Chapter 249 | Chapter 250 | Chapter 251
Chapter 249: The Third Floor, Sand Thorn Ball
Just as they entered the second floor, the group was attacked by Locust Monsters.
Everyone looked completely dazed.
“It seems the monsters on this floor are these massive Locust Monsters.”
Jiang Nana said, suppressing the discomfort in her heart; she absolutely loathed insect-type monsters.
After speaking, Jiang Nana picked up Little Fire Meow, and the little creature opened its mouth to breathe fire, incinerating the attacking locusts.
The locusts fell one by one.
Little Fire Meow’s fire ability was like a sharp sword, striking directly at the vital points of the second floor’s locusts.
No matter how many locusts there were, with Little Fire Meow around, the problem was easily solved.
Little Fire Meow raised its head proudly, looking at Youyou with a provocative gaze and a tilt of its nose, as if to say: “See that? This floor depends entirely on me.”
However, Little Fire Meow was shocked to find that Youyou was already sitting beside the charred corpse of a Giant Locust, feasting away.
Youyou: “It’s crunchy, it tastes really good~”
Seeing this, Little Fire Meow thought: “Oh no, now I’ve just become the one who starts the fire.”
“Can this thing actually be eaten?” Zhang Li couldn’t help but worry about Youyou’s stomach, while Su Ning carefully checked the data on the Giant Locust.
“Mhm, no need to worry too much. We might get diarrhea if we eat it, but for a being like Youyou, it shouldn’t be a problem. It can satisfy its energy requirements and fill its stomach.”
As she spoke, Su Ning also reached out to pick up the corpses of the [Giant Locusts]. Even if these locusts didn’t have anything she personally needed, they would make good snacks for Youyou.
Su Ning’s hoarding habit was acting up again; she felt an itch in her heart if she didn’t collect them.
Zhang Li looked at her and Zhao Fuqing’s monster eggs. At this moment, Zhao Fuqing was tightly clutching the [Rending Claw Wolf] monster egg in his arms.
Thinking about the future rations for these two pets, Zhang Li followed suit and stuffed many Giant Locust corpses into her storage space.
“To be honest, seeing Youyou eat makes me hungry too.”
Jiang Nana rubbed her stomach.
Hearing his wife say she was hungry, Kou Dingshan immediately began rummaging through his storage pocket for food, pulling out some steamed buns that were clearly homemade.
Not only were there buns, but also a bottle of chili sauce.
This chili sauce was something Kou Dingshan had traded from Su Ning earlier.
“I wonder if there are any materials in this instance that can be used to make food.” Jiang Nana took a bite of a bun, then took a few more from Kou Dingshan’s hand to pass around to everyone.
Su Ning didn’t refuse when she saw them. However, she didn’t just eat Jiang Nana’s food; she also took out some stamina-restoring [energy soup] from her space.
Zhang Li also pulled out some small red fruits from her own space, which were the cherry tomatoes she had grown in her potted plants at home.
Looking at the food in her hand, Ye Yunwu immediately spoke up. “If there are any useful plants, I’ll let everyone know. Although my talent is gathering plants, it also grants me the ability to distinguish whether a plant is useful or not.”
Jiang Nana said, “That’s really impressive! Then we’ll count on you to keep an eye out for any useful plants nearby.”
“Speaking of plants, in the real world, the plants have all mutated because of the rain issue.” A pot of cherry tomatoes that Zhang Li had watered with rainwater had also changed directly, becoming extremely threatening.
In the end, Zhang Li had no choice but to pull them up by the roots and destroy them.
Hearing everyone discuss these things,
Jiang Weikun became interested.
“I have some news. I heard that the [Prophet] in the First Shelter made a prediction, saying that a very terrifying mutated plant monster would appear around the Third Shelter. Its power could directly destroy the Third Shelter, but right now, this plant is still in its juvenile stage, and no one can find it.”
Kou Dingshan took a bite of his bun slathered in chili sauce and said unhurriedly, “No wonder I saw Tang Yuanbin from the Third Shelter leaving with Mu Feiyu earlier. Could they be relying on Mu Feiyu’s [Appraisal] ability to solve this unknown threat?”
“It’s possible!”
Zhang Li said, “Initially, I thought the disaster we had to defend against was just the flood. I didn’t expect it would be the mutated plants brought by the flood.”
Su Ning added, “The threats in the real world are indeed growing larger.”
“You can say that again.”
After resting, the group continued killing monsters on the second floor. Because of the monster distribution map in Su Ning’s hands, they were quickly able to find clusters of Giant Locusts, and with the presence of Little Fire Meow,
Everyone’s kill tasks were soon completed.
During this time, the number of players on the second floor was also increasing rapidly.
Su Ning and her group quickly headed to the third floor.
The environment of the third floor was even more unexpected.
It was actually a boundless desert, and the monsters on this floor were a type of being known as [Poison Sting Scorpions].
They possessed a highly toxic ability, and unlike the massive bodies of the Giant Locusts on the second floor, the Poison Sting Scorpions were only the size of a fingernail. They hid beneath the sand and were generally impossible to spot. Zhao Fuqing accidentally got stung by a Poison Sting Scorpion on this floor.
Fortunately, Su Ning possessed the ability to control toxins and helped Zhao Fuqing detoxify; otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
However, this floor was not without its rewards.
Ye Yunwu discovered something useful on this floor.
[Plant: Sand Thorn Ball]
Description: Although covered in thorns, the plant itself is rich in nutrients and is edible.
The Sand Thorn Ball was a type of plant similar to a barrel cactus, but its entire body was the same color as the sand, so even Su Ning hadn’t noticed it at first.
If it hadn’t been for Ye Yunwu, Su Ning would have overlooked its existence.
“This thing can be eaten?” Zhao Fuqing looked at the thorn-covered yellow plant in his hand.
“Yes!” Ye Yunwu nodded.
Su Ning took a knife out of her space.
With a few “cracks,” the sharp thorns of the Sand Thorn Ball were all chopped off, and then she sliced open the fruit protected by the thorns.
Compared to the yellow exterior, the flesh inside the Sand Thorn Ball was bright red.
Su Ning took a direct bite.
It wasn’t very sweet; instead, it had a slightly sour and astringent flavor, but overall it was quite delicious.
After slicing it open, Su Ning let the others have a taste as well.
Everyone was very satisfied.
Especially for the girls like Jiang Nana, they were all very pleased with the taste of the Sand Thorn Ball.
As a result, the group was in no hurry to leave the third floor even after completing their kill tasks.
Instead, they searched for these Sand Thorn Balls on the third floor.
During this period, Ye Yunwu also used the [Beast Taming] Talent seed and obtained the Beast Taming Talent.
She successfully gained the recognition of several Poison Sting Scorpions.
Su Ning likewise collected some Poison Sting Scorpions into her space.
Meanwhile, many players entered the fourth or fifth floors.
The group finally obtained a good number of Sand Thorn Balls.
They had wasted two days on the third floor.
Finally, on the third day, they entered the fourth floor.
Yet another new environment appeared before their eyes.
“This smell… Oh my god, no, I feel so nauseous.” Jiang Nana immediately frowned.
Su Ning and the others also immediately felt physical discomfort due to the smell in the air.
Su Ning quickly took out masks she had collected previously from her space and distributed them to everyone.
Everyone could finally catch their breath.
The fourth floor was actually a foul-smelling swamp.
Chapter 250: Dynamic Vision Talent, Swamp Toad Eye Material
“No, we have to finish the killing mission on this floor quickly. This smell is way too pungent. I can bear it for a short while, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to stand it for long,” Jiang Nana said with a pale face.
It wasn’t just her; even the Little Fire Meow in her arms looked as if it were being assaulted by toxic fog, tightly covering its nose as if it might die of poisoning the next second.
Su Ning looked around and saw many people searching for traces of the instance monsters on this floor.
“This floor is a swampland. We must not only be wary of the danger posed by monsters but also be careful of the hidden perils beneath the marsh.”
“I really don’t know what kind of sacred beings the monsters on this floor are. Haunting a swamp… could they be snakes, insects, ants, or beasts?” Zhang Li wondered.
Su Ning pulled out the monster distribution map, preparing to investigate where the monster colonies on the fourth floor were located.
Although she had the monster distribution map for the seven-story tower instance, it only showed the general locations of monster gatherings; she knew nothing about what the monsters on each floor actually looked like.
Regarding everyone’s guesses, she simply said nonchalantly, “We’ll know what they are when we see them.”
The group cautiously advanced toward the nearest monster colony.
They trekked with difficulty through the marsh, fearing they might accidentally sink into the quagmire or be ambushed by monsters lurking within.
Therefore, Jiang Weikun, who possessed the Danger Foresight ability, naturally took the lead at the front of the team.
However, before they had gone very far, they heard a series of desperate cries for help.
“Help! Help! Someone, please save us!”
Because of his Metal Control superpower, Zhao Fuqing was sitting directly on a sheet of iron, controlling it to fly toward the source of the sound like a lightning bolt.
Hearing the shouts, he immediately flew out to observe.
He soon returned to tell Su Ning what he had seen.
“Sister Su, there are people ahead surrounded by some massive toad monsters, and they’ve also fallen into the swamp.”
When Su Ning arrived, she saw four people stuck in the marsh, not daring to move an inch.
What was strange was that the five massive toad monsters surrounding them weren’t attacking; they were just staying there quietly.
Scavengers Eye clarified the details of these toad monsters, and she soon understood why the situation was like this.
[Monster: Swamp Toad]
Talent: Dynamic Vision: Extremely sensitive to moving objects.
Skills: Tongue Flick, Mud Spray.
One of the four people stuck in the swamp was about to be completely submerged. His eyes were full of terror, and out of necessity, he began to struggle, trying to break free from the swamp’s constraints.
The three people around him saw their companion start to move, and their eyes filled with horror.
Someone shouted, “Don’t move!”
However, it was already too late. The five surrounding Swamp Toads saw someone move, and their eyes instantly sharpened. They struck immediately, opening their huge mouths as pink tongues covered in countless bumps suddenly shot out.
In an instant, they stuck to Wang Ke. Wang Ke no longer had to worry about suffocating in the swamp, but he was being torn apart and eaten by the five Swamp Toads.
“Aaah!!”
The five toads began to gnaw with their giant mouths; the scene was far too gruesome.
Seeing such a scene, Zhao Fuqing dove directly into Zhang Li’s arms.
“Big sister, I’m scared.”
Zhang Li soothed Zhao Fuqing, “Don’t worry, big sister is here.”
After speaking, she looked at Su Ning, wanting to know what to do next—whether to save the remaining three or just leave.
Su Ning said, “It’s too late, we’ve been discovered.”
Zhang Li asked, “What do you mean?”
Then, they saw the five Swamp Toads sense the movement from Su Ning’s side. Their Dynamic Vision allowed them to quickly spot Su Ning’s group.
The five toads began to attack.
Mud sprayed from their mouths. Zhao Fuqing jumped off the iron sheet, and the iron sheet moved to block the front of the group.
This iron sheet wasn’t just a simple piece of metal; it was a circular shield.
The Swamp Toads’ Mud Spray collided with the shield, making crisp sounds.
The Swamp Toads’ Dynamic Vision was very powerful; as long as Su Ning and the others moved even slightly, an attack would appear before them the next second.
“Don’t move! As long as you don’t move, you won’t be attacked!”
One of the three remaining people stuck in the swamp suddenly shouted.
However, before this person could continue sharing their observation, the five toads collapsed to the ground the next second.
“What?” The man in the swamp was confused.
Su Ning wiped her lips as an intoxicating fragrance wafted around.
It was the Sleeping Deadly Poison that Su Ning’s Scavengers Deadly Poison had absorbed.
“Alright, let’s finish off these monsters.”
Jiang Nana didn’t waste words and gave Su Ning a thumbs up.
“You’re still the most amazing one.” After saying that, Jiang Nana shot a glare at Kou Dingshan.
Kou Dingshan rubbed his nose. “Is that much disdain really necessary? Wife, I’ll work hard to get stronger. You can’t leave me behind, okay?”
Zhao Fuqing found these giant toads very disgusting.
Several flying daggers floating around him quickly attacked.
Jiang Weikun looked at the child, Zhao Fuqing.
“What an impressive young lad.”
In this team, Jiang Weikun felt that besides himself and Su Ning, this kid with Metal Control was the strongest; even his own daughter had to take a back seat.
Although his daughter could manipulate the mass of objects, she didn’t like fighting and hadn’t utilized the power of that talent.
“What a waste of a good thing.” Jiang Weikun felt that this talent was wasted on his daughter.
But since she was his daughter, he naturally wouldn’t let her fall into danger and would always dote on her.
After killing these five monsters, the Ye Yunshuang sisters immediately went into action.
Ye Yunshuang began to butcher the Swamp Toads to see if she could get any useful materials from them. She and her sister weren’t strong enough, so they had to play their part; they couldn’t just receive help from others without contributing.
So she and Ye Yunwu immediately found their niche: logistical support.
Ye Yunshuang didn’t find the monsters disgusting at all and quickly butchered them.
Soon, something she deemed useful appeared in her hand.
It was a Swamp Toad’s eye, which actually emitted a faint glow after being taken out.
“What is this?”
Su Ning looked at the eye Ye Yunshuang handed over.
[Material: Swamp Toad Eye]
Description: An eye containing the power of a Talent. If one consumes a thousand of these eyes, they can obtain the [Dynamic Vision] Talent.
After reading the effect of this eyeball, Su Ning’s eyes lit up.
Good stuff!
Even though she had absolutely no desire to obtain this Talent, it didn’t mean others wouldn’t.
Everyone had long since realized that Su Ning possessed an ability similar to Appraisal.
Although Su Ning hadn’t said anything, no one was a fool. Moving together, they could more or less see something.
So everyone looked at Su Ning, wanting to know what was special about this eye.
Su Ning told everyone the effect of the eyeball. After hearing it, besides Kou Dingshan, Jiang Weikun, and Ye Yunshuang—who wanted to get stronger—the others showed interest in the eyeball.
The rest of them felt a wave of revulsion.
“Having to eat five hundred pairs of eyeballs to get a talent… I definitely don’t want this talent,” Jiang Nana immediately refused.
Chapter 251: Three Brothers, Misfortune!
Although Jiang Nana was uninterested, Kou Dingshan was somewhat excited, a glint flashing in his eyes.
He mused that if his Eagle Eye Talent were combined with [Dynamic Vision], the effect would be like adding wings to a tiger, far more than a simple one plus one equals two.
Even Jiang Weikun immediately started watching.
“Although devouring these things is somewhat bizarre and strange, if it can enhance strength, I am willing to try it,” Kou Dingshan blurted out.
Jiang Nana did not stop Kou Dingshan based on her personal preference; after all, the stronger Kou Dingshan became, the more secure she would feel.
Su Ning ignored the thoughts of these people and instead turned his gaze toward the three individuals rescued by Zhao Fuqing.
At this moment, the three who had escaped the swamp looked extremely wretched, as if they had endured a brutal baptism.
Perhaps due to the demise of their companion, these three were all overcome with grief.
Among these three were one elder and two young people, two males and one female.
[Player: Wang Ze]
Talent: Speed Enhancement: Speed is extremely fast!
Skills: Shadow Clone, Projection.
[Player: Wang Lei]
Talent: Strength Enhancement: Strength is extremely powerful!
Skills: Powerful Strike, Consecutive Fist.
[Player: Zhao Yuying]
Talent: Weakening Power: Can weaken the target’s strength.
Skills: None
The three were clearly a family.
And Zhao Yuying was obviously their mother.
At this moment, Zhao Yuying looked at the shredded corpse with utter devastation.
“My son, you died so tragically!”
Wang Ze and Wang Lei also looked heartbroken. Their three brothers had Talents where one enhanced speed, one enhanced strength, and Wang Ke enhanced defense.
So, Wang Ke had always been the one defending at the front.
The mother’s talent could weaken the target’s strength, allowing the three brothers to deal with opponents together.
One for skirmishing and interference, one for main attack, one for defense, and the mother for support.
The four arrived at the fourth level with tacit coordination, but they never expected the surrounding swamp environment to completely negate Wang Ze’s speed advantage, and when they encountered these Swamp Toads, the four accidentally fell into the swamp while dodging and couldn’t move.
They never imagined their younger brother would die just like that.
Zhao Yuying wept over her son’s death.
Seeing Su Ning’s group unharmed, her heart churned like an overturned jar of five flavors; she felt terrible.
She immediately cursed at Zhao Fuqing, who had rescued them: “Why didn’t you come sooner? If you had been one step earlier, how could my son have perished? Why wasn’t it you who died!”
Zhao Fuqing had gone through immense hardship to rescue these people from the swamp, yet instead of receiving any gratitude, he was subjected to a torrent of angry scolding, his mood instantly plummeting to rock bottom.
Zhang Li saw this and immediately shielded Zhao Fuqing like a mother hen protecting her chicks.
“We came with good intentions to save you, yet you repay kindness with enmity? If we had known, we should have just let you fend for yourselves in the swamp. That way, you could go underground and reunite with your son!”
Zhao Yuying never dreamed that this seemingly delicate young girl would dare to talk back to her.
She turned her gaze to her two other sons.
At this moment, Wang Ze and Wang Lei looked awkward; they never expected their mother to suddenly lose control like that.
The two could only brace themselves and apologize: “We are truly sorry. Our mother is probably having a mental breakdown because of our brother’s passing. We are extremely sorry.”
Su Ning and the others also walked over upon hearing the noise.
Jiang Nana saw that Xiao Qing had suffered such a great injustice and immediately retorted angrily: “Truly, good intentions are repaid with ingratitude! It wasn’t us who killed your son. We helped you deal with the monsters and saved you from the mire of the swamp, yet instead of a single word of thanks, we suffer such humiliation.”
Zhao Yuying wanted to continue cursing, but Wang Ze and Wang Lei firmly stopped her.
The two clearly sensed that Su Ning’s group was not easy to provoke and were afraid their mother would offend these people.
Su Ning was speechless regarding people like this.
“In the future, do fewer things like saving people. Just follow their fate.”
No one thought it was wrong for Xiao Qing to want to save people; even in a natural disaster apocalypse, people shouldn’t lose their conscience.
Good intentions are fine, but one must also exercise restraint.
The group ignored Wang Ze and Wang Lei’s displeased expressions and prepared to leave.
However, Zhao Yuying directly called out to Su Ning, “Stop! What you obtained from those monsters should belong to us.”
Although Zhao Yuying was grieving her son’s death, she still didn’t want others to take her family’s benefits.
Clearly, she hadn’t grasped the current situation. Zhao Yuying still believed her family had merely fallen into the swamp by accident, thinking that without the swamp, they could have dealt with the monsters just as well.
When she saw Su Ning’s group taking the eyes of the Swamp Toads, the sharp-tongued Zhao Yuying immediately realized these were good things. Good things naturally shouldn’t be taken by others.
Furthermore, Zhao Yuying believed her son could have dealt with those monsters too, which meant these things belonged to their son.
She completely failed to realize that just a moment ago, they had been saved by Su Ning’s group.
Hearing Zhao Yuying’s words, Jiang Nana laughed in anger, “No way, are you trying to be funny? Your things?”
Jiang Nana wanted to curse at the woman again but was stopped by Su Ning.
Su Ning glanced at Zhao Yuying.
“If you want them, come and take them yourself. But whether you can succeed in snatching them is up to your ability.”
After speaking, he turned and left directly.
Before leaving, Jiang Nana spat twice! “Ptooey!”
Zhao Yuying looked at her two sons. Wang Ze and Wang Lei shook their heads; neither of them understood how Su Ning had instantly incapacitated the five Swamp Toads earlier, so they could only restrain their mother.
Zhao Yuying cursed them internally, “What useless things!”
Wang Ze said, “Mom, the other side has superior numbers. We don’t even have a chance to make a move.”
Zhao Yuying said, “Find an opportunity to strike. You two should also think about giving me a grandchild. There are quite a few beautiful women in that team, so you can choose freely.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Ze and Wang Lei, who only had a slight inclination to attack Su Ning’s group before, instantly felt restless.
Zhao Yuying’s eyes were filled with malice. “Hmph, we’ll torment them slowly later.”
On the other side:
“So infuriating. Xiao Qing, we were not wrong to save people; it shows you are kind-hearted. But in the future, when saving people, we must keep our eyes open and not save just anyone,” Jiang Nana grumbled.
Xiao Qing nodded.
Zhang Li glanced at Su Ning. She wondered why Su Ning, given his temper, would just leave after encountering such a frustrating situation, instead of fighting back.
Was Su Ning really that kind-hearted?
Of course not. As Su Ning left, he used his talent to place a Halo of Misfortune on the heads of the three.
Before Su Ning had gone far, three more screams were heard from behind.
The group turned back and saw that, somehow, Zhao Yuying and her sons had accidentally fallen back into the swamp again. Coincidentally, five Swamp Toads reappeared nearby.
The situation had returned to the starting point.
However, this time, even if Zhao Yuying screamed for help loudly, it would be useless.
Su Ning’s group didn’t even bother to pay attention.
Even Jiang Nana cursed, “Serves you right!”
In the end, the three tragically followed in Wang Ke’s footsteps and were devoured by the Swamp Toads.
