Previously, they had speculated that the water and food in the cleanup area were problematic, and that ingesting them would cause people to become infected with pathogens, leading to symptoms like loss of voice, mental confusion, and eventually mutation into Mutants.

The recent behavior of Yi Mao and Wan Xiao further indicated that besides that, inhaling the air, or rather, the special odors released by certain plants, animals, and soil, could make people agitated.

However, the traces of battle where armed individuals had slaughtered each other were right before their eyes. The water bottles and some food on the corpses hadn’t been taken, showing these people weren’t just agitated; they had also become bloodthirsty and murderous, suspected of having lost their reason.

Of course, without witnessing it firsthand, one couldn’t definitively conclude what had happened. But considering Yi Mao and Wan Xiao’s earlier reactions, at the very least, this possibility could be confirmed.

“So, we not only have to deal with people who might come to rob water and food, but also guard against those whose minds aren’t entirely clear?” Yi Mao looked around. “I was very agitated just now, but I didn’t mistake people for Mutants. Could that really happen? Could it be that some people teamed up to kill others?”

“What would be the reason for killing?” Wan Xiao said. “They didn’t even take the water and food. We aren’t players; we don’t have any decent items, and our ammunition reserves aren’t large. Killing with such methods, aside from meaninglessly depleting both sides’ ammunition, I really can’t think of any benefit in doing this.”

“For now, let’s assume it’s due to the special environmental influence causing Warriors to kill each other.” In Xu Huo’s view, this was the best current speculation.

“Water, food, and air are all problematic.” Liang Song said gravely. “Weiping and I just killed some Mutants. According to Clown City’s minimum baseline, in the event of special circumstances, even if we don’t complete the cleanup area mission, we can still return to claim the reward.”

“My suggestion is to turn back now. The jungle area just underwent the Mutant tide’s baptism; perhaps we can pick up some valuable plants or Ore on the way back.”

As soon as he proposed this, the other three fell silent. Encountering a Mutant tide right off the bat meant their luck was exceptionally bad. They had consumed most of their ammunition. Most importantly, the air in the cleanup area might be polluted; the longer they stayed, the higher the risk. The worst outcome could be infection and mutation into Mutants.

Once mutated, there would be no outcome other than dying in the cleanup area.

“I agree to go back.” Wan Xiao said after some thought.

“I agree too.” Yue Weiping also said.

Yi Mao looked at Xu Huo. “What about you?”

“I’ll continue towards the mission area.” Xu Huo said. “Players cannot leave the dungeon location before the dungeon ends.”

Whether he cleared it or not, he had to stay here for seven days.

“Why don’t you come back with us?” Yi Mao persuaded. “Even staying near the Gobi Area would be safer than staying here. When you go back, you can exchange the government reward house for cash; it wouldn’t be a loss.”

Xu Huo waved his hand to decline, then turned to Jin Dong. “Where are you planning to go?”

Jin Dong couldn’t possibly return to Clown City. He hesitated for a moment. “I’ll guide you. What happened earlier was an accident.”

Xu Huo didn’t care whether it was an accident or not, nodding to Yi Mao and the others in acknowledgment.

He had lost his glasses, so the map couldn’t be transmitted. Therefore, Yi Mao gave him all the simple maps of other areas they had prepared in advance. “Besides the mission area I just led you to, there are other places. I hope this helps you.”

Xu Huo reciprocated the kindness by giving them several bottles of antidote.

Afterwards, the six of them went their separate ways.

“They won’t make it back.” Not long after walking away, Jin Dong wrote. “Aside from Liang Song, the other three are injured. Being scratched by Mutants can also cause infection.”

Xu Huo glanced at him. “Even if scratched by Mutants, using antidote can control the infection.”

Zone 014 could manage that, so Clown City should have even less of a problem.

“My companion and I only ate things from the jungle, and your antidote could save me. Could it be that Clown City doesn’t have such potions? It’s just that those government officials living in the upper levels don’t value our lives at all.”

Seeing Jin Dong’s hatred towards Clown City, Xu Huo asked, “Were you really not intentionally leading those few people towards the valley earlier?”

Hearing this, Jin Dong stopped to explain. “Really not! I had no grudge against them, and besides, they were also people who were deceived!”

Xu Huo didn’t comment, instead saying, “Look around and see if there have been any changes compared to when you came a year ago.”

“The overall environment hasn’t changed, but there probably weren’t cracks here before.” Jin Dong pointed at the long, vertical fissures on the ground. These cracks extended from beneath their feet all the way into the dense forest ahead.

“The plants here have also changed.” He wrote again. “Their requirement for soil moisture has decreased. There might be drought ahead.”

“The map shows this place should originally have been a grassland.” Xu Huo said.

The two of them sped up and passed through the woods. As the ground cracks gradually widened, the vegetation began to turn yellow. Beyond a sizable patch of withered forest, Xu Huo saw a stone forest appear in the distance.

There was a clear elevation rise from the withered forest to the stone forest, with a relatively neat dividing line between them. It looked as if changes in terrain had caused the stone forest area to rise and separate from the jungle, creating the current scenery. However, this stone forest was too tall and vast. From the edge of the jungle, looking upwards, it was at least a hundred meters high. Moreover, each stone pillar was long both vertically and horizontally; looking from above, it would be difficult to see the path directions below.

“Stone forest maze.” Xu Huo climbed a tree to look around. The area of this stone forest had expanded to the limits of his vision, meaning going around wasn’t an option; they had to pass through the maze.

“The maps issued in recent years didn’t have a stone forest.” Jin Dong took off his face shield, his expression grim as he stared at this stone forest maze that blotted out the sky. “Judging by the changes in nearby vegetation, this absolutely couldn’t have happened recently. Yet the map Clown City provided still marks it as grassland!”

At this point, it was more than just not valuing Warriors’ lives; the heavily promoted and mobilized cleanup operation now seemed almost like a child’s game.

Ignoring Jin Dong’s indignation, Xu Huo came down from the tree and leaped down into the stone forest.

The gaps between the stone pillars were relatively spacious. Traces of people walking and some animal footprints remained on the overgrown weeds. After taking just a few steps forward, suddenly a shadow descended from above!

Jin Dong, who had slid down from the slope behind, grabbed a stone and threw it at the top of a stone pillar to attract Xu Huo’s attention, warning him that there was a mutated giant bat above.

However, what seemed like a perilous sudden event to him was nothing much in Xu Huo’s eyes. Predicting the giant bat’s flight trajectory, he drew his sword and swung. The thing was sliced in half several meters away from him, not even a drop of blood splashing onto Xu Huo.

After dealing with the mutated giant bat, he didn’t linger. Grabbing the piano wire, he swiftly ascended, kicking and shattering a stone block about ten meters high. As the shattered stones flew out, a Mutant jumped out from behind!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep