Before leaving Linghu Wetland Park, Chu Guang first took Night Ten to the mutated leech nest near the parking lot.
"Those mushrooms, we found them in there," Night Ten pointed to the damaged concrete pipe not far ahead.
"Good thing you didn't go in."
Chu Guang patted Night Ten on the shoulder.
"Let's go."
"Our target isn't that today."
It was said that leeches could be used in medicine, but whether mutated leeches could be used was unknown.
The two carefully circumvented the mutated leech nest, avoiding the lush vegetation and concrete ruins, trying to stay in the sunlight as much as possible.
They walked toward the east for a while.
Looking at the viaducts and residential buildings ahead, Night Ten, following by Chu Guang's side, couldn't help but ask.
"Aren't we going hunting?"
"Yes."
"Then why are we getting further and further away from the forest?"
"The forest is up ahead."
"?"
Chu Guang didn't explain further and silently took the iron pipe rifle off his back, chambered a bullet, and his aura also changed.
Not far away was a broken viaduct.
On the moss-covered concrete load-bearing columns, the marks of the years were hidden by the shadows of the greenery.
Rats, as big as washbasins, licked the muddy water in the gutter pits, and when they discovered the two intruding unwelcome guests, they quickly darted into the bushes on one side.
Night Ten's pupils dilated slightly, and a shade of shock painted his eyes.
Behind that broken viaduct lay high-rise buildings covered in vines and moss. Thick roots burst through the cracked concrete earth, tree trunks emerged in the middle of the road, lifting up cars and bus stops that had long turned to scraps of metal.
In this green hell where life was bursting forth, lethal dangers were also hidden.
The world in his eyes was so shockingly impressive that each frame seemed like an apocalyptic-style work of art, leading Night Ten to even forget that this was the "Game world."
And at this moment, he finally understood the meaning of Chu Guang's words.
This was the real forest...
"From here on, we need to be careful."
Chu Guang said while disabling the rifle's safety, cautiously stepping forward to explore.
Although this was only considered the far suburbs of the north part of Qingquan City, far from the core urban area, vigilance could not be relaxed.
High-rise residencies, sewers, vertical gardens, parking lots, drone hives, CNC planting towers, maglev stations, and behind every window...
All of these man-made wonders, after being abandoned by civilization, became natural greenhouses and nurseries.
After the nuclear war, there indeed was a long winter on this land, but it lasted less than half a century.
The power of nature reversed everything.
The high-rise buildings were the first to succumb, with moss starting from the shaded sides, creeping up, eventually enveloping them entirely.
And those non-high-rise buildings were no exception.
During the years of human decline, just a few torrential rains and a sweltering summer were all it took to turn this place into a paradise for fungi and angiosperms to grow wildly.
They provided plenty of food for wild animals.
And after the urban drainage system collapsed, the freshwater resources in the city were even more abundant than Rhombus Lake next door.
Wild animals and feral poultry began migrating from forests, lakesides, and farms to cities with more comfortable living conditions, and under the triple effects of radioactive materials, genetic weapons, and time, evolved into ferocious, bloodthirsty mutants.
They were collectively known as Variants!
Of course...
The dangers here were far from just these.
They cautiously moved along Street No.76 for a while, and the surroundings were eerily quiet. Just when Night Ten was wondering where the Variants had gone, Chu Guang's voice came from beside him.
```
"There's a situation."
Chu Guang suddenly stopped in front of an abandoned car.
Night Ten immediately snapped back to reality and also stopped in his tracks, looking around nervously, but he didn't see anything.
"What happened?"
Chu Guang's expression was grave.
"There are traces of survivor activity."
"Other survivors?!" Night Ten was taken aback, and, mimicking Chu Guang, he lowered his voice, but couldn't hide the excitement in his tone, "You mean the indigenous people of the wasteland?"
Finally, he was going to meet other NPCs!
He had been waiting for this moment for so long!
Chu Guang glanced at him, knowing what he was thinking.
"There's no need for such excitement; this isn't something to be happy about."
"Why?"
"Because in places like this, strangers are more dangerous than variants."
Without further explanation, Chu Guang crouched down and found a string of cans tied with wire behind the wheel of the scrapped vehicle.
The aluminum of the cans burst outward, looking as if something had exploded inside, and there was still a faint smell of rotten eggs.
"Sulphur overload in the gunpowder, along with tacks and shrapnel..."
Chu Guang's brows furrowed.
Mutants?
Or looters?
Ordinary survivors wouldn't set tripwire mines near their settlements.
Such devices were unlikely to harm the keen-smelling variants, which meant they were intended for humans.
Judging by the lingering scent, the explosion must have occurred not long ago, at most five hours or even less.
Chu Guang turned to ask.
"Did you hear any explosions from the east when you came up from the underground?"
Night Ten shook his head nervously.
"No."
"Wait here for me."
As he watched Chu Guang put down the can and stand up, Night Ten asked anxiously.
"What are you going to do?"
"Scout the situation ahead."
"I can come with you—"
"You, stay here."
Night Ten wanted to insist, but the look in Chu Guang's eyes made the words catch in his throat, and he ended up nodding slowly.
The pressure from his superior authority made him realize that this man was not kidding; he might really get kicked off the server...
After instructing Night Ten to hide beside the derelict car,
Chu Guang put his gun away and pulled a sharpened steel pipe from his back, then crouched and quickly slipped into a building on the side of the street.
Although he had intended to use the player as bait when they first got out, the situation was now different.
The other survivors could potentially be looters or part of a mutant tribe; using bait had become pointless and might even spook the enemy.
Chu Guang's expression was serious, his steel pipe gripped tightly in hand.
The straight-line distance here from Linghu Wetland Park was at most 1 kilometer, too close to Shelter No. 404!
Especially now that players were ramping up production, the smoke and noise, even if partially blocked by plants and concrete barriers, would eventually be discovered by the people here.
Leaving these dangers unchecked was always a risk.
Chu Guang was prepared to kill.
```
Once he judged that the other party could pose a threat, he wouldn't hesitate to strike first.
The ten-story street-side building had very narrow safety passages, and the cramped space was covered in moss.
But fortunately, there were no particularly dangerous Variants here.
Around the fifth floor, however, there were a few fat Mutated rats, perhaps feeling that their numbers gave them strength, they bared their teeth and hissed at Chu Guang, oblivious to their fate.
If he had turned his back and run, they would certainly have swarmed him by now, but this uninvited guest wasn't afraid at all, which kept the naturally timid creatures from recklessly attacking and daring only to feign lunges with high-pitched squeals and bared teeth.
He had long since grown accustomed to such sights.
Chu Guang didn't say another word, just pushed forward with a piece of pipe, stabbing at the closest Mutated rat and skewering it instantly.
Seeing how vicious he was, the rest of the rats scattered like birds and beasts, darting into the building entrance and disappearing into the shadows.
"It doesn't look like a rat's nest."
"There should only be about ten or twenty..."
Any more than that, and they wouldn't be easy to deal with.
Groups of Mutated rats could be troublesome even for fully armed Mercenaries, not to mention himself with only a pipe rifle.
Chu Guang breathed a sigh of relief, shook the sharp-ended steel pipe, flinging off the dead fat rat and the bloodstains together.
He proceeded straight to the top of the ten-story building.
Using the pipe in his hand as a crowbar, he pried open the rusted door panel and entered the rooftop terrace.
The wind was strong atop the terrace.
He walked up to the rusted water tank, looked eastward towards the housing complex, and saw just as he had guessed.
In the midst of that concrete construction's Open Space stood a palisade made of wood, with tattered cloths and building debris blocking the outside view.
Survivor Bases in the Wasteland were roughly divided into two types, one being those who still lived in houses that hadn't collapsed before the war, and the other building anew from the ruins or clearing.
Scavengers living in the urban area usually stayed in buildings and rarely built such primitive dwellings and defensive structures.
Only the Mutants—an average height of two meters and over 300 pounds in weight—would construct such wooden shacks even when there were already existing houses available for use.
At the entrance of the encampment, wooden stakes were sharpened to points like the canine teeth of wild beasts, with several mutilated corpses haphazardly hanging from them, and dried bloodstains on the ground.
They ate everything.
Not just fungi, fruits of plants, but even the flesh of Mutated flies, rats, and cockroaches.
Of course, what they loved to eat the most was their once brethren—
The two-legged humans.
His gaze swept along the street sides, and indeed, Chu Guang saw a Mutant Sentinel carrying a Metal Longbow on the rooftop of the street-side shop at the end of Street No.76.
Their green, oily skin was eerily reminiscent of orcs from fantasy movies, and in fact, they were just as strong, barbaric, crude, and bloodthirsty as orcs.
Their two-meter stature and bulging muscles were wrapped in Armor cobbled together from metallic junk, and the billboard they used as a Breastplate even had visible words "Second half-price."
The two outward-curving steel bars mounted on their shoulders were directly taken from bicycle handlebars—these were extremely effective in dealing with slashing and blunt force trauma, capable of catching saws or Axes.
It could be said to be quite cyberpunk.
If Chu Guang and Night Ten had continued walking forward just now, they would have been ambushed by the Mutant Sentinel at the street corner at best!
A shiver ran down his spine.
Chu Guang's Adam's apple shifted slightly as he moved his gaze, continuing to observe the Mutant encampment in the eastern district.
Due to many obstructions, he couldn't see how many people were inside; he could only estimate, based on the encampment's size and his experience, that there were probably twenty to thirty Mutants.
"A small Mutant settlement..."
Chu Guang's expression gradually grew grim.
These fellows were trouble!
Almost at the same time, a pale blue System popup appeared in his field of vision.
[Quest: Exterminate the Mutant tribe at Street No.76
Type: Side quest
Reward: 200 reward points
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]
Wait—
Could tasks be triggered outside the shelter?!
Chu Guang first paused in surprise, then immediately tried to call out to the System, but there was no response.
The pale blue task popup faded away as if it had never appeared.
It seemed that the System could only be accessed near the shelter, but tasks could be triggered anywhere outside the shelter?
However...
Those 200 reward points were quite impressive.
Without hesitation,
Chu Guang immediately put away his weapons, turned around, and descended the stairs, swiftly leaving the area with a bewildered Night Ten in tow.
That was 200 reward points!
A side quest that summoned a hundred players only offered 100 points, yet this task awarded 200, which clearly indicated it was no easy feat to accomplish.
There could very well be a huge pitfall hidden within!
Chu Guang wasn't foolish.
He certainly wasn't going to fall for such an obvious trap.
"Manager, sir, what exactly did you see?" Night Ten, gasping for breath and resting with hands on his knees after Chu Guang finally stopped, couldn't help but ask.
Chu Guang casually replied while standing and resting.
"It's a Mutant tribe's camp."
"So we're just... leaving like this?"
"What else do you suggest, fighting them? Losing and getting thrown into a vat of boiling oil?" Chu Guang glanced at him, "Use your head. We only have one gun."
And only one person who could shoot.
Night Ten closed his mouth and said no more.
He had initially thought the Mutants were simply NPCs in the Game, but now, having heard the Manager's comment, could it be that the Mutants were a hostile force?
And they even practiced cannibalism...
Secretly taking note of this intelligence, Night Ten planned to share it with the other players once they returned.
"Now isn't the time to stir up those beasts; we need more thorough preparation, a concentrated effort to wipe them out once and for all."
Chu Guang, walking further away, cursed under his breath.
"It's really damned bad luck… The Mutant tribe's camp is right across from the east gate of the park on Street No.76."
"Either way, we need to be cautious!"
...
The originally planned hunting route had to be altered!
Chu Guang led Night Ten around Street No.76 and walked about a mile north along the elevated expressway, where they came across an abandoned construction site.
The construction site was quite large, likely for a housing complex that had just started. One of the buildings was constructed up to the seventeenth or eighteenth floor, while in several other pits, the foundations were still being dug.
Most of the construction equipment was already scrapped, and the tower crane had even fallen onto the unfinished building, creating a ramp.
The quality of the building seemed decent.
Even the tower crane had been toppled by the blast wave of a nuclear explosion, yet the concrete structure had only suffered a gap and hadn't damaged the main framework.
The steel materials stacked on the site had rusted away, and the bags of cement had hydrated and deteriorated, rendering them unusable.
To his surprise, however, Chu Guang found a large quantity of unused blue-gray stones!
He recognized them at a glance. They were limestone, primarily composed of calcium carbonate if his memory served him right, perfect as a raw material for cement manufacturing.
"Great stuff!"
Chu Guang thought to himself with satisfaction, pulling out a map to make a note.
If all this limestone were turned into cement, it would be enough to build two buildings.
As long as Old White unlocked the technology to manufacture silicate cement, they wouldn't have to worry about raw materials for a very long time!
```