The dark, damp sewers were filled with the mixed stench of various gases.
Methane from microbial fermentation, the rotten egg smell of sulfur compounds, low oxygen content—normal people would find it difficult to breathe in such conditions, and staying here too long could result in toxic suffocation.
But for those with artificial lungs, such as cyborgs, it was still within their tolerance level, though the smell was unbearable.
For players equipped with artificial lungs, it was all minor issues.
The Wildman squad had been exploring for over six hours; they had split up with the other two squads at a fork in the road long ago and hadn’t seen any lights since. Without comparing their map, they would have no idea where they were or how to get back.
The spotlight above their heads pierced the darkness like a sword, constantly scanning the pitch-black walls around them, while their calves were submerged directly in the swamp-like black water.
Even without feeling any pain, Brother Ni could sense the soft and mushy texture under his feet, occasionally bumping into something hard.
Only the sound of their calves breaking the water’s surface and the high-speed rotation of drone blades could be heard, creating an eerily quiet environment.
Damn it, luckily this is just a game; if someone forced him to jump into a cesspool in real life, he’d fight them to the death.
Yet, here he was, voluntarily going down.
Wildman asked, "How many exploration points have you all gathered?"
The Big Guy glanced at the panel.
"73 points, what kind of calculation method is this? It increases by one point every so often."
Brother Ni: "Same here. I think it’s calculated based on the exploration distance and the scanning area of the drone. It seemed to increase faster when passing through the main pipeline."
The Big Guy: "Really? It all feels the same to me."
Potato: "We’re all in the same squad; it has to be the same. But I wonder what we can draw from the prize pool. If I can pull an orange item, it would be worth dying for!"
The Big Guy: "Alright, with that attitude, you’ll definitely get nothing. Do you really think your jinxing skill is fake?"
Brother Ni: "Keep it down, will you? What if the wild monsters hear us?"
Interrupted, Potato rolled his eyes: "Come on, we’re in the sewer, how could there possibly be wild monsters? Besides, didn’t we come here to hunt them?"
"With our strength, those small monsters would be a piece of cake, right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Wildman at the front suddenly stopped.
In the pitch-black tunnel, any glimmer of light was extremely noticeable.
Whether that light was red or blue.
In the distance, the darkness suddenly lit up with two faint blue lights. Initially, Wildman thought he was seeing things and prepared to adjust the spotlight to take a closer look.
The two faint blue lights suddenly intensified and began moving rapidly, leaving two rows of blue afterimages like phantoms in the darkness, accompanied by the urgent sound of footsteps splashing on the water surface!
The other three quickly noticed the anomaly, immediately drawing their weapons and preparing for battle.
But this thing seemed deliberately to avoid the light, with the height of the two blue lights changing rapidly, making the players even think it might be flying.
It wasn’t until the distance closed rapidly that they realized this creature was actually climbing on the walls!
Its limbs were outrageously modified, with two calves transformed into sharp blades embedding in the hard concrete, moving effortlessly, each step making a pit, while its hands morphed into praying mantis-like blades to aid the climb.
The newcomer’s head showed no facial features or hair, just mechanical constructs and a pair of glowing blue prosthetic eyes!
The Wildman squad didn’t know, but it was undoubtedly coming for them.
"Damn, it’s a monster! Watch out!"
The four immediately opened fire, bullets sparking against the walls, sending debris flying, yet not a single bullet hit the creature.
The roaring gunfire was especially ear-piercing in the dark, silent sewers.
But its movement pattern was bizarre and swift, with limb joints capable of bending at all sorts of angles, rendering the players’ Level 6 basic shooting useless to aim at it.
Wildman quickly realized this, gritting his teeth and shouting, "Damn it, let it get close, then shoot!"
A new guest arrived at the Stone Ridge Mountain Office.
The guest wore a suit and tie, the kind of suit that shouted it cost at least a couple hundred thousand, exuding an air of composure and elegance, moving with the precision of someone who grew up studying etiquette, much like a Western aristocrat straight out of a film.
But Lin Miao wanted to punch him.
It was certain that Lin Miao had never seen this person before, and the guest behaved very politely, even waiting on the lobby sofa for a long time until Lin Miao consented before W let him in.
However, from the first glance at their meeting, Lin Miao found himself utterly loathing this guy, itching to bash his brain in and disassemble each one of his prosthetics.
Not due to appearance, clothing, behavior, speech, or any such external factors.
It was more akin to the inherent aversion to bugs ingrained in human genes.
Still, Lin Miao tried his best to keep these feelings controlled within, not showing them.
"Sir, you’re not here at Stone Ridge Mountain to order an exoskeleton, are you?"
The man said nothing, carefully watching Lin Miao, yet for some reason, his gaze felt hollow like that of a puppet. Were it not for the high-quality clothes, Lin Miao might have mistaken him for a sex doll.