Before leaving Linghu Wetland Park, Chu Guang and Ye Shi made a detour to the lair of mutant leeches near the parking lot.
"That's where we found those mushrooms," Ye Shi said, pointing to a cracked concrete pipe not far ahead.
"Lucky you didn't go inside."
Chu Guang clapped him on the shoulder. "Let's go. That's not our target for today."
It was said that leeches could be medicinal, though no one knew if mutant leeches could serve the same purpose. They cautiously skirted around the nest, avoiding the dense foliage and concrete ruins, sticking to sunlit paths.
They walked eastward for a stretch. Eyeing the towering flyovers and high-rise apartments ahead, Ye Shi couldn't help but ask, "Aren't we going hunting?"
"Yes."
"Then why are we getting farther from the forest?"
"Because the real forest is just ahead."
Chu Guang offered no further explanation. He silently unholstered his pipe rifle, loading it with a quiet intensity. In the near distance loomed a crumbling overpass, where timeworn concrete pillars, covered in moss, hid shadows cast by greenery.
A rat, as big as a basin, licked stagnant water in a gutter. Noticing the uninvited intruders, it darted into the grass. Ye Shi raised his gaze, his pupils dilating with awe.
Behind the overpass lay towering buildings draped in vines and moss. Robust roots had split the cracked earth, sprouting trees in the middle of the road, lifting rusted cars and bus stops alike.
This verdant hell teemed with life yet concealed deadly perils. Every scene appeared as if painted in a post-apocalyptic palette, mesmerizing Ye Shi into forgetting this was just a "game world."
At that moment, he understood the weight of Chu Guang's words: This was the true forest.
"From here on, tread carefully," Chu Guang warned, disengaging his rifle's safety, advancing with measured steps.
Though this was merely the distant northern suburbs of Spring City, far from the core, vigilance was paramount. Tall residential buildings, sewers, rooftop gardens, parking lots, drone hives, CNC planting towers, maglev stations, every shadowed window—each of these abandoned marvels of human ingenuity had become a natural hothouse and nursery after civilization abandoned them.
Following the nuclear winter, this land endured a harsh freeze, yet it lasted less than half a century before nature reclaimed it all.
High-rises were the first to fall; moss crept along the shaded sides, eventually swallowing them whole. And the lower buildings were not spared either. Just a few torrential rains and one sweltering summer were enough to transform this place into a paradise for fungi and angiosperms, providing abundant food for wildlife. As the city's drainage systems collapsed, fresh water here grew more plentiful than even at nearby Linghu Lake.
Wildlife and untamed poultry migrated from forests, lakesides, and farms to the more comfortable urban environment, evolving over time, influenced by radiation, genetic weaponry, and sheer time into fierce, bloodthirsty mutants—referred to as "variants."
Yet these were hardly the only dangers here.
As they carefully moved along 76th Street, a tense silence enveloped them. Just as Ye Shi wondered where the variants had gone, Chu Guang's voice cut through.
"Something's up."
Chu Guang halted in front of a wrecked car. Ye Shi immediately stopped as well, scanning the surroundings anxiously, seeing nothing.
"What is it?"
Chu Guang's face was grave. "There are signs of other survivors."
"Other survivors?!" Ye Shi's voice was laced with excitement despite his attempt to keep it low. "Are they the original inhabitants of the Wasteland?"
Finally, he might encounter other NPCs! He had been waiting for this moment!
Chu Guang glanced at him knowingly. "No need to be thrilled. This isn't a pleasant discovery."
"Why?"
"Because here, strangers are often more dangerous than the mutants."
Without further explanation, Chu Guang crouched, finding a string of tin cans fastened to a wrecked tire. The aluminum can was blasted open, emitting a faint, sulfurous stench.
"Excess sulfur powder, combined with tacks and metal shards..."
Chu Guang frowned.
Mutants? Or raiders? Ordinary survivors wouldn't set trip mines near their settlements. These traps were unlikely to harm sharp-scented mutants; they were designed for people.
Judging by the lingering odor, the explosion was recent—no more than five hours, perhaps less.
Chu Guang asked, "When you came out of the underground, did you hear any explosions to the east?"
Ye Shi shook his head nervously. "No."
"Stay here," Chu Guang ordered.
"What are you going to do?" Ye Shi asked, alarmed.
"I'm going to scout ahead."
"I can go with you—"
"You, stay here."
Ye Shi had wanted to insist, but one look from Chu Guang silenced him. Reluctantly, he nodded. The pressure of authority in his gaze assured Ye Shi that this man was not joking. It wouldn't be a surprise if Chu Guang logged him out on the spot.
Chu Guang ordered him to hide by the derelict car. Tucking away his rifle, he drew his sharpened steel pipe, crouching low as he slipped into a nearby building.
Initially, he had planned to use this player as bait, but the situation had changed. This was no ordinary group of survivors but likely raiders or a mutant tribe, making bait a pointless risk.
Chu Guang's expression hardened, clutching his steel pipe tightly. They were merely a kilometer from Linghu Wetland Park, far too close to Shelter 404.
With the players now focused on production, creating smoke and noise, even if partially muffled by plants and concrete barriers, sooner or later it would attract attention.
Such dangers were an ever-present threat, a risk he couldn't ignore. If he determined they posed a threat, he'd strike first without hesitation.
The ten-story building's narrow stairwell was overgrown with moss. Fortunately, there were no particularly dangerous variants here.
Around the fifth floor, a few plump mutated rats flashed their fangs at Chu Guang, emboldened by their numbers. Had he shown his back, they would have pounced immediately. But this intruder didn't flinch, causing them to hesitate, testing the waters with high-pitched hisses.
Chu Guang, unfazed, lunged forward, impaling one mutant rat with a swift jab of his pipe. The others scattered into the shadows.
"Not a rat nest. There must be ten, maybe twenty at most…"
Any more, and these creatures would have been formidable foes, especially for someone armed with only a makeshift rifle.
Relieved, Chu Guang shook off the bloodied rodent, discarding it and its stain.
He was right at the top. The idea of mutants had crossed his mind, but he now understood they were more than just NPCs in the game; they were adversaries, even cannibals.
He memorized the details to share with the other players later.
"It's no use provoking those brutes prematurely. We'll need ample preparation to wipe them out once and for all."
Chu Guang muttered under his breath, "Damn it... The mutants' camp is right on 76th Street, directly across from the park's east entrance."
"Whatever the case, we must stay vigilant!"
…
They had to revise their original hunting route.
Leading Ye Shi past 76th Street, Chu Guang directed them along a bypass, heading northward along the exit flyover bridge. About a mile up, they found an abandoned construction site.
It was expansive, likely the site of a residential development paused in its early stages. One building stood roughly seventeen stories high, while several deep pits marked foundation work.
Most of the construction machinery had rusted beyond repair; a toppled crane lay against the unfinished building, creating a steep incline.
Surprisingly, the building held up well. Despite the crane's impact, it had only left a dent, barely affecting the main structure.
Steel beams had rusted, and bags of cement had weathered beyond use, yet a treasure trove of gray-blue limestone remained.
Chu Guang recognized it at once: limestone, likely calcium carbonate, perfect for cement production.
"What a find!"
He marked the location on his map. With this limestone supply, they'd have enough cement to build multiple structures.
Once Old Bai unlocked the method for firing calcium carbonate into cement, they'd be set for a long time.