26: Chapter 26 Explorers

Zhao Kun took the lead. By the time everyone caught up with his pace, he was already holding a dagger in one hand and a machete in the other, having walked into the thickets of vines in the Vine Oasis.

With a slash of his machete, he cut through a chopstick-thick vine growing on the ground. With a swish, the vine snapped, oozing a little milky-white sap. The vines did not wriggle like tentacles, falling quietly to the ground.

"It seems to be an ordinary plant."

However, Zhao Kun's gaze swept across the surrounding vines and sandy ground like a hawk, already locking onto several Parasitic Fungus Vines hidden in the sand.

He strode toward the Infinite Building. Barely a few steps in, the ground suddenly bulged, vines burst out from it, and the monsters hidden in the sand rushed straight out.

One, two, three, four... As many as four Parasitic Fungus Vines waved their vine tentacles and charged at him from several directions.

Zhao Kun's gaze was as calm as a pool of deep water, showing no tension in the face of the siege by the Parasitic Fungus Vines.

Moving swiftly, he first lunged forward to approach the two Parasitic Fungus Vines in front of him, thrusting his left-hand dagger straight out to nail it directly onto the core of the Parasitic Fungus Vine; with his other hand, he held the machete in a reverse grip and slashed, splitting the Parasitic Fungus Vine on his right side directly in two.

In a mere instant, he had dispatched two Parasitic Fungus Vines.

At this moment, the Parasitic Fungus Vines on the left and right had just lunged in front of him. He sidestepped to dodge the lunge of the one on the right, and then stepped on it with one foot, directly deforming its core.

The last Parasitic Fungus Vine rushed to his front. By now, the machete in his hand was free, and with a reverse swing, he instantly severed it.

The vine tentacles of the Parasitic Fungus Vine under his feet extended to wrap around his calf, but at this time his machete was free. He stabbed down at the core from top to bottom, directly killing it.

In the sand, the yellow sand rolled continuously, kicking up waves of dust. The hidden Parasitic Fungus Vines also rushed out at this moment, launching a final attack.

However, none of them could rush in front of Zhao Kun—the remaining cleanup team had already charged into the Vine Oasis.

Zhao Hu, Wei Dong, and Zhao Tianhao, warriors who had broken their limits once, acted with exceptional crispness. Either they used pistols to finish off the monsters directly with follow-up shots, or they hacked with their machetes like sickles, directly slaughtering these Parasitic Fungus Vines.

In a short time, with Zhao Hu, Wei Dong, Zhao Tianhao, and others serving as the sharp blade, the Guard Team members quickly swept across the outer periphery of the Vine Oasis, and the Parasitic Fungus Vines that died at the hands of each of them numbered as many as three or four.

Just at this moment, steady gunshots sounded one after another, the bang-bang-bang gunshots sounding like they were beating against everyone's hearts.

The members of the Guard Team could not help being attracted by the gunshots and turned their heads to look. At this look, their pupils shrank and expressions of astonishment appeared on their faces.

They saw Wang Ting step into the oasis, holding a machete in one hand and a pistol in the other. His movements were smooth and his perception was sharp, as if he could lock onto the position of the Parasitic Fungus Vines.

Almost every shot could accurately pierce into the rolling yellow sand, finding the core parts of the Parasitic Fungus Vines.

Whenever a gunshot rang out, a Parasitic Fungus Vine would emerge. For a moment, it was impossible to tell whether the gun was fired first or the billowing yellow sand surged up first.

One shot for one, never missing.

In a short time, he fired six or seven shots. Within three meters in front of him and ten meters outside, as long as there was any movement, those Parasitic Fungus Vines would be beaten to death by him directly.

The mere one or two Parasitic Fungus Vines that had just rushed in front of him were cleanly and neatly split into two by his swinging blade. Under his flowing slashes, the Parasitic Fungus Vines were like they were made of paper.

A trace of surprise also flashed in Zhao Kun's deep gaze, and a smile crossed the corner of his mouth.

In less than ten minutes of everyone in the Guard Team working together, they cleared out this Vine Oasis with a diameter of two to three hundred meters.

"137 Parasitic Fungus Vines, 103 adults, 34 juveniles. These monsters can breed offspring by themselves."

The initial inspection explained why the Parasitic Fungus Vines had such a large quantity. In addition to overflowing from the Infinite Building, they could also increase their own kind through reproduction.

Without a doubt, this was a dangerous anomalous monster.

Zhao Kun looked at the entrance stairs of the Infinite Building and, without looking back, simply said, "Dissect them all, dig out all the extraordinary materials, and distribute them according to contribution after going back. As for the corpses, keep them well preserved; you can put them on the black market to test the waters."

"Understood, Boss."

Zhao Hu came to Zhao Kun's side and asked, "Boss, there is no problem with the stair passage. Should we start exploring directly?"

The entrance stairs of the Infinite Building were pitch black, resembling a giant abyss mouth that swallowed people.

Everyone knew that stepping onto these stairs would lead into another unfamiliar Floor World, and no one knew what dangers would be encountered after stepping in with this single step.

Zhao Kun grinned, turned his head, and suddenly his gaze fell on Wang Ting: "I'll give you a chance. Go in first, do you dare?"

Zhao Hu's expression changed slightly, and he was just about to speak: "Boss, he is still a newcomer..."

Zhao Kun remained silent. Everyone present slowed their movements slightly, and their gazes all focused on Wang Ting.

A strange look flashed in Zhao Tianhao's eyes, and he opened his mouth wanting to speak, but was held back by Wei Dong.

Everyone's gazes pressed down on Wang Ting like a huge mountain; some showed banter, while others looked puzzled.

Inside the oasis, it was dead silent.

Wang Ting frowned slightly, then relaxed his brow. Although there was a trace of vigilance in the depths of his eyes, there was not the slightest hint of fear.

Was this a probe, or could it be considered a test?

Besides a faint smile on Zhao Kun's face, no other expressions were revealed, and his inner thoughts could not be seen.

"I need a rifle, as well as a large amount of ammunition. Captain Zhao will act as my support on the outside. If I haven't come out within 10 minutes, it means I need support."

Zhao Kun smiled even more happily and nodded in agreement: "5 minutes, I'll only give you 5 minutes. If you still don't come out in 5 minutes, I will send the next group in."

The first wave of exploration was the vanguard army, just to determine the condition of the Floor World and whether the environment was suitable. 5 minutes was already enough to get a general idea.

If it were subsequent meticulous searching, or even raiding the entire Floor World, that wasn't something that could be done in 10 minutes, half an hour, or a few hours.

"Alright!"

Wang Ting checked his equipment. Rifles, pistols, and ammunition were all prepared properly. His eyes were firm as if they concealed knives, and there was not a trace of fear in them.

Although the Floor World was terrifying, to him it was an opportunity, a chance to make his mark.

"Take this." Zhao Kun untied a shabby bulletproof vest from his body and threw it to Wang Ting. "If anything goes wrong, withdraw immediately."

"Thank you, Boss."

Wang Ting dressed neatly and strode up the stairs.

The pitch-black stairs seemed to swallow all the light, and the gazes and voices of the people behind him seemed to have been swallowed by the shadows of the stair passage as well.

The stair passage was somewhat chilly. The hard steps felt like roughly poured concrete blocks, coldly transmitting slight echoes, just like when he first stepped onto the stair passage of the Scarecrow Farm.

However, this time Wang Ting's hand holding the rifle was steadier, and his pace was also much firmer, rather than being as cautious as before.

Walking to the end of the stairs, when the sound of footsteps was completely swallowed by the stairs, Wang Ting only felt the light in front of him change. After stepping out, the whole world had changed its appearance.

The sky was obscured by dark clouds, and the sunlight was tightly wrapped by the dark clouds in the sky. The sky was grayish, and an oppressive aura rushed straight at his face.

What met the eye was a dilapidated town. Vines spread everywhere across the town—the clock tower, the road, the school's wire mesh... vines had drilled out of all of them, as if declaring that this ruined town had been occupied by vines.