaps there's still a method we haven't found..."
"Impossible," Richard said, "In these endless years, I can even tell how many leaves are on the surrounding trees, how many tiles are on the streets, and how many sticks are in the firewood of the neighbor's house..."
Holy crap!
This guy isn't that bored, is he?
"So, I've basically tried every method I can think of. The only one I haven't tried..." Richard glanced at me, "Is that one..."
At this moment, I suddenly understood Richard's feelings. When enveloped by endless despair, this emotion cannot dissipate.
As time goes by, it only becomes stronger, leading to more despair...
In such an environment, after a long time, any normal person could become abnormal.
I don't know if our feelings are the same.