Chapter 1072: Invisible Danger
Xu Huo thought it might be some good idea.
But being able to take everyone away at once without splitting the team was relatively decent.
In about ten seconds, he and You Xuewen killed a few emerging xenomorphs before escorting the team out of the cave area. After advancing nearly a kilometer, they finally returned to the surface.
Unexpectedly, six people had died just from that one incident... In terms of danger level, it was far less severe than being surrounded by a xenomorph swarm earlier. They simply hadn't been on guard against the ground, allowing the creatures to exploit the gap.
"I really don't know how these xenomorphs evolved," Zhou Yuanzhu said. "The soil layer in this area shouldn't be very thick, and it's mixed with a lot of gravel. Yet they still managed to dig it into a sieve."
"It was my carelessness," Uncle Guan admitted.
He had indeed been careless. With a B-rank player's evolution rate, his hearing should far surpass that of a C-rank player. Even underground, he should have detected some movement. The only explanation for this situation was that his ears were injured.
Xu Huo discreetly observed the man sitting across from him. He had lost one hand, and although he wore protective gear, blood could be seen seeping through in places. His complexion also looked poor.
The ear injury might have been caused by the explosion when they fell into this space. As for other internal injuries, it depended on how badly he had been hurt in District 002 earlier.
Noticing his gaze, Uncle Guan looked up and smiled with a nod.
Xu Huo made no response.
You Xuewen and Lin Qiao were more perceptive and had already noticed the unusual tension flowing between the two. They subtly moved to Uncle Guan's left and right, their gazes faintly monitoring Xu Huo's movements.
After a moment, Xu Huo smiled and said, "Let's eat something to replenish our strength. I'm afraid we won't have long to rest before the next wave of xenomorphs shows up."
"Then we're doomed," Chi Minghong said. "I just lost my tools earlier."
It wasn't just her. The tools Uncle Guan and the others had lent out were also lost. A few everyday operational tools weren't valuable, but this created a problem.
So far, they hadn't found a suitable place to rest. Without proper shelter, they risked attracting xenomorph attention. Not only would they be unable to sleep or rest properly, but even sitting down to eat would have to be done in a hurry.
One or two days, maybe three, was manageable. But any longer, and people wouldn't be able to endure it.
"Don't you have any other location items?" Chi Minghong asked. "I do have one, but it's very small. It can't fit this many people."
Xu Huo also had a location item, but he thought it was safer outside.
In an extremely dangerous environment, closing off one's field of vision was not a wise choice.
"Let's see if the robot can bring back good news," he said.
He couldn't see the robot's position from here. The holder issued commands, set a time and fixed target, and the robot would either complete the command or return if it failed to do so within the specified time.
It was already late at night, similar to when they had arrived the previous night. Though not very bright, they could barely make out some things.
After resting for a short while, someone suddenly pointed into the distance and said, "Look, what's that!"
Xu Huo quickly turned his head and looked in the direction the person was pointing.
"Did you see it?" Xu Huo confirmed he hadn't detected anything before turning back to ask Uncle Guan and the others.
Chi Minghong and Ruan Qiyan both shook their heads. Finally, Uncle Guan also said he hadn't seen anything. However, out of caution, he pressed the person for details.
The young woman stammered, "It was a white thing. It flashed and disappeared."
"Do you have an eye problem?" Ruan Qiyan quickly asked.
The young woman replied with anger, "I don't have a problem!"
"He's asking if your eyes have any lesions," Zhou Yuanzhu explained. "People from District 002 have poor eyesight. Could it be an illusion?"
"My eyesight is very good," the woman said. "Especially at night. Just now, there really was a white thing, like a big mushroom."
Xu Huo exchanged a glance with Uncle Guan. Both confirmed that no object had appeared within their perception range. According to the young woman's description, the thing should have been less than two hundred meters away.
If something couldn't be captured by the naked eye or hearing, Xu Huo's spatial evolution ability should be more than sufficient. He could now even sense the vibration of raindrops falling on grass leaves within two hundred meters. If something appeared, he should have been the first to know.
"Let's try using an item," he said. He took out the shelter and then used another item, "Little Radar."
This was a C-rank item, but it could form a spatial barrier within a fifty-meter radius outside a building. It was a dual-purpose item for perception and defense. As long as something truly existed, even if it couldn't be sensed, it could be defended against.
A fifty-meter range wasn't large. Seven players could fully defend it. But after waiting for a while, there was still no movement, aside from the occasional insect flying through the grass...
Insects?
Xu Huo frowned and heard the woman who had claimed to see something flash scratching herself.
The woman was scratching her ankle. When she saw several players turn to look at her, she said, "There are too many bugs here..."
Zhou Yuanzhu walked over and lifted her pant leg. At the ankle, there was a blood hole the size of a mung bean, oozing black blood. The surrounding skin was red and swollen, and the scratched area showed several crisscrossing blood marks. Half of her lower leg had changed color.
Under the woman's shocked gaze, Zhou Yuanzhu found a dead insect the size of a little finger in the grass nearby. It had been crushed.
"Poisonous."
As soon as she said those two words, the young woman suddenly had difficulty breathing, fell backward, and began convulsing. Blood flowed from her ears and nose.
Zhou Yuanzhu immediately fed her a bottle of antidote, but it had no effect. Within a few seconds, the woman had stopped breathing.
This terrified the others, including Uncle Guan and his group. In terms of poison resistance, players and ordinary people weren't much different.
"Can this thing bite through protective gear?" Chi Minghong leaned in to look. "Its mouthparts aren't very long either. And it dies with a single slap. As long as you don't get bitten, it's fine."
She took out an iron shovel and handed it to Ruan Qiyan. "Clear this patch of grass. I'll sprinkle some insect repellent around the edges to see if it works."
The woman's body was moved aside. Several people worked together to clear a small area. More than twenty people squeezed inside. To be safe, Zhou Yuanzhu also used a barrier item on the outside. Although it was only half a meter high, it was enough to protect their feet.
Xu Huo didn't turn off "Little Radar." He carefully examined the insects hitting the barrier. They were different from the one that had bitten the woman to death. Could that kind of insect also come from underground?
"Old Xu! Twelve o'clock direction!" Chi Minghong suddenly said.
Xu Huo immediately turned his head and saw a huge, mushroom-like white sphere disappear from the grass a hundred meters away!
(Chapter End)