Chapter 216: Xenomorphs Swarm Out
Jiang Yihua didn't hesitate long before taking food to Dazhi. Zhang Biao, standing nearby, stared at him for a few seconds, then urged more people to go outside to find food or anything useful.
"There's only one day left. It's best not to go out," Gu Yu said. "We have enough food. Why stir up trouble?"
"But isn't the country currently collecting items brought out of the game?" Zhang Biao retorted. "These can be exchanged for potions. Potions are so scarce."
Jiang Yihua instinctively glanced at the rich young girl and the injured woman not far away. They had also heard Zhang Biao's words but didn't even lift their heads.
"You won't get any good potions from everyday items," she said. "You'd be better off moving a few more potted plants out."
Zhang Biao waved his hand roughly. "Even if we take them out, they might not survive. Brother Qiao tried that before."
"Who is Brother Qiao?" Jiang Yihua asked instinctively.
"He's the leader of our free player organization," Zhang Biao said. "A D-rank player."
"No way," Jiang Yihua was startled. "From what I've heard, even the country only has a few D-rank players, and they all died in Hai City. Could he be a fake?"
"Fake or not, do you have any evidence? Just talking out of your ass?" Zhang Biao said discontentedly. "How could you possibly understand the realm of the strong?"
Xu Huo looked at Gu Yu, who then said, "I mentioned him to you before. He's a very strong person."
"The country's D-rank players are done for. Why not come to our side?" Zhang Biao said. "Although the treatment isn't as good as what the country offers, we won't force you to take risks and fight to the death."
Gu Yu didn't speak this time.
"Have you contacted Shen Xin?" Xu Huo asked her.
Shen Xin was the female player they had met in Decibel Town. Her brother had died there, and at the end of the instance, she had expressed a desire to go to Jing City to join Gu Yu.
"She found a better place," Gu Yu shook her head, indicating no change.
Xu Huo nodded in understanding.
After resting for a while, everyone began blocking the ventilation openings in the ceiling again.
The roots of the man-eating flowers had likely entered the ventilation ducts. The best course of action was to completely seal the vents, which would both prevent the toxic powder and guard against attacks from the man-eating flowers.
"Aren't we leaving in a day? Why bother with this?" Kang Hong said as he dismantled the metal frame along the edge of the glass flower room to prop up the vent cover. "We can go to other floors tonight."
Xu Huo repeated his earlier point: just in case.
Soon, Zhang Biao left again with his people. This time, about a dozen followed him.
No one stopped them. Xu Huo tied the wire attached to the small electric fan to the meat worm and lowered it down, watching it burrow into the bottom of the elevator shaft.
"Should we leave the elevator door open? I'm afraid it will cut the wire," Kang Hong said.
"Let's focus on the present," Xu Huo said. If nothing unexpected happened before the instance ended, they could worry about the rest later.
But the incident came that quickly. At dusk, when everyone was beginning to feel they might safely survive this instance, a scream suddenly erupted from downstairs, followed by the roar of wild beasts. The chaotic sounds of footsteps and screams drew closer and closer.
Xu Huo and the others immediately went on alert, then heard the elevator start moving.
"Four in the afternoon. The elevator is going to the second floor!" Kang Hong immediately said. "It might bring the xenomorphs up!"
"No, it won't!" Jiang Yihua said. "After the elevator comes up from downstairs, it should return to the fifteenth floor. The thirteenth floor is very safe!"
"Not necessarily!" Gu Yu said. "The rules on the thirteenth floor are different from other floors. Who knows if there are other traps!"
"Then what do we do?" Zheng Liang asked.
"What else can we do?" Gu Yu said. "Fight them, of course! There's no reason to survive until now only to die at the hands of a few xenomorphs!"
Xu Huo had already stepped forward and pulled the main power switch!
Gu Yu and the others stared at him in shock. Dazhi said, "What are you doing? There are still more than ten people who haven't come up!"
Xu Huo didn't respond to him but said in a deep voice, "If you don't want to die, when the elevator doors open, smash the water containers inside. These aren't the restricted xenomorphs we've encountered before. If we don't react in time, it'll be a massacre!"
Everyone's spirits tightened. They no longer cared about the fate of Zhang Biao and his group. They quickly picked up the water containers they had prepared and aimed them at the still-closed elevator doors!
The wire they had connected had already taken effect. Sparks crackled in the elevator shaft, but the elevator didn't stop operating. In an extremely short time, it rose to the thirteenth floor!
"Ding!"
The elevator doors opened, and the first thing to roll out was Zhang Biao, his shoulder clamped in the jaws of a beast. Half his body was covered in blood. As he pried at the xenomorph's mouth, he struggled and begged Gu Yu for help!
Gu Yu and Zheng Liang immediately grabbed metal bars and stabbed toward the eyes of the plump wolf-shaped xenomorph. They pierced through its skull, twisted hard, and pulled out. Blood mixed with brain matter flowed out!
Before the wolf-shaped xenomorph could die, Zhang Biao kicked it back into the elevator. But before he could get up, another xenomorph lunged out of the other elevator, moving at incredible speed!
"Get out of the way!" Zheng Liang shouted.
At that moment, a red beam flashed through the air. The xenomorph was sliced in half mid-air, blood and entrails splattering everywhere. Xu Huo rushed over, kicked Zhang Biao aside, and smashed the nearby container into the elevator. As the water spread, sparks flew, and then the entire elevator plummeted rapidly downward!
The others had no time to close the elevator doors because, at the same time, xenomorphs were emerging from other elevators as well. All the players immediately scattered, coordinating to kill the xenomorphs!
These mutated animals were different from those seen on other floors. Compared to the emaciated, starving animals inside the building, these were noticeably more agile, had more stamina, and had undergone a different level of mutation!
Xu Huo killed a large fox whose mouth had split into six parts as it lunged at him, then turned and stabbed the xenomorphs that were harassing Jiang Yihua and Dazhi.
"Destroy the elevators. Don't bother saving anyone. They won't make it out of the instance anyway," he instructed before going to assist Gu Yu.
Jiang Yihua and Dazhi had initially wanted to save people, but after seeing that the xenomorphs appearing now were more ferocious than any they had encountered before, they could only close their eyes, temporarily set aside their conscience, and quickly pour water into the elevators!
In fact, some of the non-players present reacted quickly, were bold, and had good luck. They encountered empty elevators, so they immediately poured water and used the self-made shovels they had prepared earlier to scoop up the potted plants along the walls that could spray corrosive toxic powder, smashing them at the xenomorphs. Although the effect was minimal, it protected them in the first moments, buying time for the players and preventing them from losing their lives for nothing.
There were clearly more xenomorphs entering the elevator shaft. Even after the elevators fell, intermittent howls could still be heard.
"Close the doors quickly!" Seeing that only one of the mutated animals was left to kill, Jiang Yihua immediately called out to those nearby who still dared to move.