The safe house door opened automatically in an instant, and all the players were pushed out by a huge force.
The sky outside was a dark red, as if it were covered with a layer of dried blood. On the horizon, there was a brighter and hotter orange-red light than flames.
Following the previous plan, the players quickly found their teammates, their eyes warily scanning their surroundings.
The safe house was slowly disappearing. In a corner not far from the door, Xiao Cheng saw the corpse of the player who had been eliminated last.
Judging from the number of severed limbs, there are three people here. One of them was torn in half at the waist, with a large section of intestine protruding outside, the end still remaining in the abdominal cavity, connected to the mangled and bloody internal organs.
"That's really horrible," Su Xin exclaimed, clicking her tongue in disbelief. "But it doesn't seem like it was caused by zombies, does it?"
"No, I saw it." Xu Chu glanced briefly in that direction with a look of resistance. "There was a black thing crawling out of the ground and wrapping around them, kind of like hair. There were insects, like locusts, crawling out of them and gnawing at their souls."
Xiao Cheng: "..." How did you figure out so much in less than a second? And you really look like a charlatan, you know?
Before they could finish debating how these people had died, the sky suddenly darkened further, as if covered by a thin blackout curtain, appearing gray and ominous.
A huge black arrow descended from the sky, hovering above their heads, pointing diagonally at the spot where orange-red light was flashing.
At the same time, all the players' wristbands vibrated simultaneously, and a semi-transparent pop-up window rose up in front of them, displaying several lines of prompts.
The advanced hunting grounds are now open. Please note the following:
[First, the hunting grounds are under quarantine. Please follow the arrows to proceed.]
Second, they are hidden in the shadows, but they are not the only ones.
Third, the minimum number of animals hunted is ten, with a last-place elimination system.
The moment the pop-up disappeared, the ground behind them was completely lifted up, and countless dense, thread-like tentacles burst forth from the soil. A swarm of black locusts flew out from the tangled tentacles, buzzing as they swooped down towards them.
Those who reacted quickly had already erected a defensive wall using their abilities, and players with offensive abilities launched attacks on the swarm of insects and tentacles under the cover of the defensive wall.
But it didn't help.
The attacks landed on them, but seemed to miss completely, passing right through them and slamming heavily onto the ground. The already unstable soil quickly collapsed, revealing the hollowed-out underground.
"We can't hold them off, let's hurry to the hunting grounds." Xiao Cheng and his group never intended to fight the swarm head-on from the beginning. Seeing that things were not going well, they decisively turned around and ran in the direction the arrow was pointing.
With one person taking the lead, the other players quickly realized this and stopped fighting the swarm.
The actual hunting grounds were about ten kilometers away, but with the boost from their experience points, everyone's speed was enhanced, and they arrived there in just a few minutes.
The locusts and their tentacles gave chase, but they were soon stopped by an invisible wall, their bodies crashing into it with dull thuds.
Unable to catch up, they quickly gave up and retreated like a tide, their dense tentacles silently burrowing into the ground, raising clouds of dust that vaguely outlined the shape of that invisible wall.
A moment of silence fell over the surroundings.
The players caught their breath and stopped to tend to the wounds inflicted by the locusts.
Because Xiao Cheng and his group left early, and because Fang He occasionally used his supernatural abilities to cheat, they did not suffer any real harm.
Except for Xu Chu.
Just by looking at his bizarre, erratic route, which turned ten kilometers into twelve, you can guess what he went through in those few minutes.
So much so that he was somewhat dazed when he rushed into the hunting grounds.
"Hey, are you alright?" Su Xin stretched out her palm and waved it vigorously in front of his eyes.
"I'm fine." Xu Chu's gaze was fixed, and he didn't really look like he was alright. "It's just... this place is so clean."
"Clean?" Xiao Cheng turned around and looked around in confusion. Although there were no more pieces of flesh and severed limbs on the ground, it didn't seem clean at all.
“It’s that kind of cleanliness.” Xu Chu gestured with his hand somewhat eagerly. “You know I’ve seen a lot of those things outside, but not here. It’s so clean, like it’s been purified.”
“That’s right, this place has indeed been purified.” Qiao Liao said, his hands tucked into his sleeves, a whisk tucked into his arm, his eyes lowered, looking calm and collected.
Xiao Cheng was puzzled. Why did the plot suddenly start to take a supernatural turn?
"And then?" After waiting for a long time without hearing Qiao Liao's next words, she couldn't help but ask.
Then Qiao Liao smiled mysteriously and said, "It cannot be said."
Xiao Cheng: "..." Then what are you even saying?
The hunting grounds were vast and varied greatly in terrain. The outer ring was a barren plain with many weathered bones scattered on it. They were fragmented and mostly small pieces, and it was impossible to tell what kind of creature they belonged to, but they were probably not human bones.
Unlike the unobstructed view of the outer flat area, the terrain becomes increasingly complex the closer you get to the heart of the area. Ahead lies a vast expanse of rugged stone forest, with intersecting stone shadows that cast eerie and strange shapes on the ground.
Because of the increased requirement for the number of hunts this time, the players gradually dispersed into their respective teams and entered the Stone Forest from different directions.
They appeared very small here, disappearing into the shadows of the stone forest, almost completely blending into it.
"I have a bad feeling." Xiao Cheng looked up at the gloomy sky. "This time there's no quantity indication."
"It's an advanced version, can't you let people try something new?" Fang He casually picked up a piece of broken bone, easily crushed it, and then gently rubbed the white ash on his fingertips.
"Did you find anything?" Xiao Cheng asked quickly, noticing his slightly furrowed brow.
“These bones…” Fang He opened his palm, and ashes fell from between his fingers, only to be completely scattered by the wind. “These look like fish bones.”
Two possibilities.
This place used to be a lake.
There are fish-eating monsters here.
But upon closer reflection, neither seems quite reasonable.
"But aren't we here to hunt? What's the point of worrying about this?" Su Xin asked with a puzzled look. "Anyway, no matter what the prey is, we only have one goal: to kill it."
"Let's go into the Stone Forest then." Xiao Cheng looked at the strange rocks that stood there like ghosts. "It might be easy to get lost inside, if we get lost."
"Remember to meet at the very center before the hunt ends."
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