Chapter 1353: Rainy Car Accident
The communication facilities in Zone 023 had not been destroyed, but it was as if a natural chasm separated the primary city and the secondary city, which was truly abnormal.
"This Star River flower field leads to another route, but I don't know if they've already crossed over." Dai Song pointed to a certain spot on the map.
"Past the Star River flower field, there's a valley. We passed by that valley before too. The narrower the valley, the more dangerous it is. You're not deliberately leading us into a trap, are you?" Qiu Ming said bluntly.
"Believe it or not, the choice is yours." Dai Song glanced at Xu Huo. Although he believed Dr. Duo Er was in Xu Huo's hands, he wasn't prepared to say more to the others. In his view, the combined success rate of Qiu Ming and his group was less than Xu Huo's alone. Since Xu Huo's goal was also to deliver Dr. Duo Er to the secondary city, he would definitely reach it within the instance's time limit.
Without Dr. Duo Er, Dai Song was now a tough nut to crack. He could leave Zone 023 anytime using a ticket, making it nearly impossible to force more information out of him.
So Qiu Ming and Fan Zhigang both looked at Xu Huo.
Xu Huo knew that the valley past the Star River flower field wasn't particularly dangerous, because Bai Jing and his group had already been there and had intercepted and killed another team escorting Dr. Duo Er nearby. However, according to the time recorded in that notebook, another team had arrived at the same location earlier, which was why Bai Jing and his people had dealt with them first.
Dai Song definitely knew the approximate time different routes took, which was why he mentioned this path to make them come up empty.
Because it was the most advantageous choice for him.
Regardless of whether Dr. Duo Er was really in his hands, if Xu Huo wanted to clear the instance, he would have to leave the Stairway to Heaven as soon as possible. Rather than wandering among the mutant plants, it was better to get out early. If Dr. Duo Er was still alive, then the escort mission would be completed. If this Dr. Duo Er was indeed dead, there would be other Dr. Duo Ers emerging from the Stairway to Heaven. Barring any surprises, there would definitely be outer zone players and Ya Clan people lying in wait near the exit and outside the secondary city. So before this wave of escort missions failed on a large scale, the earlier they arrived, the better.
But at this point, Xu Huo had two directions of judgment regarding Dai Song's attitude.
This Dr. Duo Er who came with them was definitely not the original. Yet Dai Song still insisted he was Dr. Duo Er. It might be, as Cao Qinglin said, that the identical-looking Dr. Duo Ers were clones who inherited the real doctor's knowledge—as for the process, it could be set aside for now. They weren't strictly Dr. Duo Er, but their identity could be recognized.
Another possibility was that there was no Dr. Duo Er at all, that Dr. Duo Er had never left the primary city from start to finish. The purpose of this instance was to fish for targets, with the Ya Clan as the goal. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain why such a roundabout way was used to send people to the secondary city. Even if container items had potential risks, with such heavy casualties, they could have just sent any technician out to piece together a flying vehicle, or offered a high price to hire B-level or A-level players. Of course, most high-level players wouldn't act out of kindness, but they might for the money.
Of course, this could also be related to the short time since the potion research succeeded. If the Spring Bamboo Laboratory could create clones, then killing two birds with one stone wouldn't be a bad idea. But if that were the case, the intentions of the Twin Cities would seem despicable, since they were supposedly sending Dr. Duo Er to the secondary city to save their compatriots.
Leaving aside whether Zone 023 had other motives, if Dr. Duo Er had never left the primary city of the Twin Cities, players starting from here would never be able to clear the instance. The best course now was to find another Dr. Duo Er. Under the premise that clones existed, there could be multiple Dr. Duo Ers, which wouldn't hinder their clearance. Otherwise, it would be best to turn back to the primary city now and find the real Dr. Duo Er, or it would be difficult to clear the instance within the time limit.
"Head north after crossing the Star River flower field." Xu Huo ordered the domestic robot.
Bai Jing's companion's notebook recorded several place names. Looking at the map, there was a certain pattern, likely a route map laid out by the Twin Cities. The valley a bit past the Star River flower field had already been cleared. Going forward, they should intersect with another route.
Even if the judgment was wrong, traversing this section of the Stairway to Heaven might still uncover new clues.
"Let's try our luck," Xu Huo said. "If we still can't find another Dr. Duo Er by then, we'll abandon the vehicle and leave the Stairway to Heaven first, then wait on the only road leading to the secondary city."
Cao Qinglin and the others had no objections. They cooperated, fighting their way to the vicinity of the Star River flower field, then turned and moved forward. But after chasing for an hour, they still didn't find any other teams.
Just as they were about to abandon the vehicle, a heavy rain suddenly started in the jungle. The rain, as if mixed with stains, had a certain stickiness. Once it stuck to the body, it didn't flow away like water. The stains layered on top of each other, becoming quite heavy.
Qiu Ming wiped the black liquid off his arm and rubbed it between his fingers. "It's a bit like oil, but it didn't damage the protective suit."
"Does the Stairway to Heaven usually have this kind of oily rain?" He turned back to ask Dai Song.
Dai Song stared silently out the window. At that moment, the vehicle suddenly lurched as if running over something, then the engine died.
"I'm sorry, sir, there's been a car accident," the domestic robot turned back and said. "The person hit is already dead."
A car accident?
Everyone in the vehicle was momentarily bewildered, as if unable to connect this ordinary word with their current situation.
"How could it be a car accident? There's no one ahead..." Before Qiu Ming could finish, the center of the vehicle's hood was suddenly dented inward—even though they couldn't see what had hit it, the mark really did look like a car accident.
"What the hell?" Qiu Ming and Fan Zhigang got out to check, but saw a white shadow lying in front of the vehicle, slowly writhing as if boneless, trying to get up but seemingly unable to.
Out of caution, the two used a defense item to block the figure on the ground. But the next second, the white shadow's head directly rotated one hundred and eighty degrees, turning back to reveal a terrifying smile!
The visual shock of the unexpected sight was quite frightening. What was even more horrifying was that the thing twisted its body and started crawling toward them...
Qiu Ming and Fan Zhigang had a curse stuck in their throats when Xu Huo, who had just gotten out behind them, kicked the dummy more than ten meters away and casually set it on fire.
The dummy fell and didn't get up again. Even though the flames were quickly extinguished, it remained prostrate on the ground in its original posture.
The rain in the forest grew heavier, almost blinding them. But then the vehicle was continuously attacked by an invisible force, dented left and right until it was deformed. By the time Cao Qinglin and the others got out, it was even flipped over, tumbling several times before stopping against a tree—a perfect replica of a car accident scene.
(Chapter End)