Chapter 2713: Underground Sinkhole
Sensing something approaching, Xu Huo moved Yan Jiayu behind him and raised a wall of Space Ray Blades to block the front. The next second, a few strands of blood dripped from the air, and a half-human-sized, monkey-like creature gradually turned from transparent to solid.
On the other side, Pu Yu and the others also killed three identical mutant animals of similar size. This was only the first wave of attacks, and more were coming from underground. They moved extremely fast, not solely relying on speed but also on special passageways that occasionally appeared in the air.
Seeing this, even Pu Yu couldn't help but be surprised. "Spiritual energy has actually formed special portals here, and they can use these portal passageways!"
Because mutant plants weren't very intelligent, even if they could release powerful energy, such energy was mostly indiscriminate attacks and lacked the variety of Evolvers—portal passageways being one of the Evolvers' tricks.
"Are the portal passageways made by mutant plants, or by these monkeys?" Yan Ping asked.
"What difference does it make?" Pu Yu said. "No matter who made them, we have to kill these monkeys today!"
However, their numbers were simply too great. After the first batch was killed by Xu Huo and the others working together, the monkeys actually learned. They used the portal passageways to dodge, actively bypassing Xu Huo and Pu Yu's group and heading straight for Yan Ping and the others.
During the fight, some Bounty Hunters had their mechanical suits damaged without realizing it. Within just a few minutes, two people were affected by Spiritual Interference, took off their helmets on their own, and had their throats bitten through by the monkeys!
The Short-Haired Female Player was so furious she wanted to blow herself up with bombs to take them down together, but Yan Ping stopped her. In the end, the group regrouped and used a Location Item to block the monkeys outside.
The Location Item had doors and windows, allowing them to see the situation outside. The mutant monkeys hadn't left; they were lurking outside, covering the roof and surroundings, packed densely together. Occasionally, one or two would reveal themselves, baring their teeth at them. Their sparse, staggered teeth, like those of a white shark, didn't match their body size, but they did match the wounds on the player who had lost two legs earlier.
Yan Ping angrily punched the ground. "Those beasts!"
The Short-Haired Female Player was also injured. She had held on and wasn't affected, but now she was both regretful and furious. "I should have been more careful."
Pu Yu withdrew his gaze from outside. "It seems if we don't deal with these monkeys, it'll be hard for us to move forward."
"It's not difficult to kill them all," Xu Huo said. "I just don't know if there are other mutant animals underground."
They had been wrong earlier, thinking that with such frequent mutant plant activity, ordinary animals would find it hard to survive. But since they already knew about the underground ruins, it was hard to say whether more mutant animals were living underground. How large were the underground ruins? Or when the district was destroyed, had someone built a safe space underground?
These were all hard to say.
"The monkey blood is too stinky," Yan Jiayu said. "The smell is completely different from the forest. I'm afraid it might attract insect swarms later."
After entering, Xu Huo and the others had all used Cleaning Agent, but the lingering smell in their nostrils still wouldn't dissipate.
"Let's go airborne again," Yan Jiayu said. "Changing locations is better than wasting time with them."
They really couldn't delay any longer. Who knew what that stench would attract?
After a brief reorganization, Xu Huo and the two A-level players brought by Pu Yu went out first to kill a wave of monkeys, and then the group moved to a different location through high-altitude movement.
But whether it was because their luck wasn't good enough or the smell of monkey blood hadn't completely faded, they soon encountered an insect swarm. A dark, oppressive mass of insects blotted out the sky, causing even some mutant plants to retreat. The venom they released had a powerful corrosive effect that could even damage their metal protective suits!
Using a Space Barrier as a shield, Xu Huo and the others fled continuously for nearly half an hour before finally shaking off the insect swarm completely.
By then, almost all of them were injured.
They had already taken Antidote—the ones Pu Yu brought worked instantly with one injection—but the corroded wounds wouldn't heal for a long time.
The best way to deal with an insect swarm was actually to blow them up. A few good blasts would clear out any bugs.
But due to the mutant plants, they had to be careful even when attacking, worried about waking the forest. Tied down, they could only flee.
"No wonder it's an A-level survival Instance," Yan Jiayu said, fiddling with her perforated helmet. "How much good equipment has to be sacrificed here?"
Yan Ping and the others were even unluckier. Some of their portable instruments and items were also destroyed, a heavy loss.
But a small comfort was that they were heading in the right direction. In another two days, they would reach their destination.
That night, no one rested well.
Enduring until the next morning, Yan Ping and his group had already made a decision in advance: they would escort Pu Yu and the others to the location but would not follow them into the underground ruins.
Their mechanical suits were completely destroyed in one go, and there was no chance for a third full equipment replacement. So this time, they were extremely cautious.
Fortunately, the next two days of travel were just like Pu Yu's first two days—uneventful.
Two days later, they arrived at the marked location. After searching the area, Xu Huo and the others found a covered sinkhole nearly a kilometer underground.
Calling it a sinkhole wasn't quite accurate, because it wasn't formed by earth and rock. A kilometer below wasn't the original district's land either. Instead, the mutant plants had all snapped off at this spot, gradually forming a circular pit.
The pit was bottomless, yet the mutant plants hadn't filled it in. Near the break, although new branches had grown, they all tried to avoid this giant hole. The mutant plants below were the same.
"The plants near the gap are growing very deformed," Pu Yu observed. "Someone might have applied a special medicine here."
"Could it be your aunt?" Xu Huo asked. "This pit has been here for a while."
"Not sure," Pu Yu said. The three of them had already searched the vicinity and found no traces. Of course, for someone who had been dead for years, mutant plants might have covered the area several times over. Finding a skeleton wouldn't be easy.
Of course, they weren't just here for bones.
"Before, no matter how I asked, you wouldn't budge. Now can you tell me what's really in the underground ruins?" As the five of them slowly descended into the pit using items, Xu Huo brought up the topic again. "You can use Primordial Stone as an accessory. For it to catch your interest, it must be something of much greater value. We're already at the place; there's no need to keep hiding it anymore, don't you think?"
Valuable things don't always bring rich rewards—they can also bring danger.