The enormous black-haired monster had four massive goat hooves. Its upper body was covered in black, tentacle-like growths, each tipped with a muddy green eyeball. As the tentacles whipped about, they swept every tree in their path aside.
The moment Hu Wenxu saw it, he spun around and ran, cursing as he went. "Is this game dungeon trying to get us killed? How can a monster of this level be here? Strange Light, run! It's a higher species. One touch and you're dead..."
Hu Wenxu was kind enough to warn Lu Li. Xu Haoran and Gao Xiaowen reacted at once and ran too, but the monster was far too fast. It swung a tentacle and knocked the trees in front of it flying. One of them grazed Gao Xiaowen, who was lagging behind. Though it only clipped her, the tremendous force sent her hurtling sideways. She crashed to the ground, her left arm broken.
When she gritted her teeth and tried to stand, the monster was already beside her. Its goat hooves strode past, and beneath its body, supported by four goat legs, was a gigantic eye. It blinked and stared at Gao Xiaowen for a second. A thin stream of slime slid from its eyelid and dripped beside her head. The black-haired beast moved on, leaving Gao Xiaowen sprawled on the ground, clutching her broken arm in terror.
With the monster distracted by Gao Xiaowen, Xu Haoran ran as fast as he could. Lu Li had already released the muscles in his legs and taken off when Hu Wenxu ran. He even had time to glance back. Hu Wenxu had slowed down ahead of him, and the two soon realized the monster was headed straight for the shore, not pursuing them specifically. They immediately ducked aside and watched carefully.
"Something's not right. That isn't one of those monsters, just something similar. It must be a replica!" Hu Wenxu analyzed it piece by piece, sounding somewhat relieved. "I've seen some information about this kind of monster before. I almost thought it was one of the higher species. If it really had been the real thing, we'd have been driven mad for a while before getting crushed to death."
When Xu Haoran spotted Lu Li and Hu Wenxu hiding nearby, he immediately understood what was going on. He changed course, veered off to the side, and hid behind a tree to watch.
The monster charged straight toward the shore, smashing through everything in its path. The three regrouped and stared at the trail it had plowed through the forest. Xu Haoran was still shaken as he said, "Good thing it wasn't after us. We couldn't handle something like that with just our strength and speed."
"Right. Even if it's not the real thing, its size and appearance are almost identical. We're nowhere near strong enough to fight it." Hu Wenxu nodded, then looked at Xu Haoran with a burning curiosity. "Did your Reconnaissance skill pick up any information about that monster?"
"No. The gap between our levels is too great. I couldn't read any of its stats. Also, shouldn't we go check on Gao Xiaowen? She's been lying there for a while." Xu Haoran gave a wry smile and pointed toward Gao Xiaowen, who was still motionless on the ground.
"Fine. She's our teammate, so we may as well see if she's dead..." When Hu Wenxu learned he couldn't get any information about the monster, he instantly lost interest. Lu Li, meanwhile, watched the direction it had gone with keen interest.
Hu Wenxu had warned them earlier that the sea was extremely dangerous, and that monster had headed straight for the shore. There was also the bone dust piled along the beach. There was a lot more to this place than met the eye. If Lu Li was right, all of this had been caused by the so-called Witch. That also gave him an idea of her strength. No wonder the game had warned them they had no chance of defeating the Witch and could only complete her task obediently to earn the chance to mutate.
"Come over here. Gao Xiaowen's fine. She may have been frightened or suffered some kind of mental contamination. She should be all right after resting for a while. She's not on the Inner Demon Path, but people on the Implant Path have pretty high resistance to mental contamination." Xu Haoran checked Gao Xiaowen, who was sprawled on the ground unconscious. He pried open her eyelids, saw that her pupils were unfocused and cloudy, and came to his conclusion.
"Let's take her with us. She's still a fighter, so we shouldn't abandon her. Rookie, she's your responsibility." Xu Haoran stood up. Players who had survived a few game dungeons had seen death often enough. In nearly every dungeon, some players died, more or less. One day, they might be the ones left behind forever. Maybe that was why most players feared death but still dared to risk their lives without hesitation. Those who didn't take risks had long since been buried beneath six feet of grass.
"Sure. Glad to help." Lu Li glanced at the woman on the ground and scooped her up in a bridal carry. But the moment he touched her, his expression changed. As he felt Gao Xiaowen's left hand, he found that every bone in her arm had vanished. In their place was something writhing. This was more than mental contamination. Xu Haoran had gotten it wrong.
As Lu Li wondered what to do, Gao Xiaowen half-opened her eyes and shook her head at him. The five fingers of her right hand, resting on his shoulder, rose into points. Her sharp nails pressed against his back. Then Gao Xiaowen "fainted" again.
How interesting... Lu Li smiled. Gao Xiaowen's left hand had mutated, and for some reason she wanted to keep it from everyone. Lu Li looked up and saw Hu Wenxu wearing a faintly amused expression. Then he glanced at what appeared to be a jewel half-buried in the ground nearby and understood: Hu Wenxu had probably already seen through Gao Xiaowen's act, but had chosen to keep quiet.
Watching Xu Haoran lead the way, Lu Li wasn't sure whether to sneer. Of everyone there, the one with a Reconnaissance skill knew the least. This kind of game atmosphere was certainly interesting. Everyone was setting traps, and everyone was trying not to fall into one.
Judging by the situation, aside from Lu Li, Hu Wenxu—the seemingly research-obsessed madman—had the greatest advantage in information. From what he had let slip, Hu Wenxu also had the best physical abilities and the most skills, making him the strongest of them all. Next came Gao Xiaowen, the "weak woman," who had already laid a trap. The team's ostensible leader had walked right into it. Xu Haoran, who seemed fairly strong and was even hoping to trigger a side quest, might be the one who got played the worst in this dungeon.
As for Lu Li, his abilities seemed the weakest of the four, but at least he knew quite a bit and had kept most of his strength hidden. In this dangerous game dungeon, that gave him a considerable advantage. It was only an advantage, though. Until the end, no one knew who would come out on top. They might all die, for all he knew...
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