Chapter 247 Underground Ruins

After a fierce struggle with a giant monster in a long-abandoned city, they managed to escape just in time, although their strength was lacking, and they were chased down thrillingly—just hearing that would give anyone the excitement of watching an action blockbuster.

If only they hadn’t escaped on a little electric scooter.

In any case, they eventually got away. That monster seemed to have grown underground; its speed couldn’t match the full-throttle pace of a little scooter. It wasn’t until they had run quite a distance and could no longer hear any sounds from the monster that they finally slowed down.

The three people they’d rescued immediately pulled out several bottles of healing potions from their spatial watches and downed them, then collapsed right onto the ground. They had exhausted far too much stamina and definitely needed to find a place to rest at this point; worrying about elegance was out of the question.

Tang Chong and the others weren’t too bad off, though they still needed a moment to recover.

The series of sudden events had given them no time to think, leaving them to react instinctively to the situation. Now that they were alive, it almost felt surreal.

Once they gathered their wits, Tang Chong was the first to sincerely thank Ling Mo and Xia Xinyan, saying, “Thank you so much! Without you two, we’d be dead by now.”

“No problem, just a casual effort,” Ling Mo replied, still sitting on the little scooter, looking a bit curious. “By the way, how did you guys manage to attract such a big guy?”

In response, Tang Chong briefly explained the situation—

Tang Chong and his group understood their own strength well enough; they never even thought about charging to the front lines. The higher their rank, the more likely they’d be noticed by larger powers—essentially meaning guilds. If they could get in, that would translate into more resources and opportunities.

Thus, their initial plan was clear: try to team up with others of similar strength to clear the dungeon, and unless absolutely necessary, they wouldn’t kill anyone—because even if they did want to, they probably couldn’t kill many, and those meager points wouldn’t trade for anything of real value. Besides, they could end up getting caught and killed themselves, which would be a loss for nothing.

Following this thought, they also encountered another four-person group with the same plan. The two groups quickly formed an alliance, intending to find more players to join.

However, before they could find more players, they first encountered a zombie.

Looking at the half-dead zombie, which had no lower half, they originally could have ignored it, but perhaps wanting to show off their strength or for some other reason, they went ahead and stabbed the zombie.

As for what happened next, Ling Mo already knew.

It was pretty much… well, similar to their mindset at the time.

“Fortunately, at least we didn’t lose anyone,” Tang Chong sighed. “But if a regular zombie is that powerful, I think we might not even be able to complete the main quest.”

“What’s your mission?” Xia Xinyan asked.

“Kill a B-class zombie mother,” Tang Chong said, pointing at the three lying on the ground, “and their mission is to kill a D-class zombie mother.”

Xia Xinyan suddenly understood; just as she guessed, the mission objectives within the same group were all aligned.

In other words, those who chose to participate in this competition alone were at the biggest disadvantage.

Tang Chong eyed the two of them for a moment, then hesitated, “You… do you want to join us in our mission? I know you two are strong, but… many hands make light work, right?”

Ling Mo looked at Xia Xinyan.

Xia Xinyan thought for a moment then nodded, “Sure.”

Though she had her eyes set on Tang Chong’s younger sister, she certainly wouldn’t dive straight into that topic; this kind of thing always needed to be approached gradually.

As long as she could build a good relationship with Tang Chong in this dungeon, it should make it easier to invite them to join the Cang… baby carriage later on.

But before that, she needed to discuss a name change with the fat guy.

Seeing her agree to join them, Ling Mo didn’t say much else and just asked, “Do you have any leads on your mission objectives?”

“Not yet,” Tang Chong shook his head. “Since we entered the dungeon, we’ve only encountered that monster just now.”

“Then let’s come with us. We have a lead; your objective might be around there too,” Ling Mo suggested.

Tang Chong thought for a moment and nodded, “Alright, you lead the way.”

After all, they didn’t have anywhere else to go, and several of them were in very poor condition. If they fought again, they might really not make it. With Ling Mo and Xia Xinyan, at least they could cling onto some powerful allies.

“Okay,” Ling Mo got back on the little scooter, “let’s go. The target point isn’t far from here.”

Tang Chong: “…”

Not the little scooter again…

Clearly, they were in a terrible situation right now, yet why did he feel so relaxed once he got on that little scooter?

Ling Mo had originally led them in the direction of the target, and this location was already close to the suburb area. Looking up, he could see that the skyscrapers were indeed nowhere to be found, and the broader space was also more suitable for showcasing their skills, which at least seemed like a good thing.

—However, upon reaching the destination, Ling Mo realized he had thought too much once more.

A large area ahead had somehow collapsed, filling the massive pit with the debris of countless buildings, creating what seemed to be a flat surface at first glance.

No wonder they couldn’t see those high-rise buildings when they came earlier; it turned out they had all ended up underground.

“This place… the terrain is probably very complicated.” Ling Mo stood at the edge of the collapse, surveying the area below for a while.

The collapsed buildings weren’t completely destroyed; rather, many fragments were piled together like jumbled blocks, forming numerous intricate pathways within.

The most important thing was, the little scooter couldn’t go further.

“Are you sure this is the target location?” Tang Chong looked at the myriad of dark paths below, feeling a bit intimidated.

It looked absolutely dangerous down there…

“Confirmed,” Xia Xinyan put away her navigation system. “This terrain was likely caused by those zombies and might be a difficulty set by the dungeon. In any case, let’s check it out; if you’re scared, you can stay here.”

“No, we’ll follow you down,” Tang Chong immediately replied.

However, as soon as he said that, one of his companions tugged on him and whispered something in his ear.

Tang Chong hesitated, becoming uncertain: “Uh, well…”

“Don’t worry, you can stay up here,” Xia Xinyan had already guessed their thoughts. “Me and Mo will go down and take a look. If we discover anything, we’ll come back up to tell you. If you encounter any danger, you can retreat without worrying about us.”

After a moment of hesitation, Tang Chong nodded, “Alright then.”