Chapter 204: There’s A Traitor Here
“It’s them!”
Player 8 widened their eyes and looked toward Players 10 and 7 struggling inside the huge plant root.
Player 10 had already become a plant person minion controlled by the boss, while Player 7 seemed to retain some sanity.
He looked at his teammates with tears in his eyes, reached forward, trying to escape the plant root crazily growing in his body.
There was a patch of blood on his skull, like it was smashed with a blunt weapon, done by that Player 10 traitor.
Maybe their team got hit the first time they heard strange sounds on the road, with Player 10 being affected.
The source of the blurry chaotic voices was these ‘plant people’.
They had fused with the mutated rafflesia, the principle perhaps a bit like cordyceps, except they weren’t completely dead; as long as the main root was there, it could continuously transmit energy.
Similarly, these ‘plant people’ action area was also limited by the roots on their bodies.
They couldn’t leave the tribe and surroundings.
Yu Jiang made a decision in her heart; she looked at Player 9.
“Cooperation. I can get you to clear instance, and you can get the boss rewards too. Otherwise, everyone goes separate ways.”
Meaning, either work with her or figure out how to survive being surrounded and attacked by over a dozen ‘plant people’ and one super huge mutated plant.
Doing nothing and still expecting to freeload a clear instance was impossible.
Player 7 couldn’t be saved; they only had 3 people left, team incomplete, but still some chance to leave the instance.
“You want to fight this thing?! No—” Player 6 wanted to say more but stopped.
He wanted to say, don’t you see how scary this is? Look at what happened to Players 7 and 10—why not run? Stay and become a ‘plant person’?
But seeing Yu Jiang’s eyes, he said nothing.
She wasn’t negotiating; she was making them choose.
“What do we need to do?” Player 9 asked worriedly.
All three were afraid of being used as cannon fodder by the other side, so none dared agree.
Yu Jiang: “You go with my teammate to bring that scarlet millipede over. The rest wait outside the tribe to provide assistance.”
Called assistance, but actually to find Great Luck Chariot God and get a sack; she wouldn’t tell outsiders her full plan.
Fireproof, theft-proof, traitor-proof.
“Go with who?” Player 9 looked at Yu Jiang and others hesitantly.
Yu Jiang pointed at Shi Xu.
“Just us two?” Player 9’s trembling finger pointed at themselves.
How vicious is the scarlet millipede! Just, two people? If you want my life, just say it.
“Don’t worry, you’re assisting my teammate; I’m not sending you to die.” Yu Jiang said sincerely, “I’ll give you an advanced healing potion plus an intermediate detox pill. Bring the monster over and you’ll get another share.”
Beast tamer—very useful in the rainforest.
“Really?” Player 9’s expression lit up. “Okay, I’ll go!”
Advanced healing potion and intermediate detox pill—if he could save them on this trip, it was pure profit. Boss was too generous!
Wait, someone who could casually take out these two potions—there’s only one…
Player 9’s face showed sudden realization. Players 6 and 8 exchanged glances, a bit envious of their teammate.
“Sis, is this activity still open? Two people aren’t enough—how about me?” Player 6’s attitude changed drastically.
Player 8 said nothing, but their face showed eagerness to try.
This was a great chance to network with a big shot! Just as expected from high difficulty instance for a promising future.
“No need, you two with me.” Yu Jiang smiled.
Shi Xu and the beast tamer were enough; more people would just cause chaos and affect efficiency.
“What if he acts suspiciously on the way?” Shi Xu asked in the team channel.
“Then kill him.” Yu Jiang calmly sent the message.
They could choose not to cooperate and clear instance their own way. If they agreed to cooperate but schemed behind the scenes, Yu Jiang wouldn’t hold back.
No time to waste; teammates packed up supplies from the camp. Yu Jiang and Shi Xu led the way, taking everyone outward.
Green plant roots grew from underground, crisscrossing and completely surrounding the tribe without a single gap.
To escape, they needed to cut roots faster than they regrew to fill the gaps.
Ordinary weapon attacks weren’t enough; only Shi Xu and Yu Jiang in the team could clear the path.
When roots were cut, toxic sap seeped out, and a thick disgusting smell spread in the air.
Only Yu Jiang was unaffected; others relied on detox pills to endure.
Shi Xu handled main output, while Yu Jiang blocked the toxic sap for him.
Root growth speed was too fast; they could only clear a narrow path with extremely limited action area. Shi Xu’s miao blade was long—luckily they’d cooperated many times before.
No need to speak; they cooperated flawlessly even in such tight space.
Teammates behind could afford minor mistakes, but not those in key positions in the team. One slip-up and everyone would be unlucky; halfway progress would be wasted.
In this position, it wasn’t just external pressure but also mental pressure.
Yu Jiang stayed focused the whole way, carefully observing surroundings, gripping her weapon tightly until their view opened up—they finally escaped.
Yu Jiang’s green jacket was covered in mutated plant juice, with a stinging eyes smell.
Not the time to care about cleanliness—this was good; whoever grabbed her would get toxic sap on their hand and might get affected first.
Meanwhile, the sky outside gradually shifted from black to deep blue; the rainforest was still damp and dark.
Shi Xu took the beast tamer back to find the scarlet millipede. Four-leaf clover only Yu Jiang could control, so couldn’t lend it.
He could only rely on positioning to dodge scarlet millipede attacks.
Most monsters had tracking distance; scarlet millipede was huge but not slow, with tracking distance of several hundred meters. Use that well and it could be brought over.
Yu Jiang had Han Jiang Gu Ying first confirm Great Luck Chariot God team’s position—this was his specialty.
Great Luck Chariot God wouldn’t be too far from the tribe; as long as they’d been active nearby, they’d leave traces inescapable to a hunter’s tracking.
——
Somewhere in the rainforest.
Several disheveled people were looking toward the tribe.
Nicholas lowered his binoculars, a hint of schadenfreude on his tired face.
“Monsters in the tribe are going all out. Listen to that movement—they’re in trouble. Pity night vision telescope can’t see them scrambling inside.”
Great Luck Chariot God sneered silently. “Go wait nearby first. Once the monsters inside wear them down and they have no skills left, we strike.”
Their team had long scanned and known there was a boss in the tribe, and spotted the previous two teams heading here.
They’d been squatting outside the tribe all night just to let these people trigger the traps first—otherwise they wouldn’t have suffered like this.
This place was full of stinking dead water, foul smell, snakes insects rats and ants in swarms. They barely found a spot to pitch the tent and hadn’t slept all night.
Itching everywhere. Great Luck Chariot God was bitten by a tick and got botfly eggs; didn’t notice until the eggs hatched into large maggots under his skin.
The larva secretes substances that numb humans; when not fully grown, no feeling. Great Luck Chariot God touched a big lump on his body, something still moving inside.
