Chapter 3054: Insect Plague
Before long, footsteps came from nearby, and two players walked over.
They deliberately slowed their pace and even made noise on purpose, clearly not looking for trouble.
The two of them looked at him, pointed to a spot beside him, and indicated they wanted to rest there.
Xu Huo didn't say a word, nor did he object.
This was only a temporary truce. Even players couldn't withstand round-the-clock deathmatches twenty-four hours a day, so sometimes players would tacitly agree to a ceasefire.
Of course, this also depended on choosing the right targets. There were plenty of people who specifically struck when others were resting.
Unexpectedly, not long after, Ding Xiang, who had been presumed dead or alive, appeared nearby.
Ding Xiang was heavily injured, and four players were trailing behind her. However, these people were wary of the instrument in her hand and kept a certain distance.
But she was badly hurt, and being killed was only a matter of time.
She only came over after spotting Xu Huo. With no other choice, she could only gamble on this.
"I can give you the instrument," she said, detouring around the other two resting players.
Xu Huo didn't refuse. Instead, he tossed the potion at his side to her.
He had many wounds on his body, but they were all minor injuries, and the score above his head exceeded four hundred and was still slowly rising, indicating that the audience favored him. For a player like this, unless his appearance was exceptionally outstanding, it could only mean his strength was extraordinary.
The four players following her didn't act rashly.
Ding Xiang breathed a sigh of relief after getting the potion and sat down nearby to treat her wounds.
She had bone fractures, and there were deep, long gashes on her back and chest. Relying solely on a player's self-healing ability wasn't enough to close the wounds in a short time. She now needed to seal the wounds.
Without a medical kit, she improvised, using a mutated plant as a needle and thread, gritting her teeth to roughly stitch the wounds closed.
Xu Huo glanced at her. "The wounds are poisoned."
Ding Xiang was drenched in sweat and said reluctantly, "I ate some detoxifying herbs. Whether it works or not depends on luck."
Neither of them asked about the whereabouts of the others. It was obvious from the situation that their experiences were similar—they had simply encountered powerful enemies.
"How did you end up on Challenge Island?" Ding Xiang seemed to be trying to bridge the distance by finding a topic.
"I was doing fine as a doctor, then suddenly became a wanted criminal," Xu Huo said flatly. "I didn't want to leave District 025 in disgrace, so I came here. What about you?"
Ding Xiang relaxed a little. "My family members are degenerating. I need a lot of money."
Most people who came to the island did so because of degeneration. Whether it was for future retirement or the immediate need for expensive potions, those who weren't covered by the District 025 government's welfare system would ultimately see Challenge Island as a way out.
"You're not from District 025?" Xu Huo asked.
"Yes, I am," Ding Xiang said. "But my family and I belong to a player organization, so we're not fully covered by the government."
She stared at the wound on her leg, still seeping blood. "I don't even know if I can get out alive."
"Will your family get money if you die here?" Xu Huo had only come to the island "reluctantly" to clear his wanted status. Since she was from District 025, there was no reason to come here unless conditions were bad enough.
Ding Xiang smiled. "Whether I live or die, after it's over, my family will be supported by the government. If I perform well enough on Challenge Island, there might even be extra rewards."
"You're not degenerating. Why not try the game?" Xu Huo asked, feigning confusion.
"Class A instances are too high-risk. Dying in an instance is worse than dying on Challenge Island," Ding Xiang said helplessly. "Anyway, in the end, all players end up on this path. It's just a matter of sooner or later."
Xu Huo said nothing more.
Soon, the two players who had come to rest left, but the four players following Ding Xiang remained.
Ding Xiang had already prepared for the worst and simply closed her eyes to rest.
Xu Huo didn't leave either. He just used the instrument to set up a barrier, as if determined to stay.
The four were also very patient. Not only did they refuse to budge, but they also contacted three other players while waiting.
Seven people. Splitting two players' points was still a considerable gain.
As evening arrived, a flock of birds suddenly startled into flight in the distance, like a signal horn, prompting the players lying in ambush to attack simultaneously.
Xu Huo threw the explosive instrument he had prepared earlier, forcing two of them back before quickly breaking through.
Ding Xiang had a speed-boosting instrument and followed him.
The two ran one after the other, but before they could get far, a spatial barrier blocked their path. A violent tremor spread from underground, shaking the ground, the trees, and everything on the surface... Xu Huo and Ding Xiang naturally didn't escape it either. Both felt varying degrees of headache and quickly used defensive instruments to block it, but the effect was poor.
Ding Xiang launched a sharp cone. The thing seemed to have eyes, completely unaffected as it pierced through the trees and shot straight toward the source of the tremor. A faint collision sound was heard, and the unsettling vibration that disturbed the mind and heart disappeared.
"This way!" Ding Xiang changed direction, also warning Xu Huo, "There's a venomous insect nest over there!"
No sooner had she spoken than a massive swarm of venomous insects surged from the direction they had been fleeing. They were as dark and oppressive as a rainstorm cloud, and the buzzing of their wings drowned out all other sounds in the forest.
"How is this possible!" Ding Xiang's face changed drastically, and she turned and ran back.
Not only her, but even the players who had been relentlessly pursuing them turned without hesitation!
"Buzz buzz buzz!"
Before the venomous insects even caught up, the toxic powder they scattered spread across a large area of the forest with the wind. Amidst the chaos, a scream was heard as a player's arm came into contact with the powder, and the flesh began to rot instantly!
The players who were also fleeing had no time to think about killing and robbing. Some activated defensive instruments, while others searched for nearby caves or burrows. But the venomous insects were pervasive; hiding underground was useless, and even with a barrier for protection, once the swarm caught up, players would quickly be trapped in place—the endless tide of insects could even clog the forest!
Xu Huo and Ding Xiang were trapped under the same barrier. Although the barrier wasn't completely blocked in the forest, the outside was already covered in insects. Layer upon layer of insects piled up, blocking out the light, and soon there would probably be no air left.
Spatial tangents swept back and forth, but their effect was limited.
"Hide underground." Xu Huo made a snap decision and immediately twisted a deep hole in the ground. Ding Xiang was about to say it was useless when she saw that the tunnel connected to a passage dug by mutated animals deep underground. She jumped down after him.
These venomous insects could also penetrate deep underground; it was only a matter of time before they drilled through the soil. They left instruments outside to seal the entrance while they quickly followed the passage toward a nearby underground river.
It was difficult to escape from the surface, so they had to use the river to block the insects and then escape from under the water.
"Run far away!" Ding Xiang said. "I've heard others say that this kind of venomous insect rarely leaves its nest. But once it does, it creates an insect plague that spans dozens of kilometers, blotting out the sky and the sun. Everything within that range will be burned clean by the toxic powder!"