Yi Mao's curiosity diminished considerably.

After that, the group passed through the Swamp Area without any major mishaps. Along the way, besides killing many mutated crocodiles, they also encountered other cleanup teams. However, both sides had sizable numbers, so they simply distanced themselves from each other without interference.

As for Jin Dong, his heat signature image under the glasses was quite inconvenient to look at. Therefore, Xu Huo gave him another set of Protective Suit obtained from the vessel—it came from the black wristband player he had killed, and its quality was far superior to the ones he had purchased himself.

Many players had died in the Seventeenth Hospital dungeon, and of course, many items had dropped. However, due to the rush, he hadn't had time to pick them all up one by one. Some of the items in his luggage compartment had already been contaminated by the pathogens carried on Hugo's hands—mostly the food and water he had prepared. Items like Protective Suits, however, remained intact.

With the Protective Suit on, Jin Dong resumed the appearance of a normal person. Although his face couldn't be seen, at least he wasn't a yellow-red image flickering in their vision. Judging by the details of the Protective Suit, it was absolutely far superior to the ones Yi Mao had specially purchased. The others couldn't help but take a few extra glances. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Jin Dong was extremely grateful to Xu Huo, thanking him repeatedly and proactively sharing information about where Mutants were more numerous, where water sources were located, and some of his own experiences in the jungle area.

What Xu Huo wanted to know was information related to clearing the dungeon, but Jin Dong was unaware. There simply weren't many players participating in cleanup tasks to begin with.

After memorizing the information provided by Jin Dong, Xu Huo decided to complete the first two tasks first.

Soon, they found a Mutant in a dense forest. It was wearing tattered Protective Suit, its body covered in red-black patches, a condition similar to Jin Dong's.

"Don't kill him yet..." Xu Huo tried to stop Yi Mao and the others, but before he could finish his sentence, a large flock of mutated sparrows was suddenly startled into flight not far away. Accompanied by the sudden sound of gunfire, over a dozen Mutants charged over.

"Open fire!" Yue Weiping roared, and the companions immediately opened fire simultaneously.

Suppressed by heavy firepower from the rear and blocked from the front, four of the Mutants that had rushed out were shot dead on the spot. The remaining ones, fearing the guns, tumbled and rolled through the grass and mud, forcibly changing direction and fleeing sideways.

Xu Huo observed those Mutants. Some of them, like Jin Dong, had red-black patches, but more had already developed animalistic features—bulging eyeballs, split corners of the mouth, and elongated canine teeth. They were clearly more aggressive than the Mutants with only patches.

"Block that side!" The warriors who had caught up from behind coordinated with Yi Mao's group to block the Mutants trying to escape, directly sweeping them with submachine guns. Within a few short minutes, all the trapped Mutants were killed.

Blood flowed all over the ground. The leader among them wiped his feet on the grass, stepped forward, and said to Yi Mao's group, "Brothers, want to team up? The more people in the jungle, the safer."

Yi Mao first sought Liang Song's opinion. Liang Song shook his head and said, "Our cleanup area is in another direction."

The man sized them up but didn't press the matter. Ignoring the corpses on the ground, he directly led his people away.

"Why didn't we agree with them?" Wan Xiao said. "If we had encountered that many Mutants just now, we definitely would have taken losses. Isn't it more convenient to hunt Mutants with more people?"

"Didn't you notice how much ammunition they had left?" Liang Song said. "With their fighting style, consumption is fast. They have a lot of people, but not much reserve ammunition. Moreover, the number of Mutants each person can kill is limited. Joining them would be equivalent to providing them with supplies. Once ammunition or food runs short, the ones to suffer would definitely be the people traveling with them."

"In their eyes, we are essentially supply packages."

"Listen to Brother Liang," Yue Weiping also said. "Sometimes, more people doesn't mean safer. We can't handle over a dozen Mutants, and over a dozen people aren't much better."

Wan Xiao had no choice but to let it go.

"Let's go in a different direction," Xu Huo said.

Liang Song saying their cleanup area wasn't in the same direction was merely an excuse. In reality, the direction those people went was also where they needed to go. However, they couldn't follow right behind them now; they had to detour.

"I know a more dangerous path," Jin Dong typed. "I was chased by a Mutant there before. It's a bit far from here, but the chance of encountering Mutants is lower."

After some discussion, they decided to take the path Jin Dong indicated.

"You're not planning any tricks, are you?" Yue Weiping was still not entirely at ease and warned in advance, "If you're thinking of luring us into a trap to drag others down with you, I'll kill you first."

"Go if you want, don't if you don't." Jin Dong owed his gratitude to Xu Huo, not to him.

Xu Huo had nothing to say and, of course, chose the path Jin Dong indicated.

Seeing him seemingly harbor no suspicion toward this person at all, even Yi Mao felt somewhat uneasy. "Isn't he afraid of being tricked?"

"Tricked how?" Liang Song said. "At most, Jin Dong can lead him to a place with many Mutants. Isn't that just right? He needs to complete the tasks anyway."

After saying this, they stopped delaying and quickened their pace to catch up.

Not far into their journey, a tail followed them.

Liang Song noticed and discreetly informed the others.

"Kill it," Yue Weiping made a slicing motion across his neck.

Liang Song nodded. The two of them split to either side after rounding a dense patch of forest.

Yi Mao, walking ahead, said with a complex expression, "Isn't it true that some warriors didn't die at the hands of Mutants at all?"

Jin Dong, walking ahead, turned back. "It's not time yet."

"What do you mean?" Yi Mao was taken aback.

"There are no small animals to hunt for food around here," Xu Huo interjected. "The Mutated Animals are clearly highly toxic. There are some fruits and mushrooms growing, but it's uncertain if they are poisonous."

Anyone who retained their sanity wouldn't eat them.

"Once food runs out, people can become food too," Jin Dong typed out calmly.

"You mean..." Yi Mao couldn't control a dry heave, then added, "Impossible. Unless they ate poisonous food and lost their minds, how could they..."

Wan Xiao, from a medical perspective, easily understood. When people are driven mad by hunger, they are really no different from beasts. All ethics, morals, and human bottom lines can be cast aside. Biological instinct drives them to find ways to survive.

"Do the other warriors know the water and food here carry pathogens?" he asked.

"Most definitely don't know. But for safety's sake, they probably wouldn't eat things from the cleanup area unless absolutely necessary," Xu Huo said.

"At least we brought enough supplies," Wan Xiao patted Yi Mao's shoulder.

At that moment, Liang Song and the other returned, carrying two extra guns, some food, and a water canteen.

"From now on, we need to collect these things as much as possible," Liang Song said. "I need to keep at least half of my reserve food and water in my luggage compartment."

"Isn't there still his?" Yue Weiping pointed at Xu Huo. "No need to be so conservative."