Players, Please Board the Train

”Bring her to me!” The General Administration Chief would never let her die so easily. Gnashing his teeth, he shouted at the hastily arriving medical team, ”Even if you have to slice her into pieces, turn her into a treatment potion!”

Slice her into pieces?

Which member of the medical team dared to approach? The water flowing out from beneath Xin Lang had already stained the soil a different color!

”General Administration Chief, her entire body is infected, she’s gradually turning into fungi. Even if we send her to the lab, there probably won’t be anything left in the end...” One doctor didn’t even finish his sentence before the General Administration Chief shot him dead.

No one else dared to utter another word. They could only pick up their equipment and walk towards Xin Lang.

However, right at that moment, a sandstorm surged out of nowhere behind the army, instantly covering this vast area. But in just over ten seconds, the yellow sand abruptly vanished. The General Administration Chief’s side hadn’t suffered any attack, but Xin Lang beneath the Protective Wall was gone without a trace.

”Find her, now!” the General Administration Chief roared. But then someone pointed at the Protective Wall and said, ”Why is there a piece missing there?”

Indeed, a piece was missing. Near the ground of the Protective Wall, a narrow gap several dozen meters long had appeared. It looked as if a section had been cut out from the middle, at most the width of a vertical palm. It wasn’t wide enough for a person to pass through; even a dog would struggle to squeeze in. But after this gap appeared, the entire Protective Wall began to tremble, like a person stretching their joints. Continuous ”crackling” sounds came from within the wall.

Before the army could retreat, the constantly cracking Protective Wall snapped in the middle. Expanding fissures instantly covered the wall surface, followed by a large-scale collapse!

”Run!” The crowd let out desperate screams. But the Protective Wall of Clown City was simply built too high and thick. Such a massive structure, with its backbone removed, was like a mountain collapsing, mud and stone surging like a flood!There was some distance between the Protective Wall and the residential areas. The transitional zone in between mostly housed government offices or venues like the Arena. Late at night, there weren’t many people around, only the army dispatched to search for Xin Lang and maintain the Protective Wall, spread out in a densely packed, long battle line.

The collapsing Protective Wall surged out like a flood to both sides, burying most people in an instant. Furthermore, as the surrounding foundations weren’t reinforced, when the heavy weight came crashing down, the ground cracked like a lit fuse all the way to the end, swallowing both people and stones together!

The tremendous roar shook the entire city awake. Countless people climbed to high points to look into the distance, only to see this Protective Wall, which had stood on the west side of Sunrise Clown City for nearly twenty years, reduced to a pile of rubble. The sound of lamentation momentarily drowned out the city’s alarm sirens.

At this moment, Xu Huo was already driving at high speed along the city’s main road, with Xin Lang in the car.

The fate of a spore... of course, is to spread out and continue growing.

When Xin Lang spat out silken threads from her mouth, he understood the meaning of this additional task. ”Spore” didn’t refer to the seed of a particular fungus, but to Xin Lang herself, this humanoid sower. Her fate was to use herself to spread the fungi. Of course, this was her subjective choice. But since she was going to do it, naturally, the wider the area the spores were scattered, the better.

Xin Lang leaned against the back seat, looking at the person in front covered in ”white fur.” ”Why did you save me? Aren’t you afraid of being infected by me?”

At this point, Xu Huo had no need to hide anything anymore. He briefly explained the additional task for clearing the dungeon.

Xin Lang was silent for a second before saying, ”Carrying me makes you too conspicuous. And there are players chasing you. Kill me. Throw the body parts into various corners of the city. You can still complete the task.”

”No need.” Xu Huo turned the steering wheel. ”The Protective Wall incident can buy us a little time, enough for both of us to achieve our goals. You can also stay alive.”

Xin Lang smiled soundlessly, then said, ”Look at your hand.”

White floating particles drifted inside the car. Xu Huo, of course, wouldn’t open his Protective Suit. But then he heard the person behind him say, ”When you brought me out of the Department Store just now, the King Fungus transferred to you.”

”Screech—!” The tires made a sharp sound against the ground. Xu Huo slammed on the brakes, his expression icy as he turned around. ”What did you say?”

”I’m not lying to you,” Xin Lang said, indifferent to his attitude. ”The King Fungus can neutralize potent toxins and pathogens. Although it parasitizes the human body, it doesn’t grow endlessly. Most of the time, it’s dormant.”

”If it’s really that effective, why are you suffering a backlash now?” Xu Huo said coldly.

”That has nothing to do with it. I just want to die.” Xin Lang paused wearily, then said, ”Do you know why the fungi in Clown City were able to undergo Super Evolution?”

She took out a very small black stone from her shoe heel, pinching it between two fingers and holding it up before Xu Huo’s eyes. ”I suspect it’s because of this Nüwa Stone.”

”When I was infected as a child, I accidentally encountered the King Fungus growing near this stone, and that’s how I survived.”

”A very fine root and stem of the King Fungus attached to it. Its growth speed and strength far surpassed other fungi, covering most of the Underground Nest.”

”You’ve seen the King Fungus’s effects. Not only can it detoxify the host, it can even leave the body to detoxify others, with no side effects for the original person.”

”But its lifespan isn’t infinite. It will die naturally inside the human body. However, wearing this stone allows it to divide multiple times and grow limitlessly.”

After saying this, she tossed the stone forward. ”It’s yours.”

Xu Huo caught it, turning the stone’s surface over. His expression darkened slightly. This stone looked very much like the one V. Fanxiao had left him.

”Did you name it Nüwa Stone yourself?” he asked.

”Yes,” Xin Lang exhaled softly. ”With it, there is infinite hope. But Clown City doesn’t need it anymore.”

”Why?”

”The reason why so few players are born in Clown City might also be because of it.” Fine fuzz grew on Xin Lang’s face. ”What’s different about Clown City compared to other Game Partitions? Probably that the fungi grow too well here.”

”Perhaps without the Nüwa Stone and the King Fungus, more players will emerge.”

”Being infected by the fungi from the Underground Nest isn’t a big deal. Maybe we won’t have to wait for the fungi to self-purify; someone will find a way to save themselves from within the game.”

”Then, no one will be able to cover up Clown City’s sins. Every ignorant person will have paid the price for once feeding on their own kind. And every generation born in Clown City from now on will remember this lesson. Clown City will become better and better...”

She was melting like water. A large amount of floating matter, sticky and clinging, flowed from the corner of her mouth. Gradually, her eyes and nose were no longer visible.

Xu Huo took out the small flag and placed it beside her hand.

[Congratulations to player Extra for successfully clearing the dungeon ”Evil Contest.” In this clearance, you completed three dungeon tasks and one additional task, successfully earning an S-grade super evaluation. You will obtain one new Major Characteristic, three extended characteristics, one C-grade item, two D-grade items, five E-grade items, an increase in assets of 20,000 White Bills, and thirty potions. Additionally, there is a special reward for triggering and completing the additional task.]