Chapter 2710: He Had Some Little Schemes
Xu Huo had already been poisoned in the Circus City, and by the time he emerged from the Tumbler's belly, the toxin had already affected him, reducing his reaction speed. However, after falling severely injured and unconscious into the Moving District, the toxicity was instead suppressed. Now, although he was spitting out venom laced with fungal filaments, this was actually a sign that his body was recovering.
It seemed that the environment in this district was truly very suitable for the growth of mutant species. Without the aid of the Nuwa Stone, the King Fungus's reproduction rate had actually increased as well.
Wiping away the bloodstains, he casually placed the handkerchief into the Luggage Compartment, then turned his gaze to Pu Yu, who had walked over.
The other party clearly had something to say, so Xu Huo stood up and walked out.
"Since I need your help, I really should share information with you." Once back inside the Location Item, Pu Yu said, "My purpose for coming here is genuine. My aunt really did die here, but she came to explore the underground ruins."
"This district was also inhabited very early on, and it was extremely wealthy and developed before the Evolution. Later, for some unknown reason, it was suddenly destroyed. Overnight, the entire district was covered by mutant plants. By the time outsiders discovered it, this place had long become the world of mutant plants."
"My aunt was a scholar in a related field. She came here privately against her family's objections and ultimately died here."
"Before her action, she revealed the approximate location she was heading to to her friends. From her conversations with them, she successfully found the ruins, but there was no further news after that."
"She must have encountered a sudden incident and had absolutely no chance to send a message."
Yan Ping and the others listened, feeling that the danger level of this place was even higher than they had imagined. Otherwise, why would the scientific expedition team from the A-Class Wormhole Point have died here? Was it because their preparations were insufficient?
Moreover, there was very little information about this district in the outside world. It absolutely couldn't be that it had been completely forgotten.
Either everyone who came to investigate one after another had died, or the information here had been blocked, known only to the Game Government.
Regardless of which, it had clearly far exceeded what they could handle.
Yan Ping and the others went off to the side to discuss, while Pu Yu looked at Xu Huo. "I wonder if you dare to go on this trip with me."
"Helping friends is only right," Xu Huo said. "Besides, I'm also very curious about this district—why it has such strong spiritual energy. Also, even if I wanted to leave now, I couldn't."
Pu Yu twirled the water bottle in her hand and said slowly, "Without a Ticket, no one can leave. Until the Tickets are usable again, moving together is the safest option."
Yan Ping and the others had also finished their discussion and proposed two plans.
One plan was that they would continue to protect Pu Yu until the Tickets were usable again, but Pu Yu would need to pay half of the agreed-upon compensation in advance. If they withdrew midway, they wouldn't ask for the remaining compensation. However, if they successfully escorted Pu Yu to her destination, the other half of the compensation had to be paid in full.
The second plan was that they would first collect half the compensation to escort Pu Yu and her two companions to their destination, but after entering the underground ruins, aside from the compensation, Pu Yu and the others could not interfere with their actions. In other words, if there were any unexpected gains, they would also take a share.
Pu Yu wasn't short on money, so naturally she had no objection to this. However, she added, "This isn't the first time you've raised the price along the way. A little money isn't a problem for me to pay in advance. As for the underground ruins, if there really is anything good, one or two people certainly can't take it all. It's common sense that everyone who sees it gets a share."
"But let me be clear—this is the last time."
Pu Yu had always been easy to deal with, which made Yan Ping and the others overlook the fact that she came from an A-Class Wormhole Point. She had countless props and instruments at her disposal. If they really angered her, she might have a way to leave without needing a Ticket. As for the others, without a Ticket, they could only stare helplessly.
"It's a deal!" Yan Ping said.
Pu Yu nodded, then turned to Xu Huo and said, "If we really find the underground ruins, I'll have to trouble you to scout ahead. The energy here is chaotic, and instruments might fail underground. Among us, your Spiritual Evolution is the strongest, your observation range is the widest, and you're less likely to attract the attention of mutant plants."
"No problem," Xu Huo agreed. After resting for a while, he went over to Yan Jiayu's side again.
Yan Jiayu still hadn't woken up. He took out a piece of paper and used the trait "Home Field Perspective."
On the snow-white paper, text rapidly wrote itself. Regarding the earlier parts of the Instance, there was nothing to fill in or correct. When it came to the Circus City, the trait supplemented some details he had seen but hadn't paid attention to, such as the characteristics of the Stilt Walker and the Man-Eating Wall, as well as the abyss that had suddenly appeared outside the castle.
When it reached the final confrontation with the Box Carrier, the speed at which the text appeared slowed down.
"...Knowing full well that he was no match for a Super Player, Xu Huo's first choice was to flee with his companions. Relying on the ability of the Super Item Time Rewind, he tricked the Box Carrier twice before barely escaping on the third try..."
"The reason it's called 'barely' is because he felt that the Box Carrier had the ability to kill him before he fully entered the Space Channel, and his guess was correct. When the Hyperdimensional Space Power filament appeared, the Box Carrier's full attention was drawn to it, to the point where he didn't even care about the life or death of an ant like him. Instead, he left a tracking trait on Xu Huo. However, the instability of the Water Cube and the Hyperdimensional Space Power caused the trait to fail..."
"Unfortunately, after evolving so many times, Xu Huo still hasn't discovered that the black space that appears when the Box Carrier shows up and the black abyss outside the castle are the same thing. They look like some kind of actually existing space, but in reality, what truly devours people and objects is a certain substance within the black space that is not easily detectable by the human eye—a substance Xu Huo has never seen before..."
"The combination of the Reversal Ring, Three Seconds of Life, and a wisp of Hyperdimensional Space Power created a miracle where a B-Class Player successfully escaped after a direct confrontation with a Super Player. But this miracle has somewhat gone to Xu Huo's head. He overlooked the Black Blade left behind in Zone 039. That blade had many traces left on it. A Super Player would be entirely capable of tracking down the places he had been through those traces, and thus deducing which district he had been staying in long-term..."
"...The Puppet Wall has unknowingly brought Xu Huo immense psychological trauma. Perhaps one day, he too will become a member of the Puppet Wall..."
Seeing this, Xu Huo let out a cold laugh.
The text jumped to the Moving District.
"...The suitable environment allowed the King Fungus to grow happily, gradually suppressing the toxin within Xu Huo's body. This place seems to have an aura similar to that of the Nuwa Stone..."
"Of course, a similar aura also faintly emanates from Pu Yu, the player from the A-Class Wormhole Point. Xu Huo had some little schemes, probably thinking of recouping his losses from this person or this district..."
"But he underestimated the two players accompanying Pu Yu. Their deliberately restrained movements hinted at their strength—they are top-tier A-Class Players."