Whether it was hunting or imitation, it was just a characteristic of the fungi, which could be understood as its mutated instinct. There was no need to view it too mysteriously. Besides, no matter how it mutated, it was still a fungus; it couldn't possibly imitate human thought patterns, let alone leave its own nest and walk out of the foggy forest.

"Maybe we should just get out of here," Si Ming said with a frown. "This place is too eerie. If we keep going, who knows what dangers we'll encounter. I'd rather give up on clearing the stage."

"It's not about clearing the stage anymore," Zhuo Wangsun said. "Can we even leave this place?"

The crevice path they had just passed through was already filled with mycelium. Where they were now didn't have as many suspended stone paths, and going upward led to no exit either.

As he spoke, he kept glancing at Xu Huo.

Zhuo Wangsun had already cleared the stage and understood perfectly that the reason Si Ming and the Female Player hadn't succeeded wasn't because they hadn't found the right place. It was because they hadn't killed ten Warriors from the Blue Faction along the way.

This wasn't hard to understand. The two of them had probably killed enough people at the start, thinking they'd completed the first task, and then crossed the canyon all the way to the foggy forest, avoiding dangers whenever possible. So now they still hadn't killed ten people. Of course, no matter where they planted the flag, they couldn't clear the stage.

But Xu Huo could clear it at any time. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Since he could leave whenever he wanted, Xu Huo wasn't planning to go just yet. He agreed with Si Ming's suggestion to look for an exit. Since the original path was already blocked and there was no ready-made route, he simply decided to burn their way forward, pushing through everything.

The mycelium wasn't easy to ignite, but opening a passage for a few people to get through wasn't difficult.

The four of them wandered aimlessly through the caves, going wherever the path took them.

Xu Huo led the way, ignoring Si Ming's suggestions several times. The man exchanged glances with the Female Player, then noticed Zhuo Wangsun remaining silent, and gradually calmed down.

About two hours later, they once again discovered "corpses" wrapped in mycelium, and this time there were quite a few of them.

By now, the nest wasn't as spacious as the area they had first descended into. The space was only about twenty meters across, but over a dozen "corpses" were plastered against the stone walls. These "corpses" looked incredibly realistic, with limbs and bodies that were well-formed.

As they continued forward, more similar nests appeared.

"These look just like cultivation pods," Zhuo Wangsun said thoughtfully. "Could the fungi actually be trying to create humans?"

Xu Huo cut open one of the "corpses." Unlike the hollow mycelium that had imitated Si Ming earlier, this one was solid. When it hit the ground, it rolled, and its weight seemed similar to that of a real human head.

He turned the head over and saw it was packed with dough-like mycelium, fully solid.

The "corpse's" neck and interior were the same.

The four of them fell silent for a moment, but then Xu Huo suddenly looked toward a side passage in the nest. The mycelium inside was quivering, as if something was struggling to break out.

Zhuo Wangsun and the other two quickly readied themselves for battle, but when the mycelium tore apart, a familiar face emerged.

"Xin Hui!" Zhuo Wangsun exclaimed in surprise.

Xin Hui on the other side also looked shocked, then her face filled with relief.

"You know each other?" the Female Player asked.

"A player we met on the way," Zhuo Wangsun said, introducing her. Then he asked Xin Hui, "How did you suddenly disappear?"

"I saw a dark figure in the forest and chased after it. Before I knew it, I stepped into a hole and fell down. I've been wandering around ever since. Did you guys fall down by accident too?" Xin Hui said.

"Did you find an exit?" Xu Huo asked.

Xin Hui shook her head, then asked if they had any leads.

Zhuo Wangsun was cautious around her and didn't say too much. He only explained the eerie things inside the nest.

The "corpses" were right in front of them, and Xin Hui looked very worried. "Some places I passed were filled with spore dust floating in the air. I wonder if these fungi are toxic."

"Anything's possible at this point," Si Ming said. He asked Xin Hui if she had cleared the stage.

Xin Hui glanced at Xu Huo and the Female Player, then shook her head in denial, bringing the conversation back to finding a way out.

"Actually, I have a Foolproof Method," Xu Huo said slowly. "Burn this entire underground nest to the ground."

"That would effectively remove the mycelium and destroy these human-like things at the same time," he explained. "Whether these things can move or not, letting them keep growing definitely isn't a good thing. Getting rid of these fungi might even give us bonus points for clearing the stage."

"Makes sense," Zhuo Wangsun immediately agreed. "Even if we can't destroy everything, we can burn our way up from here. It'll definitely create an exit."

"That might not be a good idea," the Female Player said hesitantly. "What if it provokes the fungi?"

Xin Hui pursed her lips, then said, "These fungi have already mutated. If they're provoked, couldn't they release toxic spores? Protective suits aren't one hundred percent safe either."

"Let's wait until we find an exit before deciding," Si Ming said. "So many Warriors in the cleanup area carry explosives. Even if we can't burn away all the mycelium, we could just blow up the entrance."

Before they'd even gotten out, they were already discussing destroying the underground nest. After a moment, Xin Hui said, "At least let's get out first."

The group of five set off again on the search for an exit, but not long after they started walking, the Female Player said with some confusion, "Did you hear that?"

"It's the sound of mycelium moving," Xu Huo said, cutting off a piece of membrane. The mycelium inside was unusually active, squirming like flesh worms.

Xin Hui stared at the mycelium on the ground, then suddenly shuffled to the side. With a "plop," a puddle of black liquid splashed onto the ground, accompanied by a sizzling sound.

Their expressions changed. They looked up and saw that the mycelium on the stone walls had been silently contracting and gathering. The suspended parts hung down heavily, and black liquid slowly began to drip from where the mycelium had twisted and accumulated.

"Poison!" Xin Hui immediately covered her mouth and nose, then pulled out a gas mask and put it on.

Xu Huo and the others had been well-protected all along, so they didn't need to bother with that. They ran forward as fast as they could, before the black liquid could fall in large quantities!

In just a few seconds, the venom started falling like continuous raindrops. They ran with their heads down, not caring whether the passage was filled with mycelium. Whenever they encountered a fork, they just held their backpacks up in front of them and charged straight through.

At one point, Zhuo Wangsun got stuck under a narrow stone path. The people behind him couldn't get through, so they had to turn and run toward a different passage. After running frantically in circles like this for a while, all five of them had gotten separated.

Xin Hui rushed out of the venom rain zone in one breath and ducked into a low cave passage. The cave was a bit like a dog hole, and she couldn't tell how deep it was. But once inside, she crawled forward with all her might and soon emerged from the other end. That area was a cleaner cave, with no venom accumulated on the stone walls and no colorful fungi or "corpses" in sight.

She stood up, brushed the dirt off her clothes, and picked up her backpack to leave. But just as she took a step forward, she suddenly froze. She whipped her head around and discovered Xu Huo standing right behind her!