Almost the instant they made out what it was, the group broke into a mad sprint once more.
The giant bees’ frantic wingbeats stirred up gusts like a storm, quickly dispersing the poisonous fog.
Xia Xueqin wailed as she ran, “My Smog!!! Aaah, how could this happen!”
Mu Shan was drenched in sweat; she had already gripped the “Blood Holy Mother” summoning scroll tightly in her hand.
But her hesitation at that moment was this: there was only one spectral monster boss. Could it take on hundreds of giant bees? Once summoned, who would end up eating whom…
In that split-second gap of thought, He Yuncong, who had been at the front, suddenly teleported to the rear of the group.
Facing the direction from which the bee monsters pursued, he spread his arms wide—
Mu Shan couldn’t help shouting, “What are you doing? It’s dangerous!”
“Keep going.” But He Yuncong didn’t even turn his head.
The wind tousled his messy black hair. From the palms of those hands, Mu Shan seemed to see countless grains of yellow sand surging out. In the blink of an eye, a roiling sea of sand had formed beneath his feet.
Sirius shone over the Nile River basin, mysterious hieroglyphs guiding people into a mythical land.
【Player He Yuncong (Dream Faller) used skill: Dream Making
(Active) While gaining power, the player’s Assimilation state intensifies
“Everything in the dream becomes reality.”】
Xia Xueqin and Wang Ruizhi were still sprinting desperately ahead, while Li Gang had already nimbly vanished into the jungle.
Inside the valley, the swarm of giant bees continued whipping up gales, but the surrounding sheer cliffs were like picture slides flipped by a giant—images flashed by in an instant. The forest, which had been sunny and scorching moments ago, suddenly turned into a vast, arid desert.
Winds laden with yellow sand spread a sandstorm through the valley, shrouding the sun in a dim yellow haze.
Whether illusion or reality, Mu Shan saw a towering pyramid rise from the ground, standing solemn and majestic amid the desert.
As sunlight bathed the pyramid’s apex, time seemed to flow backward, revealing the splendor of ancient Egypt right before her eyes.
Countless twisted, swaying black silhouettes circled a bonfire in worship and sacrifice. They were like stick figures drawn with a pen, mere simple lines.
…Was this a mirage, or real?
The sandstorm hindered visibility even more than the earlier Smog, but the bee monsters weren’t fools. Perhaps individual giant insects lacked intelligence, but once gathered in a swarm, they instinctively sought advantage and avoided harm.
In a flash, the swarm veered around the obstructing He Yuncong and pursued the others by instinct.
Amid the pervasive sandstorm and the clamor of countless wings, he abruptly sidestepped and grabbed a bee monster that brushed past him.
With his right hand yanking the bee monster’s hind leg, immense force flipped the entire insect onto the ground and pinned it into the sand.
The yellow sand seemed to come alive, splitting into thin streams that dragged the bee monster into a sand pit at blinding speed, swiftly burying and devouring it.
But he couldn’t stop the rest of the giant bees from fleeing.
As the swarm closed in on Mu Shan and the others, in a flash of lightning speed, he swiftly drew a dagger and stabbed it viciously into his own palm.
The blade pierced skin, and crimson blood sprayed out instantly. It gushed onto the sand, where the yellow grains absorbed it.
Drawn by the fresh blood and flesh, the swarm hesitated midair for an instant. In the next blink, they madly wheeled around and withdrew, converging on the man.
He stood alone on the dune, a blade glinting coldly in his hand alongside the dripping blood, his face obscured by the mask.
Gales howled, and the gathered swarm overhead loomed like a sky-darkening thundercloud.
【Dungeon Survival Time: 15 seconds】
【Dungeon Survival Time: 30 seconds】
【45 seconds】
Free from the giant bees’ pursuit, the group finally caught a breather.
Mu Shan kept glancing back, but He Yuncong’s figure had been completely engulfed by the giant bees—no trace of him remained.
Aside from the swarm’s droning wingbeats, no other sounds reached her ears.
“Let’s go. He drew the monsters away for you—don’t waste his effort!”
“Number One won’t die, but if it were us going back, we’d be torn to shreds!”
Wang Ruizhi and Xia Xueqin tugged her from either side. The three fled the valley at top speed, plunging into the jungle.
But ahead lay a downward-sloping incline ending in a well-hidden waterfall pool. They slipped and tumbled down the slope a few times, splashing into the pool one after another—“plop plop”—before the torrent swept them downstream.
Thus, the five-person team scattered completely.
About half an hour later.
On a rock by the shore, the bedraggled Xia Xueqin wrung out her dripping hair and cursed loudly.
“What rotten luck! First chased by fridge-sized bees, now we’re all drowned rats. All I have left is this Chanel outfit!!”
“You can loot the mall for free. I brought two spare sets. Want one?”
“Thanks. I’ll wash it and return it.”
While Mu Shan and the other changed clothes, Wang Ruizhi stood and parted the dense grass with a stick. “Looks like there’s a path over there.”
“How could there be a path in this deep wilderness?”
“It’s real. Come see—this is clearly a dirt trail trampled by people.”
The three heads leaned in. Sure enough, beyond the trees snaked a narrow woodland path, only wide enough for one person. The ground was packed firm, unmistakably trodden.
“It’s overgrown with weeds; this path has been abandoned for a while,” Mu Shan said.
“Since people used it, there must be a destination ahead, but the danger is unknown. Shall we check it out?”
“No idea how Number One’s doing, and we can’t reach Catwoman either. Staying put isn’t an option.” Wang Ruizhi rolled up her sleeves, revealing rock-hard muscles on her arms. She was clearly a woman accustomed to heavy physical labor, with the best physique of the three.
Wang Ruizhi added, “As the saying goes, we’re already here!”
Xia Xueqin cinched her waistband and drew her machete. “Let’s go take a look. I refuse to believe we can get any unluckier!”
Mu Shan said nothing, merely hefting her axe in a battle-ready stance at the path’s edge.
Thus, they mustered their resolve once more and ventured deeper into the unknown forest.
With three people and six eyes, they left no blind spots, constantly shifting positions to scan their surroundings.
Mu Shan didn’t release the zombie worker. Its uncoordinated movements and slowness made it prone to alerting foes in such terrain; zombies worked best as sudden ambush biters.
The wilderness path led straight into the mountain’s heart. The farther they went, the thicker and more ancient the trees on either side grew, their roots entwined. Trunks required a dozen people hand-in-hand to encircle, and the ground was blanketed in thick humus centuries old.
High overhead, birds occasionally flitted by, emitting piercing cries.
“Gah—”
Xia Xueqin gripped her machete, body tense, stepping cautiously one footprint at a time.
“Squelch.” Suddenly, her foot stepped on something again.
Again???
She froze, looking down to see a green, round, bulging patch of moss under her shoe.
Phew, good—it wasn’t anything weird.
“Whew—” Xia Xueqin exhaled, patting her chest. First a branch, then an explosion—she was developing a trauma to stepping on things.
Aunt Wang beside her glanced down and kindly reminded her, “Girl, you just stepped on a corpse.”
Xia Xueqin: …?
She slowly lowered her head and realized the round moss under her heel was oddly shaped. Too perfectly round, and behind it extended a cylindrical section—like… a human fist and arm.
“Hiss!” She leaped back like a spring. “Where the hell did this corpse come from in this haunted place?!”
Mu Shan raised her knife and scanned the surroundings. The silent forest showed no signs of danger—birdsong, frog croaks, fragrant wildflowers.
Yet the “moss” by the roadside, once thought an odd shape, was actually long-dead humans.
They lay in various poses: some supine, some curled up, some kneeling and clawing at rocks.
Mu Shan prodded one with her axe tip. The green moss surface yielded softly; she easily peeled it back to reveal no human tissue inside. The bones remained but had fossilized.
Xia Xueqin peeked from behind her. “Well? Not some master landscaping art, is it?”
Mu Shan shook her head. “All humans who died on the road.”
“And quite a few players among them.”
She pointed to a green figure kneeling prone, clutching its abdomen. “Look.”
A faded system prompt hovered dimly over the green figure’s head, grayed-out and different from theirs—easy to miss.
【Cannon Fodder Player No. 37691 (Deceased)
ID: Kong Xing
Profession: None】
“And this one.”
【Cannon Fodder Player No. 48112 (Deceased)
ID: Shi Lingfan
Profession: Painter】
Wang Ruizhi said, “All five-digit players. Current circulating IDs are mostly six digits—they’ve been dead at least half a year.”
Xia Xueqin looked bewildered. “What kind of main god is this? Won’t even let dead players rest in peace. Will my corpse get gawked at by later players too?”
Mu Shan patted her shoulder. “Think of it as a cyber tombstone.”
“Damn, you’re right…”
“Their deaths look agonizing, like they were parasitized by something.” Wang Ruizhi squatted for a closer look at the green remains. “Organs, skin, muscles, fat—all absorbed clean, not even hair left.”
The three simultaneously thought of one creature: “Purple Bone-Eroding Fungus!”
Mu Shan frowned. “…Getting infected by the spores leads to this kind of death. What a disgusting parasitism.”
Without a gas mask and fire source, it would’ve been certain death.
Wang Ruizhi had a question. She eyed the path leading deeper into the mountain. “The trail’s neat. Did past players trample it? Where were they headed?”
Mu Shan shook her head. “Doesn’t seem likely. Each round has only 12 players—this path would’ve needed thousands to form.”
“But we can be sure we’re nearing the Insect Nest.”
They followed the direction the green corpses faced for about five minutes when Wang Ruizhi suddenly raised her machete. “Who’s there?! Come out!”
With rustling sounds, bushes by the path parted, and two dirt-streaked men stumbled out.
“Help… help!”
Norman Nov had grass in his hair and tattered clothes.
Richard beside him looked no better; both seemed to have rolled on the ground for ages.
Wang Ruizhi asked in surprise, “Position 10 and 11—how are you here? What about the blue team?”
“We got separated… We first ran into a huge swarm of giant aphids, fought them off, then hit a mudslide. Lost the other three in the escape,” Richard said.
Norman Nov pointed to the path’s end. “That’s a Stone Canyon in there. We got forced into a side quest game—sky full of swarming locusts, massive boulders rolling ‘bang bang crash’ everywhere. No dodging; we had to bail on the game.”
Xia Xueqin scratched her head in frustration. “What ‘bang bang crash’? You foreigner, your description sucks. Spell it out—it’s killing me!”
Wang Ruizhi pondered. “But triggering a side quest means the route’s correct. Past this, it has to be the Insect Nest.”
“If you’re heading in to try, I can help. I just used my skill to get Norman Nov out safely,” Richard offered eagerly.
His profession was 【Courier】, with a skill for speed, no doubt.
Wang Ruizhi and Xia Xueqin whispered about entering the Stone Canyon now.
Mu Shan’s expression stayed calm. “I believe there’s danger ahead, and that you did trigger a side quest. But can you tell me why you didn’t head back to the Safe House and instead hid in the bushes?”
She pointed to where they’d emerged. “You clearly didn’t come from the path’s end. You’ve been squatting by the roadside waiting a while, haven’t you.”
At those words, everyone around froze.
Suspicion, shock, wariness, and hostility flickered on their faces.
In the next instant, they all moved at once.
Wang Ruizhi swung her machete high, Norman Nov drew his double-barreled shotgun, Xia Xueqin’s blade clashed with Richard’s and sparked.
“Bang—” The harsh sound of metal clashing rang out.
Mu Shan raised the Peashooter. “Careful, they have guns!”
After a brief clash, the two groups quickly separated. Both sides looked serious and stayed on high alert as three guns aimed at each other.
【Player Richard (Courier) used a skill on you】
Mu Shan saw the system prompt appear before her eyes, and her heart skipped a beat. But on the surface, her expression showed no change.
Richard chuckled. “Girl, my Customer Positioning skill has already locked onto you. No matter where you go, we can find you. Running or hiding is useless.”
Xia Xueqin spat. “Bastards, what do you want? Not playing the tower defense game anymore, huh!”
At that moment, another person emerged from the bushes behind them.
Huang Hongbo held a burning torch in his hand. He looked relaxed, clearly having crouched there for a long time—he had come prepared.
“Losing anyone in the tower defense game doesn’t matter. The system will just drop in newbies anyway. Even if everyone dies, that lunatic Number One could hold it down alone.”
Huang Hongbo grinned and waved dismissively at Wang Dama and the other two. “You two can go, but she has to stay.”