"I have, no problem," Xu Huo replied, looking at Dai Song, "According to what you said, let’s reach Tiandao Forest before midnight to rest." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Dai Song was speechless.

The following events were much like before, dealing with bizarre mutated plants and animals every so often. Not only did it consume props, but it also drained the group’s energy. The prolonged high-alert and combat wore everyone out. However, Xu Huo had already advised Cao Qinglin not to take action beforehand, instructing her to just sit like Dr. Duor.

Around one in the morning, they finally arrived at Tiandao Forest.

Of course, the forest wasn’t small. Dai Song mentioned that there was a picking garden in the forest, originally intended for tourist entertainment. Several years ago, during the Twin Cities’ exploration of Heaven’s Ladder, they reinforced the garden, which should serve as a temporary shelter.

"If it’s still necessary," he added.

"My venue prop isn’t high-level, so entering the picking garden is definitely better," Xu Huo instructed the domestic mechanical being to drive the car into the garden.

However, Dai Song spoke too politely. The so-called "reinforcement" was merely adding iron bars outside the glass windows and randomly nailing things to the walls, serving more as a psychological comfort. Furthermore, the fence outside the picking garden was completely destroyed, part of the accommodation area’s wall had collapsed, leaving only a relatively spacious large dining hall that hadn’t been severely damaged by aliens.

Venue props are best used in spacious areas, and the Sole Entrance also contains a dining hall and kitchen, so Xu Huo chose the location in front of the picking garden, aligning the entrance’s archway to face outside.

The car also entered the Sole Entrance, equipped with quite complete tools inside, and the door could block odors from dissipating.

"I’ll take care of the cooking," Gou Wu immediately said, "Fighting hard in the game, I’ll make a good meal for everyone!"

Xu Huo readily handed him the pork leg to prepare and gestured for Cao Qinglin and Dr. Duor to sit at one table while he sat at an adjacent table.

The aroma of food soon drifted out, Fan Zhigang’s table was served a bowl, Cao Qinglin coordinated with Xu Huo, first asked him with her eyes, and only picked up chopsticks after he nodded; Dr. Duor wasn’t slow either and followed her in unison.

Fan Zhigang and his two companions had been observing them for a while, but they weren’t sure who was "Dr. Duor." Naturally, the "Dr. Duor" Xu Huo’s group had received might not be genuine, but if he were real, their journey to the Secondary City would be a bargain, not worth probing further.

The dining atmosphere was thus harmonious as both sides finished their meal.

With venue props as protection, they could rest well for a few hours before setting off again.

Fan Zhigang was quite interested in blade props, so after the meal, he sought out Xu Huo, hoping to borrow his Black Blade for a look.

Xu Huo took out the Black Blade named "Unbreakable," a Rank A Prop. Although it couldn’t perform ranged attacks, it could destroy similar props, cutting through aliens was like slicing vegetables.

Of course, props without activation conditions or special effects can be smoothly used by non-owners.

"This is at least a Rank-B Prop," Fan Zhigang said as he examined the blade, unable to hide his fondness, "It’s really beautifully crafted!"

He then showed Xu Huo his collection, totaling over a dozen knives ranging from Rank-C to Rank-B; however, he couldn’t bring himself to use the Rank-B knife, having sealed the blade with materials.

"You used to be a doctor?" Xu Huo casually asked.

Fan Zhigang nodded, "A surgeon, quite renowned in my hometown. I studied hard for twenty years, just when it seemed I was going to make a name for myself, I ended up in the game. Still poor, accumulating wealth in the game is far harder than working diligently outside."

"Have you looked into the genetic disease researched by Chunsun Laboratory?" Xu Huo asked, "In other zones, I’ve never seen people from one or two areas collectively showing genetic disease symptoms, unless there’s a local pollution source."

"That’s indeed hard to explain," Fan Zhigang agreed, "Besides, I’ve heard the people from Twin Cities originally migrated there from elsewhere, having no issues. Once they lived in Twin Cities for a few years, they all fell ill. Calling it a genetic disease is rather peculiar."

"I’ve seen some research materials at Chunsun Laboratory; it seems the people from Zone 023 inherently have genetic defects, worsened by the substantial changes in the zone’s natural illusion realm. Those living near Twin Cities fell ill due to their genetic defects, and even leaving couldn’t lead to improvement. This disease, once occurred, would be passed down through generations. Without a fundamental solution, future children would also catch the disease."

"People from Zone 023 have genetic defects?" Xu Huo raised his eyebrows, "Is this the reason for the lack of advanced players in Zone 023?"

"Probably," Fan Zhigang shrugged, "From a medical perspective, inferior genes are indeed more likely to be eliminated compared to others. Zone 023 has been in the game for quite a while, yet, it’s said that there are hardly any native Rank-B players found, let alone Rank-A."

"Moreover, they aren’t united internally." He suddenly shifted to another topic, "We noticed a bounty order targeting the people of this zone when we came from other cities, where each head fetched tens of thousands higher for players. See, killing each other, how can good seedlings grow?"

"The people you’re talking about in those bounty orders aren’t true Zone 023 people," Dai Song coldly interjected, "They’re the earliest migrants from other zones, whose original zone vanished, Zone 023 generously took them in and allocated land for them. Unexpectedly, they tried to completely take over Zone 023, seeking to replace the original Zone 023 population. They even orchestrated large-scale evolution events, causing the deaths of many from Zone 023."

"The bounty order should have told you, their appearances are significantly different from true Zone 023 people."

This was a topic he had previously avoided, adding, "This isn’t internal conflict."

Fan Zhigang wasn’t very informed about this, only making a face without saying much.

But Xu Huo’s group had various thoughts; previously when encountering Mr. Chi and others in the desert area, although they hadn’t explicitly stated, their attitudes aligned with Dai Song’s. They believed themselves to be Zone 023 people and denied residents of cities like Twin Cities as part of Zone 023.

Both parties claimed the other was the invader and responsible for the death-evolution events.

"That’s also what you told us," Qiu Ming spoke, "We came across an abandoned city with many dead on the way here, and most of them had different facial features from yours. Since you say they’re from outside the zone, why did the evolution event lead to their massive casualties instead?"

Dai Song’s anger flared, "That’s because you didn’t see the scene where dozens of Zone 023 cities dragged out two-thirds of their population within the same few days. Even killing them all three times wouldn’t suffice!!"