Chapter 3049: Another Freak
Jinjin Budao was quite experienced. She had made marks in some special places, allowing her to detect in advance whether any players were active nearby. Whenever she found her marks had been tampered with, she would immediately change her route.
When they reached the place she had mentioned, following her guidance, Xu Huo indeed saw some poisonous frogs appearing.
"These things are very hard to catch, and you have to be careful of their venom spray." Jinjin Budao pointed to her leg, which hadn't fully healed yet. "I can only help you block them from the side. You'll have to do the catching yourself."
Xu Huo observed for a while but didn't pay it much mind. Even without items, catching one or two mutant animals wasn't difficult. The problem was that these poisonous frogs were good at burrowing into holes. He had tried several times to attack from a distance using broken wood and stones, but they always dodged.
Animal instinct kept them hiding in their burrows, refusing to come out. Waiting wasn't an option. Just then, Jinjin Budao spotted a small lizard approaching. The lizard seemed to be a natural enemy of the poisonous frogs. As soon as it burrowed underground, the frogs hiding in their caves began jumping out one after another.
"Quick, catch them!" Jinjin Budao reminded Xu Huo. However, just as Xu Huo managed to trap one poisonous frog, a lightning-fast green shadow shot out from the side. He quickly retreated and raised a barrier, only to find it was a venomous snake!
Clearly, there was more than one. The snakes and frogs coexisted in the underground burrows. Startled by the lizard, they all surged to the surface at once!
Xu Huo jumped into a tree, intending to leave the area, when a flying rope shot from diagonally behind him and wrapped around his ankle. He turned and grabbed the rope, only to see Jinjin Budao holding the other end as she quickly circled a thick tree trunk, apparently trying to pull him down. At the same time, several hidden weapons shot out from the trunk!
The space barrier blocked the hidden weapons, and Xu Huo took the opportunity to descend from the tree, following the rope's direction straight toward Jinjin Budao.
Jinjin Budao had already looped the rope over a branch and was backing away around the tree. Due to her injury, she seemed to be moving slowly, making it easy for Xu Huo to catch up. But just as the Space Ray Blade was about to strike her, several colorful venomous snakes flew out from her clothing, lunging straight at Xu Huo's face!
The Space Ray Blade immediately changed direction. Over a dozen snake carcasses fell to the ground, along with a few surviving ones that were blocked by the space barrier and slithered into the grass.
Seeing her ambush fail, Jinjin Budao wasted no time trying to escape. She activated her full speed, retreating a hundred meters in the blink of an eye, about to disappear into the dense forest. But at that moment, her body stiffened, and she suddenly collapsed, clutching her neck.
A venomous snake broke free from under her hand and quickly vanished into the grass.
Xu Huo pushed aside the poisonous creatures crawling around his feet and walked over. He crouched down, looking at her purple face and hands. "Did you forget there are venomous snakes everywhere here?"
Jinjin Budao opened her mouth, as if trying to beg for mercy, but she could no longer speak. Xu Huo reached out and snapped her neck.
"Player Xu Zhi has killed one player. Obtained the remaining 68 points of that player."
"Player Xu Zhi has killed one player. Obtained 42 points."
In addition to the points from killing Jinjin Budao, there was also an extra 8 points from audience support. Xu Huo's score changed from the original -213 to -95.
He took the items and instruments from Jinjin Budao's body, picked out a ring engraved with a special symbol, strung it on the flying rope, and tied it around his wrist. Then he casually picked a flower and placed it on the corpse's forehead before leaving.
After he had been gone for a while, Xiao Deng approached and glanced at Jinjin Budao. "Another freak. And he acted like he was the real deal."
Xu Huo continued on with his spoils. Later, he encountered another player who invited him to join. By then, his score had become 67.
The player was still smiling cheerfully. He had two companions with him and seemed genuinely sincere in inviting Xu Huo to come along.
It was called an invitation, but it was actually half-coercion. Among them was a Spatial Super Evolver. After a brief skirmish, Xu Huo had no choice but to agree to move with them.
This group was apparently somewhat famous in the Fang Snake Zone. They encountered several other players along the way, all of whom gave them a wide berth.
When they arrived at their destination, Xu Huo found that these people had occupied a small canyon. Looking out through a gap in the canyon, he could see a mountain range separated by a large river.
67 glanced at Xu Huo first, then picked up a stone and casually tossed it toward the sky ahead.
"Bang!" The stone hit a barrier that suddenly appeared, and was then shattered by a beam of white light descending from the sky. At the same time, a triangular warning icon emerged above the river, bearing the words: "Players with less than 100 points, do not enter."
"What happens if you cross with less than 100 points?" Xu Huo asked.
"The same thing that happened to the stone." 67 turned back with a smile. "If you don't believe me, you can try it yourself."
Xu Huo twitched the corner of his mouth. "No need."
67 took a piece of roasted meat from his companion and gestured with his eyes for Xu Huo to help himself if he wanted.
Xu Huo sat down on a nearby rock. There were six people in total here, none of whom had exceeded 100 points.
"Do you have to cross once you reach 100 points?" he asked again.
"I can't answer that question." 67 said. "Among the seven of us, the earliest to arrive has only been here for less than four days."
"But that's also the result of us deliberately controlling our scores." He continued. "Entering the Bear Hug Zone has zone requirements. Presumably, once you hit 100, Challenge Island won't allow players to stay in the Fang Snake Zone any longer."
"If you agree to join, we can help you raise your score. The condition is that we form a team after entering the Bear Hug Zone."
"Score control?" Xu Huo said. "Aren't you worried about other rules?"
Within eight hours, negative scores could result in random elimination. So trying to stay in the Fang Snake Zone for a long time by controlling scores might also have other penalties.
"That's why we plan to enter the Bear Hug Zone within five days." 67 said while chewing on the roasted meat. "If you agree, the numbers will be about right."
"What's the situation in the Bear Hug Zone?" Xu Huo thought for a moment and then asked.
67 shrugged. "There are no players who have come out of the Bear Hug Zone."
Clearly, none of the people present knew the situation in the Bear Hug Zone. And any player who entered the Bear Hug Zone, dead or alive, couldn't possibly come back to report.
"I have one more question," Xu Huo pressed. "Have you been deducted points by the audience?"
67 laughed heartily and casually pointed at the companion roasting meat beside him. "He's been deducted points. Probably because he's ugly, and people find him annoying."
The player he pointed at was indeed not good-looking. His face was covered in raised scars, clearly left there on purpose.
"Going solo will never get you far. Forming an alliance in advance benefits all of us." 67 said again. "Right now, each of us only has one effective item. But once we enter the Bear Hug Zone, the number of effective items will increase. In that case, with the game channel cut off, the usable items will mostly be the instruments we carry on us. That means the moment we enter the Bear Hug Zone, we'll be more dangerous than at any other time in the Fang Snake Zone."