"That's putting it too seriously," Xu Huo denied. "I just want to plant the flag on the opposite wall."

Zhuo Wangsun was speechless for a couple of seconds before analyzing, "Isn't the risk too great? Once we enter the cleanup area, Clown City most likely won't allow us to return. Getting close to the Protective Wall might even be difficult. Also, the terrain ahead is probably very dangerous, and there's a chance of encountering a Mutant tide. It's too risky just to improve one rating level."

"Fortune favors the bold," Xu Huo said.

Zhuo Wangsun had nothing to say to that. He slowly slowed his pace, falling behind a few steps before catching up again. "I'll go with you, to broaden my horizons."

"Welcome," Xu Huo said with a smile, expressing his delight.

Zhuo Wangsun stared at his face, feeling a bit awkward.

They didn't need to kill people for money. Their main task now was to travel. When encountering Mutants or people from Clown City, they mostly avoided them, only fighting when there was no other choice.

Their speed wasn't slow, but this jungle was more complex than the previous one, essentially a small hill. Some places couldn't be crossed directly, so they had to detour.

"These mists contain trace toxins," Zhuo Wangsun said when they stopped to rest, using his item to measure the fog in the forest. "The situation is similar to the area we came from."

This was also a reassuring point. If both sides primarily sent out ordinary people, then the difficulty within the cleanup area should be roughly equal for both.

In that case, reaching the opposite Clown City shouldn't be too difficult.

Xu Huo scanned the surrounding grassland. "There are especially many fungi here. The ground is covered with a lot of mycelium."

Zhuo Wangsun saw it too and was about to use an item to check when Xu Huo stopped him. "Be careful of poison."

Hearing this, Zhuo Wangsun didn't dare touch it. Hesitantly, he said, "This white mycelium is everywhere like spider webs. It shouldn't be highly toxic, otherwise there would be many poisoned dead people."

Xu Huo had a strong impression of the terms "Clown City" and "fungi." A diary he found in the Little Flower Red Red Building dungeon had mentioned these two words. It even used the description "underground world" for the fungi, indicating that there was a considerable quantity and area of fungi growing underground in Clown City.

If there were mycelium capable of generating defensive abilities, it was even less surprising to find poisonous varieties.

However, it wasn't clear whether the diary referred to the current Clown City or the one before the cleanup area was established. If it was the latter, then the cleanup area's underground might harbor an underground world composed of fungi.

"Just in case," he said. "We've been able to travel so smoothly thanks to the Holographic Glasses not identifying us as Mutants. Carelessly contacting other objects and turning into Mutants would be very troublesome."

Zhuo Wangsun pushed aside the lush grass behind him, revealing a large patch of white fungi with a noticeable gap on the side. He smiled. "Looks like someone already tried it for us. Someone must have picked and eaten some..."

Before he could finish, Xu Huo suddenly grabbed him by the neck and yanked him back. As Zhuo Wangsun ducked his head, a person crashed down right in front of him, landing squarely in the patch of white mushrooms, sending a large cloud of debris flying. However, the person quickly scrambled up after landing and dashed forward without looking back!

Such panic could only mean fleeing for one's life. Xu Huo now heard the rumbling sound in the distance. Looking back, he saw large swathes of the distant jungle undulating, trees shaking violently!

"Mutant tide!"

Without another word, Xu Huo and Zhuo Wangsun started running forward, glancing back as they ran. Soon, they could clearly see the Mutants' appearance—these were genuine Mutants, their bodies already showing some animalistic features. They were faster, stronger, and had no problem jumping and climbing!

Seeing the Mutant horde charge through, even knocking down giant trees, Xu Huo didn't hide in the refuge. He used his characteristic to increase his speed, overtaking Zhuo Wangsun and catching up to the player ahead.

That person was seriously injured; otherwise, they wouldn't have landed so solidly just now. Their speed showed signs of slowing.

Ahead was a large expanse of sloping ground with no suitable places to hide. Xu Huo looked back and gestured to Zhuo Wangsun, then threw one end of the "Hurt Others, Not Yourself" rope, which had a metal block attached, towards him.

Zhuo Wangsun picked it up and ran to the side, wrapping one end of the thin cord around a tree trunk.

Xu Huo did the same on his side, winding it around several trees before the "Hurt Others, Not Yourself" transformed into a sharp blade. He then jumped into a tree.

The charging Mutants couldn't stop their momentum, or perhaps lacked the concept entirely. As they passed through the item, they were cleanly sliced in half—wave after wave of Mutants fell in rows under the thin blade. However, this didn't last long, as the tree trunks, bearing the force, were also severed. Soon after, the thin blade was knocked away. The running Mutants pulled at each other with their bodies, actually killing quite a few of their own. Finally, the item fell to the ground and reverted to a thin rope, ending this self-slaughter.

Xu Huo killed several Mutants that jumped up at him while in the air, then used the piano wire attached to "Hurt Others, Not Yourself" to retrieve the item.

His position was too conspicuous. Many Mutants stopped and leaped up at him. The tree began to sway dangerously. He hastily added another sword strike, then followed the direction the large tree was falling, using the momentum to leap forward, landing ahead of the Mutant horde—due to the earlier disruption, the nearly parallel Mutant tide now had a concave arc in its center.

Zhuo Wangsun and the injured player were right in front of this arc. Although they weren't being chased by the Mutants directly behind them, the ones on both sides showed signs of closing in.

Suddenly, a Mutant leaped from the side towards the injured player. Zhuo Wangsun, who was close by, didn't hesitate to slash with his knife. Although he didn't kill the Mutant, he successfully allowed the player to escape danger. He himself was less fortunate, actually getting hit by the falling Mutant. Just as he was about to be grabbed by the Mutants behind him, a long whip flew out from the injured player's hand, wrapping around him. The two of them shot out from the ground like cannonballs!

This was an item effect. The two instantly escaped the Mutant encirclement. However, going up was easy; coming down was hard. As they descended through branches and foliage, they found themselves still over ten meters above the ground!

Zhuo Wangsun, inexperienced, was falling headfirst. Fortunately, Xu Huo, behind them, used the kite string to catch him. He jerked to a halt mid-air, causing the player below him to also stop, not hitting the ground directly but swinging back a distance, pulled by the kite string.

The piano wire could only support two people. Unexpectedly, the kite string reduced Zhuo Wangsun's weight, and together with the person below, it just managed to hold all three.

However, the piano wire's movement speed and distance were limited. They still had to run. After landing, Xu Huo said, "There's a river ditch ahead. Hide there!"

His intention was to place the "No. 101 Refuge" in the river ditch to make it less susceptible to the Mutant horde's impact. However, unexpectedly, as the three jumped down the slope, they discovered a spacious cave.

The three immediately ducked inside. Xu Huo erected "The Severing Ties Door," perfectly blocking the cave entrance. Peering through a side gap, he saw the Mutants jumping into the river ditch continue running forward without pause. Only then did he turn back and nod to the two behind him.

Zhuo Wangsun and the other player silently put away their own Shields. The former asked, "Sharing hardship makes us friends. I'm Zhuo Wangsun. What's your name?"