The temperature in the Stone Forest was high, and they were also burning corpses. It really wasn't a good place to talk, so Gao Peng led Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun back to their base.

The items they used were sand motorcycles. Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun got on the bikes driven by Gao Peng and Cen Lu respectively. The high-powered motorcycles ran effortlessly, their roar deafening.

"With such a loud noise, aren't you afraid of attracting Mutants?" Zhuo Wangsun shouted.

Gao Peng, carrying Xu Huo, rode alongside Cen Lu and said with a laugh, "That would be for the best! The brothers haven't killed enough to make a profit today!"

Several other motorcycles roared past them one after another, shooting down some Mutants that were peeking from a distance.

Xu Huo could tell these people were all excellent shots, had rich combat experience, and were not primarily players.

Beyond the Stone Forest was a vast expanse of sand dunes. The motorcycles constantly climbed over gentle slopes. When they finally reached flat ground again, a perfectly straight road appeared ahead, and at the end of the road stood a city of towering skyscrapers!

"There's actually a town here!" Zhuo Wangsun exclaimed in surprise.

"Listen to you," Gao Peng said. "The cleanup area originally belonged to Clown City too. How could there not be urban buildings? But that place has long been abandoned. It's now the dwelling place of the remnants and the Mutants."

"There are still Mutants inside?" Xu Huo interjected.

"Yes, and quite a few of them," Gao Peng replied. "But don't worry. The Mutants usually stay underground. Even outside the Stone Forest area, the temperature here isn't low. Not only are people afraid of it, but Mutants are too. So most of the time, they hide underground and only come out to search for food."

"We've cleared out a base in the city center," Cen Lu spoke up. "A master craftsman has modified the water and electricity systems. Living there, you basically lack for nothing."

"There's still a clean water source in the city?" Zhuo Wangsun asked, puzzled. "Isn't the air here toxic?"

"How could the air be toxic? We've been here for almost half a year without any problems," Cen Lu said with an amused laugh. "You must have eaten some poisonous mushroom in the Jungle Area and started hallucinating."

"As for water, it's pumped from underground. It goes through purification before entering the water supply system. It's very safe," she added.

As they talked, the vehicles entered the city limits.

Similar to post-apocalyptic worlds in movies and TV shows, the abandoned buildings and roads, eroded by the high temperature and strong winds, were dry and cracked. Traces of past battles were visible everywhere: shattered glass, twisted metal, collapsed houses, and the wreckage of vehicles.

Due to the climate, even after being abandoned for so long, no vegetation had grown here. The smell of rust permeated everything—this was a city that had died completely.

While navigating through the city, Gao Peng and the others slowed down, controlling the noise of their vehicles, sticking close to the city's edge and avoiding the central straight road.

"Are there Mutants ahead?" Xu Huo glanced forward.

"There's a crack over thirty meters deep in the city center, with quite a few Mutants hiding underneath," Gao Peng explained. "Since we're heading home now, there's no need to disturb them."

Xu Huo sensed sporadic people observing them from the surroundings. Judging by their movements, they were likely Gao Peng's companions. However, he didn't detect any of the so-called Mutants.

After skirting nearly half the city, Zhuo Wangsun couldn't help but say, "The Mutants here are pretty quiet."

"The Mutants hiding in the underground fissures lack combat power," Cen Lu said. "Most of the time, they don't come out to cause trouble, so we let them be."

Zhuo Wangsun nodded and glanced towards Xu Huo.

This explanation was flimsy. Since they had established a base within the city, dealing with such a dangerous neighbor should be the top priority. How could they possibly leave them be just because they weren't fierce enough?

But both of them tacitly agreed not to press the matter further.

The vehicles soon stopped in front of a commercial building. Several lookouts revealed themselves at a distance. Gao Peng raised a hand towards them, and the building's metal-reinforced remote-controlled door opened. The group entered, and people inside eagerly came over to greet them.

Gao Peng greeted them back and announced to everyone, "The harvest today was good. Everyone can rest for two days, just take turns on watch duty."

There were over a dozen warriors on the first floor. Hearing this, they looked quite pleased. One warrior, with a lightning bolt symbol shaved into his hair, sized up Xu Huo and the other before saying, "Are they players?"

A noticeable portion of the crowd immediately changed expressions, likely not very welcoming of players. They suppressed their smiles and moved further away.

Gao Peng said, "Old Wu and Zhuo Wangsun. They also came in with the warriors from Clown City. They're comrades who have fought alongside us!"

The man with the shaved head said, "Players are not our comrades."

These people's resistance was too obvious. Zhuo Wangsun instinctively moved closer to Xu Huo.

"They're not bad people," Gao Peng didn't explain much. He led Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun to the elevator.

The first floor was for lookouts and dealing with the first wave of attacks. The main activity area for the base members was on the thirtieth floor, located in the middle of the building.

The elevator had power, and of course, the hotel on the thirtieth floor did too. Before the elevator doors even opened, they could hear deafeningly loud music blaring from inside. Three or four young men were shaking their heads and bouncing on a sofa, while an older man was assembling some mechanical device.

"Master Tu," Gao Peng greeted the older man. Cen Lu went over to turn down the music and introduced everyone.

Master Tu was the master craftsman they mentioned who was skilled at modifying water and electricity systems. He was actually a teacher in mechanical engineering, with strong theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills. The simple monitoring device he was assembling from outdated materials gathered within the city was sitting beside him.

The few young men also each had their own specialties. It was clear they had undergone professional training.

Their attitude towards Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun was lukewarm. After just a couple of sentences, they asked Cen Lu to take them to find a room to rest.

So, Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun went to the twenty-ninth floor.

"It seems they're all quite unfriendly towards players," Zhuo Wangsun said, standing under the vent of a cooling unit. "Probably afraid we'll pollute the clean water source."

"If they were really afraid, they wouldn't have brought us here," Xu Huo said calmly. "Players can leave after completing their tasks. They can't stay behind to help either."

Zhuo Wangsun was taken aback. "Then why was Gao Peng so enthusiastic about inviting us here?"

Xu Huo glanced at him but didn't answer. However, Zhuo Wangsun couldn't help but frown. "They said the air is fine, so why did Jin Dong suddenly degenerate into a Mutant?" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"There might be other reasons," Xu Huo said casually before entering the bathroom. After washing up, he checked his own body. There were no signs of infection.

Although he had been wearing the "Oxygen Supply" the whole time, his skin had also been in contact with the air. During that period, he hadn't experienced any emotional abnormalities or hallucinations. This meant the air might really be fine, at least Gao Peng and the others were all normal.

What affected those people killing and burning corpses in the Jungle Area might have been the food and water.