Chapter 156 - 154: Three Mushrooms

Chapter 156: Chapter 154: Three Mushrooms

"We cannot," Admiral Yan replied grimly. "The area inside the perimeter fence is full of pollution. My soldiers must wear protective suits to enter, and the number of suits is extremely limited. They are currently all allocated to the patrols and scouts outside the fence, as well as the staff in the medical zone. Therefore, I cannot arrange for personnel to guide you inside. You’re entirely on your own! You can also consider this a form of trial and a challenge!"

He paused for a moment before continuing, "I personally recommend you split into three groups and enter the three different zones—A, B, and C. This will both spread out the risk and be more efficient."

Another Hunter asked, "Admiral, is the Maze polluting the real world because the Maze Administrator is dead? If we find the Administrators of other Mazes, can we prevent this pollution from happening?"

Yan Lingfeng replied, "As far as I know, research on Maze Administrators has only just begun. Until we have conclusive findings, I will not respond to questions of this nature."

Yan Lingfeng scanned the room and asked, "Any other questions?"

No one spoke.

The Admiral immediately had supplies distributed.

Everyone present received a set of cold-weather gear and a sturdy, tightly sealed metal case.

The cold-weather gear was naturally for dealing with the extreme weather inside the Maze. The case contained firearms, ammunition, signal flares, gauze, antiseptics, and other items, similar to the supply pack Pei Xianjue had brought the last time they entered a Maze.

In addition, everyone also received a miniature camera that could be fastened to their collar like a button.

Admiral Yan said, "These are the latest model of camera. They have a built-in microphone, and the video recorded will be automatically saved to your phones. After you exit the Maze, the system will award you Contribution Points based on the number of Pollution Bodies killed in the video. If necessary, you can also use it to record your last words."

Feng Ling was speechless.

’This feeling is all too familiar.’

Admiral Yan added, "If anyone has second thoughts, you can leave at any time. I won’t stop you."

None of the Hunters in the classroom moved.

If they were afraid, they wouldn’t have signed up for the operation in the first place. Having come all this way, they couldn’t just leave without doing anything.

Yan Lingfeng took a long look at the young people before him and said in a solemn voice, "Heroes, I wish you great success and a safe return!"

「Meeting dismissed.」

Yan Lingfeng departed with his men.

Back in the classroom, the Hunters were fired up, and they immediately began discussing how to form groups.

Some suggested they should form groups based on the Hunter rankings, pairing higher-ranked members with lower-ranked ones to ensure each group’s overall strength was roughly equal.

Others argued that rankings didn’t equate to strength. Some people were very powerful despite their low rank, simply because there were few Alien Species in their home cities, so they hadn’t earned many Contribution Points.

Quite a few people had their eyes on Feng Ling, wanting to ride the coattails of the number-one Hunter. Wherever Feng Ling went, they planned to follow.

Feng Ling found Su Yuqing in the crowd, walked over, and asked, "Which zone should we go to?"

"Let’s go to Zone A first. Is that okay?" Su Yuqing said.

His purpose in coming here was to find someone; he planned to search all three zones, A, B, and C.

"Alright, Zone A it is," Feng Ling nodded.

She didn’t care which zone they went to. Clearing out Pollution Bodies was just a secondary task for her anyway. What she was interested in was the Squirrel and the eyes of the Alien Species.

"Let’s go." Holding her gear in one hand and the supply case in the other, Feng Ling was the first to leave the classroom.

Seeing this, the other Hunters also began to depart.

The large group of over eighty people filed out of the abandoned elementary school, heading toward the perimeter fence.

The temperature was currently around 20 degrees Celsius. As they approached the Maze, it dropped steadily, and they could clearly see the scenery ahead ripple with a sense of spatial distortion.

Within that distorted space, heavy snow swirled.

Suddenly, someone swore, "Holy shit."

Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked over.

The person explained sheepishly, "It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I just saw a dead Rabbit and it startled me."

He picked up the dead Rabbit from the ground—

The Rabbit’s eyes and mouth were filled with an ice-crystal-like substance. Its body was shriveled, and it had likely starved to death, unable to eat because of the crystals.

A Hunter sighed softly, "All the animals in this forest are probably done for. I remember there are a lot of endangered species here. They might go extinct because of this."

Another Hunter chimed in, "Forget the animals. If we can’t stop this pollution, humanity will go extinct sooner or later too. Didn’t you see those patients in town? There’s no cure for them. They’re just waiting to die."

The group continued onward.

The number of animal carcasses gradually increased, and Pollution Bodies began to appear as well. Some were unusually large Rabbits; others were foxes, lynxes, and wild boars. For some Pollution Bodies, their forms were so twisted it was impossible to tell what species they had mutated from.

The Hunters had strength in numbers; Pollution Bodies were killed almost the instant they appeared, and many people never even got a chance to make a move.

Gradually, the group began to split up.

Some people, realizing they likely wouldn’t earn any Contribution Points if they stayed with the main group, broke off on their own and headed for Zone B and Zone C.

Before long, Feng Ling’s group had dwindled to just over thirty people.

The heavy snow was right in front of them.

They were about to enter the Maze.

The Pollution Bodies inside the Maze would only be more terrifying and dangerous than the ones outside.

Feng Ling felt the chill and put on the thick cold-weather coat, then adjusted the position of her miniature camera.

She suddenly recalled Pei Xianjue recommending she wear a backless outfit.

Feng Ling gave a silent, wry grin. She almost wanted to laugh.

’In weather like this, how am I supposed to go backless? Ha, how indeed?’

’I should try not to fight if I can help it. Otherwise, my back will be riddled with holes, which would ruin the insulation.’

Amused by her own dry humor, Feng Ling lifted her foot and stepped into the strange, rippling dimension.

Huangfu Miaomiao and Li Qing followed right after her.

Su Yuqing immediately followed suit.

Xu Yiming faltered for a moment, thinking, ’Don’t you guys need to mentally prepare yourselves? What? You’re just going in like that?’

The two friends beside him asked, "Are we going in?"

"In!" Xu Yiming gritted his teeth, bundled up in his cold-weather gear, and plunged forward without another thought.

Seeing this, the Hunters behind them followed one after another.

Before long, all the Hunters were inside the Maze—

The place seemed to be the same world as before—the forest and grassland were familiar—yet it also felt like another world entirely. Unnatural Ice Cones jutted up from the ground, and the snowflakes that landed on their skin made them shiver from the cold.

The howls of wolves echoed through the blizzard, intensifying the chill.

They soon met their first opponents: a pack of wolves with long, Ice Cone-like horns.

Wolves are natural strategists. The pack began to encircle the Hunters, closing in from all sides. The Hunters didn’t just wait to be slaughtered, however; they each brought their skills to bear and fought back.

The Cat Spider and Cat Owl also joined the battle.

Even Su Yuqing, who had no combat abilities, took out his gun and looked for an opportunity to fire.

Only three people stood perfectly still.

Feng Ling, Huangfu Miaomiao, and Li Qing.

Xu Yiming fought off a vicious wolf that pounced on him. Panting, he glanced over at Feng Ling’s group. Amidst the chaos of the charge, the three of them were as still and silent as mushrooms.

He was baffled. ’What’s going on with them?’