Chapter 047 Let the Professionals Handle It

According to the navigation, the layout of the city’s sewer system was akin to a spider’s web, likely far more complex than the routes above ground. In other words, they could nearly access any location in the city through the sewers.

This was good news.

Better yet, it might just be the normal route for a dungeon.

At the current stage, players generally lacked strength, and their items were limited to the most basic weapons—like daggers and firearms—and the effectiveness of these weapons was still constrained by the players’ own skill levels. Therefore, providing overly difficult dungeons at the start of the game was clearly not appropriate, especially since this dungeon’s difficulty level was originally rated as Low.

Given the current situation, forcing them to move above ground to the rescue point would clearly not meet the difficulty standard.

Don’t be fooled by the protagonists in zombie novels or movies—they might seem invincible, but in reality, 99.99% of ordinary people would turn into overwhelmed zombies during a real zombie crisis, not the heroic protagonists.

Even if the zombie threat level were reduced by a tier, the reality wouldn’t change.

So, offering them a less dangerous fast track under these threats would more or less align with the difficulty standards of the dungeon.

Of course, this also required players to be smart, like securing a navigation system before the situation became dire—otherwise, they wouldn’t even know where the rescue point was located, let alone the sewer routes.

Xia Xinyan and her group’s luck seemed to be holding up; the navigation indicated that there was a sewer entrance in the narrow alley beside the hotel, just a few steps away. However, taking those few steps was no small feat.

The street was full of infected people; opening the big door would absolutely attract those monsters.

“What do you say? Charge out?” The chubby guy glanced at the others and asked.

Murong Yue immediately chimed in, “How about you go out to draw their fire, and we’ll sneak away with the manhole cover—after all, you’re the meat shield.”

“Get lost.” The chubby guy rolled his eyes at her.

If he got knocked once more, he might just go down for good.

“Let’s just go out,” Ling Mo suggested, “Even if we draw a few zombies, it’s not a big deal; as long as we get into the sewer in time, we’ll be safe.”

He didn’t believe the sewers were completely filled with infected either.

Xia Xinyan nodded as well: “Let’s do it this way. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective.”

“Alright,” the chubby guy stepped forward to unlock the door, “Old Ling, you’re the only one with a big gun among us; you need to keep watch.”

“Don’t worry, I will.” Ling Mo readied his rifle, preparing himself.

Surprisingly, the act of opening the door didn’t attract the nearby infected. However, once the four of them quietly emerged from the hotel, the infected wandering on the street couldn’t continue pretending to be blind; the nearest one immediately let out a “do” sound and turned to charge at them.

This time, Ling Mo was much more decisive and, aiming at the creature’s torso, pulled the trigger. The bullet instantly pierced the infected body, and the sheer stopping power sent the thing tumbling down and rolling several times, then—

BOOM——!!

The whole body suddenly exploded, splattering all sorts of chaotic bits around and coating a wide area in a crimson mist, but within a few seconds, even the scattered remains vanished, leaving only a shallow pit over a meter wide and a cracked ground.

The chubby guy stood there dumbfounded: “What the hell, this seems a bit unfair!”

Didn’t they just stuff a bomb in there?!

“Forget about fairness, let’s get moving!” Ling Mo shouted sharply, taking down two more charging infected while keeping a wary eye and retreating towards the narrow alley.

The first infected’s self-detonation had already drawn quite a number of others, subtly hinting at a trend of them all converging here; the longer they lingered, the greater the danger.

Xia Xinyan and Murong Yue had already reached the sewer entrance first. The manhole cover was not sealed, but given its weight, it was actually quite challenging for them to move it by hand.

After several fruitless attempts, the chubby guy squeezed in: “Step aside, let the professionals handle it!”

Xia Xinyan promptly gave way, turning to help Ling Mo fend off the oncoming infected. The narrow width of the alley meant that the fallen infected’s self-explosion became an obstacle, momentarily buying the four some time.

However, the explosion’s power had caused significant damage to the surrounding structures; at this rate, even if they could hold on, the walls on either side might not withstand much more.

Fortunately, the chubby guy lived up to his tonnage; though his face was red from exertion, he managed to move the manhole cover to the side, revealing the situation in the sewer.

Murong Yue, who was peering at the situation nearby, almost gagged from the smell.

“…Is it supposed to smell this bad?!” She immediately covered her nose and stepped back in disgust, “Wait, are we really going to walk through here for over ten kilometers?”

“Would you rather be blown up by that bunch of lunatics?” The chubby guy glanced at the approaching horde of infected, quickly pinching his nose and diving into the sewer.

Murong Yue struggled internally for a few seconds but ultimately compromised and started crawling inside: “What am I doing with my life playing such a game…”

On the other side, Xia Xinyan fired again, dropping another infected that had rushed through the explosion’s blood fog; her handgun finally ran dry, so she put it down and dashed towards the sewer entrance: “Mo Mo! Let’s go!”

“Okay…” Ling Mo backed away while aiming into the blood fog, quickly reaching the sewer entrance, “You go down first; I’ll cover you from behind.”

However, this time, Xia Xinyan didn’t let him be a hero: “You go down first!”

She had already reloaded her handgun, but Ling Mo’s rifle was likely out of ammo, and besides, the long weapon affected his movement speed more. Getting into the sewer would require climbing, and those few seconds were enough for an exploding soldier to get up close and personal; Ling Mo was in more danger now and should go first.

Ling Mo’s mind didn’t immediately register: “No, you go first…”

Before he finished, he realized he had emptied his magazine and froze for a moment.

“Get down already!” With the infected rushing at them, Xia Xinyan gritted her teeth, yanked Ling Mo back, and held her handgun in front of him, “Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”

Why was he being so foolish?! Heroism must be timed right! Could he not consider the actual situation, for once?!

—This was the first time she had spoken to Ling Mo in such a stern tone.

But just like Ling Mo, she was someone who easily took games seriously, especially when it came to a game like Realm of Divine Presence that involved the future. Normally, she could humor Ling Mo and let him show off, but in a situation where a slight misstep could lead to total annihilation, she couldn’t let him act recklessly.

In short, she was now serious.

And that successfully intimidated Ling Mo.

Much like being yelled at by a homeroom teacher to “hurry and do your homework,” her command-like words instinctively made Ling Mo follow her orders, putting away his gun and turning to jump into the sewer: “You hurry up too…”

Just then, yet another infected burst through the blood fog and charged forward, this time closing the gap to just a couple of meters between him and Xia Xinyan.

The stopping power of a handgun was far less than a rifle’s, and even if she could take this guy down immediately, its self-detonation would likely blow her away, so Xia Xinyan had no intention of using conventional methods.

At that moment, her eyes suddenly turned crimson, and she directly controlled the infected, halting it just in front of her before swiftly spinning around and charging back into the blood mist, followed by several deafening explosions from places she couldn’t see.

Then…

The walls collapsed.

The walls on either side of the alley could no longer withstand the frequent explosions; with the last straw added, they crumbled in an instant, almost burying everyone in the alley under the rubble in the next moment.

Xia Xinyan was startled, then made a quick decision and jumped straight into the sewer.

She collided with Ling Mo, who was still climbing the ladder, and they both landed in a heap on a pile of trash below.