Chapter 922: Tracking the Sample
Upon hearing Shangguan Xi's words, Teacher Ai showed no expression, while Xu Huo glanced at him and said, "Use an item to take him away."
Although Shangguan Xi didn't understand why he was so insistent on bringing the guide along, since he didn't have to put in the effort himself, he naturally wouldn't say much. He readily handed the person over and said to Teacher Ai, "Old pal, you just happened to run into good people. Otherwise, you'd have been dead eight hundred times over."
Teacher Ai stared at him coldly and retorted, "Taking me along won't put you at a disadvantage."
Shangguan Xi shrugged.
Xu Huo used balloon string to thread through Teacher Ai, letting him float half in the air, and then headed outside.
Outside the south gate was an unfinished underground city, covered with metal plates above. As soon as he stepped onto it, Xu Huo estimated the general range. After crossing this area, he dug into the soil and touched a metal plate bridge. Only after touching it with the "Life Core" did he withdraw, casually covering the spot with dirt.
Though the trap he casually set might not necessarily be useful, if it did come in handy, it would be a win-win situation.
"Destination Arrival" couldn't bring a third person along, so the three of them weren't moving very fast. Along the way, Teacher Ai watched Xu Huo's unhurried demeanor and couldn't help but speculate, "Did you really get the living sample?"
Shangguan Xi also looked at him.
Xu Huo didn't answer the question directly but instead said, "The living sample at the south gate was just a decoy. There was no sample inside, only a player."
Shangguan Xi was stunned. "It actually managed to fool so many players!"
Given the premise that a vehicle had been located in the underground parking lot, it wasn't difficult to shake off the item's effect near the south gate. As for blurring the players' senses, that was even easier. Without seeing it with their own eyes or getting close, ordinary players would find it hard to tell whether there was anyone inside or how many there were.
Xu Huo had changed positions multiple times, entering and exiting the building just to confirm this point. Inside, there was only one player and no second person.
There were two possibilities: one, the player was using the sample as a decoy to hunt other players; two, they were buying time for their teammates. Currently, the second possibility seemed more likely.
Regardless, the second sample was no longer in W19.
Among the players laying siege, some had already spent over a day. That was enough time for the sample to travel a very long distance. With suitable transportation, other players wouldn't stand a chance of catching up.
So the person who took the sample also had no better way to travel quickly.
As for the player who had snatched the vehicle, trying to fish them out within a single city was clearly impractical. However, Xu Huo was more inclined to believe that this person was connected to the player guarding the south gate. Even if not, it didn't matter—whether the other party left first or later, they would eventually cross paths.
"This road is harder to travel than I thought." It had only been two hours since leaving W19, and they had already encountered three mutant creature attacks. Shangguan Xi looked at the dense, unusually lush forest ahead and couldn't help but look up at Teacher Ai. "With such a good place, no one came to develop it?"
"There's a nest of mutant creatures living in there." Teacher Ai said expressionlessly. "There was once a base city that sent people to set it on fire. But instead of burning the mutants to death, it caused a large number of them to flee to nearby base cities. Moreover, there's a toxic plant in this forest area. Fire can't burn it clean; instead, it causes it to release its seeds on a large scale. Inhaling them leads to poisoning. The nearby base cities suffered heavy losses."
"The best way is to go around it. Keep the noise down, and not too many mutants will come."
"Going around is a good idea..." Shangguan Xi said as he took out a map, and his voice immediately changed. "Going around would take several times longer!"
Xu Huo had already checked both sides and returned. "The people ahead also took a detour. Let's follow their trail."
"If we can't catch up to the living sample, this trip will be a waste." Shangguan Xi frowned slightly. "To be honest, we're definitely not the only ones trying to intercept the sample outside W37."
"The worst outcome is just failing the instance." Xu Huo looked at him. "Don't you have extra return tickets?"
If the game district where a player originated had fully merged into the game, the significance of a return ticket was actually greatly diminished. Using a train ticket could still get them back.
Shangguan Xi was silent for two seconds before saying, "If this run doesn't clear, my ranking will definitely drop out of the top twenty thousand."
Neither of the other two had expected this reason. Teacher Ai said sarcastically, "Is a ranking really that important? What difference does ten thousand or twenty thousand make?"
"How is that the same?" Shangguan Xi said matter-of-factly. "A person fights for pride. Who wants to be at the bottom? Besides, the higher-ranked players are more famous. Once you're famous, other players will actively invite you to go on instances together. That not only increases the chance of clearing but also the chance of getting good items."
"These are obvious benefits. Who would want to play with someone who can't even make it onto the rankings?"
He spoke with reason and evidence, leaving Teacher Ai unable to refute him.
Xu Huo patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. It definitely won't be a wasted trip. And even if we can't clear it, it won't be easy for others to clear it either."
Shangguan Xi immediately gave a thumbs-up. "Now that's what I like to hear, Brother Xu. If I can't get up, everyone else can come down too."
Teacher Ai looked at the two in astonishment, then after a moment, put away his expression and stared blankly at the sky. "Let's hurry up. It's going to rain."
"Rain is no fun," Shangguan Xi said. "The rain here is all acid rain. If it lasts too long, we'll lose a set of protective suits."
There were traces of people having passed through the edge of the forest—which further proved that someone had indeed brought the living sample through here; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many traces.
"Is transporting a living sample really that difficult?" Shangguan Xi found it strange. "Even without suitable items, one or two small vehicles should be a must-have, right? Why are there such obvious traces all along the way?"
"You haven't seen the metal cage used to hold a living sample. It's very heavy." Xu Huo said. "Players usually buy small tools for one or two people. Even a large luggage compartment can't fit or carry such a heavy cage."
"Take this item," he said, moving the balloon string in his hand. "While it can make objects float, there's a big limit on weight."
"If there's no weight limit, there's probably a time limit," Shangguan Xi took over. "So far, I've never seen a perfect item."
"Can't they just throw away the cage?"
Xu Huo's gaze shifted slightly. "The bracelet authentication is on the cage."
"Then there's no way around it." Shangguan Xi looked again at the crushing marks on the ground, then gazed into the distance at the oppressive dark clouds, and couldn't help but say, "Don't you think it suddenly got colder?"
"It might snow." Xu Huo said nonchalantly. "Let's keep moving first, then find a place to take shelter from the snow."
Teacher Ai could only provide information on some abandoned animal caves that could serve as temporary shelter, but that wouldn't solve the low-temperature problem. However, Shangguan Xi mentioned that he had a high-temperature oven, but it could only be used in a wind-sheltered place.
Finding a wind-sheltered place wasn't hard. Xu Huo already had one ready.
(Chapter End)