Chapter 1838: Sand Sea Xenomorph Tide
"Just looking out for each other when out and about," Xu Huo said politely.
The pink-haired man shook his head like a rattle-drum. "How can that be? The conditions in this hotel can rival the star-rated ones outside. That little bit of White Note isn't even enough to buy a few drinks. But since you're treating me, we're friends now. Friends talking about money hurts feelings. How about this—when I have time, I'll help you kill a few people as a return of courtesy."
Another sentence full of implication. He had his back to the black-coated group and tilted his head slightly as he spoke.
"No need for that at the moment," Xu Huo said with a smile. "But we're about to go look for the xenomorph swarm. I'm afraid we can't travel together."
"What's the big deal?" the pink-haired man said. "I can't clear the instance anytime soon anyway. Taking two days off is no problem at all. I'll go with you. By the way, what are you looking for the xenomorph swarm for?"
Xu Huo gave the same old answer. After hearing it, the pink-haired man sighed emotionally. "Even at this point, you're still looking. I didn't expect to meet someone in the game as loyal and righteous as me."
Everyone had let his earlier nonsense go in one ear and out the other, but when he said this, the others couldn't help turning to look at him.
The pink-haired man didn't mind at all. Instead, he smiled and said, "Even though the game world has gone mad, as a person, I still believe evil will be repaid with evil."
Xu Huo nodded. Indeed, in the game world, evil being repaid with evil carried far more weight than good being rewarded with good.
Since he wanted to travel together, Xu Huo agreed. The black-coated group certainly wouldn't refuse, or else it would seem they had ulterior motives—after all, they were the ones most short-handed.
The group followed the xenomorph swarm's movement trail forward. Along the way, Deng Xiahei also asked about the pink-haired man's instance. The pink-haired man smiled and said, "If I tell you, you won't hinder my clearance, will you?"
"Don't worry, none of us here have cleared it. I was hoping someone might give me a hint about the clearance clues. This damn place—can't even find a few people... If we were in the center of the Sand Sea, we could at least be on guard," Deng Xiahei said.
"My instance isn't very auspicious," the pink-haired man said. "Last Wish Before Death... I've never done an instance like this before."
"Is that so? What a coincidence." Xu Huo pointed his chin at the black-coated group. "They have the same instance."
The pink-haired man looked overjoyed. "I knew my luck couldn't be this bad. Look, my fortune's turning already!"
He pulled a photo of his girlfriend from his pocket and gave it a big kiss, not the least bit embarrassed as he said, "A guy with a girlfriend can't have that bad luck."
This sentence successfully made the black-coated man, who had been about to come over and chat with him, pull his foot back.
"Hey! Look! Doesn't that sand dune up ahead look like a heart?" The pink-haired man's eyes lit up as he suddenly pointed ahead and shouted, then said he wanted to take a picture to show his girlfriend.
Watching him run off, Juan Er lowered her voice and said, "Is this guy crazy? Is he going to cause us trouble?"
Brother Wu, who had some life experience, shook his head. "You can tell from his appearance that his girlfriend is probably already dead. Although being a player isn't exactly a top-secret identity, sometimes offending people for no reason can backfire. That's why I never bring photos of my family when I go out."
"Only the dead aren't afraid of being seen."
"Looking at it that way, he seems a bit pitiful," Gao Dawei whispered.
Brother Wu snorted. "You'd better pity yourself. If he's mentally unstable, you'll definitely be the first to suffer."
Gao Dawei choked and quickly looked away.
Just as they were talking, Xu Huo and the others' expressions changed slightly. They felt the sand dune beneath their feet suddenly begin to flow slowly. Before they could figure out what was happening, the pink-haired man, who had run ahead alone, hurriedly ran back, shouting as he ran, "Go, go! So many xenomorphs!"
What was so scary about xenomorphs?
The thought had barely crossed their minds when the scene before them stunned them. It was indeed "so many" xenomorphs. As the sand flow accelerated, wave after wave of xenomorphs emerged from beneath the sand, forming a massive army in the blink of an eye. These grotesque xenomorphs had probably been hungry for a while. After surfacing and spotting prey, they began howling one after another.
As more and more sounds rang out, the vast desert as far as the eye could see suddenly seemed like boiling water. Every time sand and dust churned up, xenomorphs would emerge, even from the ground where Xu Huo and the others stood.
"The xenomorphs in Zone 010 have evolved to this extent!" The black-coated man immediately called for his companions to retreat.
Xu Huo and the others followed, but the next second they realized something was wrong—the space teleportation items had failed!
"What's going on!" Everyone was shocked and immediately activated defense items to fend off the xenomorphs right in front of them. But this wasn't a group of three or five or a dozen xenomorphs—it was hundreds, thousands. These creatures weren't afraid of defense barriers. They piled on layer after layer, quickly sealing the barrier tight.
Not only that, but the xenomorphs underground also came in waves. Because it was a desert, after the sand was dug away, Xu Huo and the others sank along with the defense barrier.
"Let's go up," Deng Xiahei reminded. "If the ground is impassable, we'll have to take to the air."
No one lacked airborne items. Xu Huo gave Gao Dawei a hand, and the group of over a dozen flew into the air. Due to the different effects of their items, some were higher and some lower, but they were still a considerable distance from the ground.
"What the hell is going on? Why did all the space items suddenly fail?" The black-coated man looked at Xu Huo and the others. "Is it interference between our items?"
"Why not try going a bit farther?" Brother Wu suggested.
"This probably has nothing to do with item interference. It might be the magnetic field," the pink-haired man said at this point. "People from the last safe zone I went to mentioned that the environmental changes in Zone 010 aren't just about the sudden climate shift. Crustal movements can sometimes disrupt an entire area—no communicators work, and you can't even drive a car."
"Doesn't Zone 010 have mineral resources? Maybe there are special ores right under our feet, which is what's interfering with the space items."
Seeing how seriously he spoke, the others were half-convinced. But they soon had no time to think about the truth of this matter, because the xenomorphs on the ground had started building ladders. They didn't have human coordination, but that didn't stop them from piling layer upon layer like a mountain, slowly rising higher. And with an endless stream of xenomorphs rushing in from afar, the outcome of this standoff seemed inevitable.
At this rate, the xenomorph swarm would definitely reach the height of their items. But Xu Huo and the others could move, so there wasn't any real danger. What they didn't expect, however, was that a strong wind suddenly kicked up in the desert, and a sky-darkening sandstorm surged in like a tsunami!
(Chapter End)