The two drifted along the river. About an hour later, they finally made it back aboveground. They were now more than fifty kilometers from the area covered by poisonous insects. Looking back from the mountaintop, they saw that the forest had gone up in flames, and the unbroken columns of black smoke nearly filled their entire field of vision.
"Pestilence outbreaks usually end in fires," Ding Xiang said. "We're getting farther and farther from Little Bear City."
The underground river had no fixed course, and they had left the area covered by the map Xu Huo had obtained earlier.
"There should be more than one city in the Bear Hug Zone, right?" Xu Huo asked.
"But Little Bear City is definitely the closest one," Ding Xiang said. "None of the Players we ran into earlier mentioned any other places to stay."
Xu Huo nodded. They had no choice but to head back.
Along the way, they picked up a teleportation device. It didn't send them very far, but it made traveling much easier. However, just as they crossed a river valley, a sudden barrier cut off the teleportation route. The two had only just retreated to the riverbank when more than a dozen Players surrounded them.
"Well, well. A couple, too!" A gloomy man gave a whistle.
Ding Xiang hadn't fully recovered from her injuries and still showed signs of poisoning. Since she had made it this far without being killed, the others naturally assumed the two were close.
"That'll make this more fun," another female Player said with a grin. She pointed at Ding Xiang first. "Hang her up."
Then she pointed at Xu Huo. "Let's see if this man is willing to die for his woman."
"What kind of joke is that?" the gloomy man said. "People aren't