Chapter 523: How Do You Know You Killed a Xenomorph, Not a Person
"If I wanted to make a move, I would have cooperated with Kang Yongjie and the others just now," Xu Huo said calmly. "Don't worry, I still know these basic rules."
Yi Mao spoke with a hint of a smile, "I could tell at a glance that you're different from the others. As long as we all get out alive, I will definitely prepare a generous gift. Whether you clear the instance or not, you won't have come for nothing."
Xu Huo nodded in acknowledgment.
After that, the five of them continued on their way according to the directions marked on the map.
The further they went, the higher the temperature rose. Wearing the protective suit made people feel even more stifled. Not only Yi Mao and Wan Xiao, but even Liang Song involuntarily slowed down in this environment.
Drinking water was consumed faster than expected. Liang Song replenished it twice before they reached the junction of the Gobi Zone and the Swamp Zone.
"Is this the Swamp Zone?" Xu Huo looked at the pitch-black, mud-like land ahead. Large patches of the ground reflected water light, indicating it was waterlogged swamp. This kind of terrain was impassable for people, and there was no clean water or animals. In the distance, only a faint trace of green and blurry low hills could be seen.
"The Swamp Zone is constantly changing. The original map might not be one hundred percent accurate. We'll have to be careful when we go in," Yi Mao said. "It's best not to walk on the water-reflecting patches. Once you step into those places, it's hard to get out. Try to walk along the dry, cracked pathways, and be as cautious as possible."
Xu Huo watched the others checking their firearms. "Vehicles can't come in, but what about aircraft? The best way to cross the Swamp Zone is through the air. Both the Gobi Zone and the Swamp Zone are completely not worth trekking through on foot."
"You haven't been in Clown City before, have you?" Yi Mao said knowingly. "The high-frequency noise from aircraft can also stimulate the Xenomorphs. If multiple aircraft come out from the protective wall, it could easily trigger a Xenomorph surge."
"Half a month ago, a water purification team using ultra-silent vehicles to transport equipment was surrounded by a Xenomorph tide. Only a few players escaped. All the other staff, including three professors, died."
"So it's not that we don't want to use them, but that we can't," he said with some helplessness.
Zhuo Wangsun and the others hadn't appeared nearby, which meant they had been completely scattered. The invisible aircraft that had inexplicably appeared less than an hour's journey from the protective wall couldn't possibly be a Xenomorph's doing, so it must have come from Clown City.
If high-frequency noise could really trigger a Xenomorph tide, then the aircraft Clown City had risked sending out shouldn't have been shooting at their own people.
Not to mention how vast the Gobi Zone was, plus this Swamp Zone ahead, even if you brought ten engines, let alone a few aircraft or vehicles, it would be hard to lure the distant Xenomorphs over. The claim that heavy machinery and powerful firearms couldn't be used was absurd in itself.
Yet the warriors participating in the cleanup in Clown City could only use low-noise pistols and submachine guns under these rules. These guns had a common characteristic: low lethality, basically point-to-point.
In other words, the cleanup mission arranged by Clown City was also absurd.
Naturally, some people were definitely after the rewards. It was just unknown if this was related to the players clearing the instance.
"I noticed you have an extra pouch on your waist. Can I take a look at what's inside?" Yue Weiping asked.
"Just a few stones I picked up," Xu Huo said casually, wiping his gun without any intention of sharing, and changed the subject. "Let's set off, or we'll have to spend the night in the Swamp Zone."
Yue Weiping didn't press further. After entering the Swamp Zone, grayish stones could occasionally be seen on the cracked earth. The holographic glasses would identify the type of stone in advance and give a prompt if it was valuable.
Picking up stones along the way was obviously not a wise move. The five of them all ignored the glasses' prompts and kept watch in different directions.
"Occasionally, Xenomorphs appear in the Swamp Zone too," Yi Mao explained.
However, after three hours of non-stop walking, they hadn't encountered a single Xenomorph. Instead, their protective suits were covered in wet mud, forcing them to take them off and clean them.
"The quality of these protective suits is too poor," Xu Huo said, tidying up the peeling paint on his pant legs.
Yi Mao and the others had prepared protective suits in advance and only took them out now to change into. Yi Mao said apologetically to him, "I'm really sorry, we didn't bring any extra protective suits."
It was obvious that the protective suits they carried were valuable. Xu Huo raised his hand to indicate it was nothing, took a set of protective suits from his backpack, and changed into the prop shoes "Heavy Steps."
Liang Song was more observant and could tell at a glance that although this protective suit wasn't common in Clown City, its quality was definitely decent. He probed, "Brother Old Five, where did you get that protective suit? It's rare to see one like that."
"Zhuo Wangsun sold it to me," Xu Huo said offhandedly.
"Aren't you a temporary team?" Yi Mao found it hard to believe that a strange player would trade such a high-quality protective suit, especially since Zhuo Wangsun himself was wearing one bought from the arena.
"We probably just hit it off," Xu Huo said indifferently.
He didn't want to say more, and the others tactfully stopped asking. After walking a bit further, Liang Song suddenly drew his gun and aimed it at a withered tree. "Come out!"
Xu Huo looked over and saw a human-shaped thermal energy pattern propping up a gun from behind the tree.
"It's a Xenomorph!" Wan Xiao shouted.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" After a series of continuous gunshots, Liang Song successfully circled behind the Xenomorph and shot it in the head with one bullet.
After the Xenomorph fell dead, the thermal energy pattern on its body immediately changed color. The glasses also issued a prompt, saying, "Due to the virus carried by the Xenomorph, warriors are advised not to touch the corpse and to disinfect their protective suits."
Liang Song killed it and stepped back. Turning around, he saw Xu Huo using his gun to turn over the corpse and warned, "The germs on Xenomorphs are highly contagious. It's best not to touch them."
Xu Huo's gun barrel had already moved to the Xenomorph's face. Without touching the holographic glasses, he was about to take off his own glasses when Yue Weiping suddenly kicked at the corpse!
Lifting his leg to block the kick, Xu Huo aimed his gun at Yue Weiping's temple. Hearing the sound of guns being raised behind him, he pulled the man around to face him. "I just wanted to examine the corpse. What's the problem?"
"You can't touch the corpse, unless you want to get us all killed!" Yue Weiping said angrily. "If you get the Xenomorph's blood or bodily fluids on you, our disinfectant can't kill the germs one hundred percent. You'd be a walking transmitter when you go out. I don't know what you're trying to do, but you can't drag us into it."
"And you were about to take off your glasses just now. Even though we're far from the protective wall, the light is still harmful to your eyes. If you don't want to go blind, you'd better not do that!"
"I don't really believe there are Xenomorphs in the world that retain intelligence," Xu Huo said. "And how do you all determine that what you killed was a Xenomorph, and not a person?"
(End of Chapter)