Chapter 527
Yi Mao's curiosity diminished considerably.
After that, the group passed through the swamp area without further incident. During the journey, aside from killing quite a few mutated crocodiles, they also encountered other cleanup teams. However, both sides had a fair number of people, so they kept their distance and minded their own business.
As for Jin Dong, the thermal imaging under his glasses was very inconvenient. Xu Huo gave him another set of protective suits obtained from the starship, which belonged to a Black Bracelet player he had killed. Their quality was much better than the ones Jin Dong had bought himself.
Quite a few players had died in the Seventeenth Hospital Instance, and naturally, many items had dropped. But time was short, so Xu Huo hadn't picked them all up. Some of the items stored in the luggage compartment had already been contaminated by the germs on Yu Guo's hands. Most of what he had prepared was food and water, but items like the protective suits were still in good condition.
Wearing the protective suit, Jin Dong looked like a normal person again. Although his face couldn't be seen, at least there was no longer a yellow-red image bobbing in their field of vision. Looking at the details of the suit, it was clearly far superior to the ones Yi Mao had specifically bought. The others couldn't help but take a few extra glances.
Jin Dong was extremely grateful to Xu Huo. He kept thanking him and voluntarily provided information about where there were more Xenomorphs, where water sources were located, and some of his experiences in the jungle area.
What Xu Huo wanted to know was information related to clearing the instance, but Jin Dong didn't know anything about that. There weren't many players participating in the cleanup mission anyway.
After memorizing the information Jin Dong provided, Xu Huo decided to complete the first two tasks first.
Soon, they found a Xenomorph in a dense forest. The creature was wearing tattered protective gear, its body covered in red and black spots, a situation similar to Jin Dong's.
"Don't kill it yet..." Xu Huo stopped Yi Mao and the others. But before he could finish speaking, a large flock of mutated birds suddenly took flight in the distance. Accompanied by a sudden burst of gunfire, over a dozen Xenomorphs charged towards them.
"Open fire!" Yue Weiping roared. The others immediately started shooting.
With heavy firepower from the rear and a blockade ahead, four of the charging Xenomorphs were shot dead on the spot. The remaining ones, afraid of the guns, rolled through the grass and mud, forcibly changing direction and fleeing to the side.
Xu Huo observed the Xenomorphs. Some of them, like Jin Dong, had red and black spots. But more of them already showed animalistic features—bulging eyes, split mouths, and elongated canine teeth. They were clearly more aggressive than the Xenomorphs that only had spots.
"Block that side!" The soldiers who had caught up coordinated with Yi Mao and the others to surround the Xenomorphs trying to escape. They mowed them down with submachine guns, killing all the trapped Xenomorphs in just a few minutes.
Blood flowed everywhere. The leader of the group wiped his feet on the grass, walked up to Yi Mao and the others, and said, "Brothers, want to team up? The more people in the jungle, the safer it is."
Yi Mao first asked Liang Song for his opinion. Liang Song shook his head and said, "Our cleanup zone is in another direction."
The man looked them over but didn't insist. Ignoring the corpses on the ground, he led his people away.
"Why didn't you agree?" Wan Xiao said. "If we had run into that many Xenomorphs just now, we would have taken casualties. Wouldn't it be easier to hunt Xenomorphs with more people?"
"Didn't you notice how much ammunition they had left?" Liang Song said. "With their rate of fire, they're burning through it quickly. They have a lot of people, but not much spare ammo, and each person can only kill a limited number of Xenomorphs. Joining them would be like providing them with supplies. Once they run out of ammo or food, the unlucky ones will be the people traveling with them."
"In their eyes, we're just supply packs."
"Listen to Brother Liang," Yue Weiping also said. "Sometimes, more people doesn't mean more safety. We couldn't handle a dozen Xenomorphs on our own, and the situation wouldn't be much better with a dozen people."
Wan Xiao had to drop the idea.
"Let's change direction," Xu Huo said.
Liang Song's claim that their cleanup zones were in different directions was just an excuse. In reality, the group was heading in the same direction they were. But now, they couldn't just follow behind them; they had to take a detour.
"I know a more dangerous path," Jin Dong typed. "I went there when I was being chased by a mutant. It's a bit far from here, but the chance of running into Xenomorphs is lower."
After some discussion, they decided to take the path Jin Dong indicated.
"You're not trying to pull something, are you?" Yue Weiping was still wary and warned him in advance, "If you're trying to lure us into a trap to drag others down with you, I'll kill you first."
"Take it or leave it." Jin Dong owed his gratitude to Xu Huo, not to him.
Xu Huo had nothing to say. Of course, he chose the path Jin Dong pointed out.
Seeing that he seemed to have no suspicion of this man at all, even Yi Mao felt a bit uneasy. "Isn't he afraid of being tricked?"
"Tricked into what?" Liang Song said. "The worst Jin Dong could do is lead him to a place with more Xenomorphs. Isn't that perfect? They have to complete the mission anyway."
"That's true," Wan Xiao said. "With his strength, dealing with a few Xenomorphs is no problem."
The others stopped dawdling and quickened their pace to follow.
Not far ahead, a tail started following them.
Liang Song noticed it and subtly informed the others.
"Kill him." Yue Weiping made a throat-slitting gesture.
Liang Song nodded, and the two of them split off to the sides after bypassing a dense forest.
Yi Mao, walking in front, said with a complicated expression, "Are some of the soldiers not actually dying at the hands of the Xenomorphs?"
Jin Dong, walking ahead, turned back. "Not yet."
"What do you mean?" Yi Mao was stunned.
"There are no small animals to hunt and eat around here," Xu Huo mentioned. "The mutated animals are clearly highly venomous. There are some fruits and mushrooms, but it's uncertain if they're poisonous."
As long as they retained their sanity, they wouldn't eat them.
"Once the food runs out, people can become food too," Jin Dong calmly typed a line.
"You mean..." Yi Mao couldn't help but dry heave, then said, "Impossible. Unless they ate poisonous food and lost their minds, how could they..."
From a medical perspective, Wan Xiao understood easily. When people are starving mad, they are no different from beasts. Ethics, morality, and the bottom line of humanity can all be thrown aside. Biological instinct drives them to find a way to survive.
"Do the other soldiers know that the water and food here are contaminated with germs?" he asked.
"Most of them probably don't know," Xu Huo said. "But to be safe, they probably wouldn't eat anything from the cleanup zone unless absolutely necessary."
"At least we brought enough supplies," Wan Xiao patted Yi Mao on the shoulder.
Just then, Liang Song and the other person returned. They had acquired two more guns, some food, and a canteen.
"From now on, we need to collect as much of this stuff as possible," Liang Song said. "I need to keep at least half of the spare food and water in my luggage compartment."
"Don't we have his supplies too? No need to be so conservative, right?" Yue Weiping pointed at Xu Huo.