Players, Please Board the Train

Along the way, Xu Huo found a secluded spot to put away the ”Oxygen Supply” and changed into a new set of protective clothing. He also gave a set to Zhuo Wangsun, instructing him to replace all his carried items like his backpack with ones bearing the Blue Faction’s markings.

This move was a precaution against Clown City.

The fog forest’s area wasn’t small, and it was impossible for two people to monitor the entire perimeter of the woods. However, past this fog forest was a cleanup task area, a concentration point for Mutants. If Xin Hui wanted to hunt Mutants, she would most likely go there. So, Xu Huo waited on the path leading to it.

However, he didn’t expect to wait for Xin Hui, but rather two other individuals—the female player Er Gou and Si Ming.

”They’re still alive too,” Zhuo Wangsun couldn’t hide his surprise.

Xu Huo sized up the two. Their glasses were gone, they had no visible wounds or signs of infection, only their trouser legs were covered in white mycelium. They had likely also come from the fog forest area.

”Lucky we ran fast earlier, otherwise we would have tumbled into that pit,” the female player complained. ”What the hell is this place? Even mushrooms can create caverns underground, no wonder so many people died!”

Si Ming looked very weary. ”Clown City isn’t right. We’ve most likely fallen into a trap.”

”I asked other warriors. The glasses worn by warriors dispatched from Clown City should all be the same type, with only slight differences in style due to updates, but the color is the same. How could there be different colored factions?”

”This is clearly two separate groups, probably even fighting each other.””So what?” The female player leaned against a rock to rest. ”You saw how Yi Mao and the others were directly gunned down by the machine gunners on Clown City. There’s definitely no going back, only completing the task to clear the dungeon.”

”But where is the flag-planting location?” Si Ming said in frustration. ”We tried in the task area, and now we’ve crossed the canyon to outside the cleanup area, but still couldn’t clear it. That means this definitely isn’t the designated spot.”

The female player was also puzzled. ”We’ve almost traversed the entire cleanup area without finding the designated spot. Could we have already passed it?”

”Probably not,” Si Ming said with some hesitation.

The female player suddenly slapped her thigh. ”I know! Maybe it’s that cave from earlier!”

”Look, the ground is covered with Mutants everywhere, in all sorts of places like deserts, but planting the flag doesn’t work. When you get down to it, these places aren’t really different. The only unique thing is that underground cave. Besides there, we haven’t seen that kind of underground cave anywhere else. Maybe that’s the designated spot.”

Si Ming frowned. ”But the underground is full of fungi, which might be poisonous.”

”Didn’t we find a cave without mycelium?” The female player believed she had grasped the key to clearing the dungeon. ”Eliminate all the impossibilities, and whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. That’s what they say.”

Xu Huo stepped out from behind the tree.

”Who’s there?!” Si Ming shouted sharply.

”It’s me, Old Wu,” Xu Huo responded. ”Zhuo Wangsun is here too.”

”You’re still alive!” The female player was visibly happy. ”Did you find a way to clear the dungeon?”

”If we had, would we still be waiting here?” Xu Huo said with some helplessness. ”Zhuo Wangsun and I came back from ahead. No luck.”

Hearing this, the female player said, ”Looks like I was right. The key to clearing the dungeon is still in that cave.”

”What cave?” Zhuo Wangsun played along with Xu Huo’s act.

Si Ming explained the whole story. The two of them had stumbled into a forest area full of mycelium. However, they had lost all their useful tools along the way and had no means to determine direction. So, they tried to find their way based on the forest’s growth patterns. Little did they know, the trees at the forest’s edge didn’t follow any rules; the growth state of the branches was different at regular intervals. In other words, they first determined east-west direction and kept heading east, but soon found the branch situation completely reversed.

”We thought that even if different worlds have different climates, the basic directions shouldn’t change. Who knew this forest could grow so magically? Don’t they need sunlight?” the female player marveled.

Xu Huo was speechless.

”Do you see any sunlight reaching these trees?” Zhuo Wangsun said. ”With all that thick fog. But the important thing isn’t the orientation. These are all mutated plants; any situation is possible. Trying to judge based on methods from other Game Partitions probably doesn’t work.”

”True, but these trees still defy basic growth principles,” Si Ming argued.

”That’s not the issue,” Xu Huo cut off their divergent thinking. ”If the ground beneath the fog forest is entirely fungi and has a large space, then this forest is essentially floating on top. As you said, these fungi can move, so it’s not strange for the trees above to change position along with them. Naturally, you’d get connected forest areas with completely different growth patterns.”

Si Ming was surprised. ”Fungi can support an entire forest?”

”It can also move, so that’s not strange either,” Xu Huo paused, then added, ”Currently, none of us have any leads. Why not try the cave you discovered?”

”You really found a passage leading underground?” Zhuo Wangsun confirmed repeatedly. ”Didn’t you say it was covered in mycelium everywhere?”

”I got lucky,” the female player said cheerfully. ”I stepped on empty air and fell right down. It looked pretty deep, but passable.”

”Generally, dungeon task requirements seem simple, but the background actually contains a lot of information. That patch of fungi might be hidden information about Clown City,” Zhuo Wangsun said. ”Since we’re already here, we might as well go in and explore.”

Among the four, only Si Ming was reluctant to go. However, with the other three deciding to proceed, he had no choice but to follow.

”Don’t worry too much. At worst, underground is just some mycelium. Wearing protective suits should be fine,” the female player comforted him. ”Besides, no matter how much fungi mutate, they can’t compare to Mutants, right? If needed, we can just run out.”

Zhuo Wangsun also said, ”At least there are four of us.”

Si Ming nodded with a somewhat heavy expression.

They turned back and returned to the fog forest. Following their own footprints out, they quickly found the cave the female player mentioned. It was under a patch of white mushrooms about half a person’s height. The entrance was already exposed. Zhuo Wangsun went over, pulled up two adjacent mushrooms, and a cave nearly two meters in diameter was revealed.

”There’s a path inside,” he shone a light in. ”But the passage has some mold-like growths on it.”

”Be careful not to touch them,” Xu Huo checked his protective face shield and went down first.

Landing softly, he slowly straightened up and shone his light forward. The uneven passage immediately reflected a myriad of colorful glows. Those flower-like growths with fine fuzz, resembling mold, upon closer inspection, appeared as clear and transparent as crystals, each with its own color. Under the light, they displayed various magnificent hues.