Chapter 2716: Signs of Human Presence

"Is it that this snake is too peculiar, or have we unknowingly been influenced?" Yan Jiayu posed a soul-searching question.

The Psychic Power Interference Device has been continuously active, something Pu Yu brought specifically after investigation, to alleviate the pressure brought by the energy zone. Besides Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu, all other people here are Rank-A Players, how could they unknowingly be affected without realizing it?

"Granny Qiao, Uncle Qiao, didn’t you notice anything either?" Pu Yu turned and asked the two beside her.

Both shook their heads, but Granny Qiao offered another explanation, "With such thick mechanical suits, it’s not surprising that our judgment is interfered with. Furthermore, the fluctuating energy here might cause interference and lead to oversight."

"Your instruments can’t even detect living things?" Xu Huo remarked.

Granny Qiao remained silent. At such close proximity, there was really no excuse.

Yet their instruments showed only five living beings, them, while the Giant Python earlier was already killed. But they couldn’t guarantee that there weren’t other Giant Pythons around.

"I have a thought," Yan Jiayu said again, "Some animals evolve the ability to play dead in extreme environments to survive long-term. With grass growing in its belly, it might have been in a false death state, only awakened by our arrival."

Such animals existed not just in today’s gaming world, but even before evolution in Zone 014. The difference was if Pu Yu’s Rank-A Wormhole Point instruments could not detect the false death state of animals, then what was the point of bringing them?

But this was not the time to pursue this, everyone tacitly skipped this topic and just became more cautious, using props to test each path change to ensure they wouldn’t blunder into a snake’s belly.

They indeed did not encounter the same Giant Python later, but neither did they make further discoveries.

"Let’s rest for a while," Pu Yu suggested upon reaching an underground water pool.

In large areas of the passage, props weren’t convenient to take out, so they divided into two groups to rest.

Yan Jiayu rinsed her metal gloves soaked with various plant juices at the poolside before entering Xu Huo’s prop area.

After removing her helmet, she said, "I feel they are not very reliable."

"What’s the problem?" Xu Huo asked while unwrapping some dry rations.

"Pu Yu mentioned inheriting so much wealth but only being accompanied by two players. It’s rather odd. If she wasn’t considered promising or if this journey wasn’t expected to yield anything, then she wouldn’t be followed by two strong players. Since such strong players accompanied her, both the matter and she shouldn’t be considered unimportant," Yan Jiayu said, "Their instrument analyses all use professional data, but we don’t have a basis for comparison; everything depends on their word."

"Maybe it’s just covert support," Xu Huo suggested, "It’s inconvenient to announce this before accomplishing the task. Her supporters or those who bet early might choose this unobtrusive way."

"They do think a lot," Yan Jiayu said, supporting her chin with one hand and nibbling on the dry rations with the other, "But also, getting a share of inheritance from a zone means being set for life, never lacking anything, able to buy whatever they want. So enviable."

"If they can’t find it, she’d end up losing everything on this trip," Xu Huo said, "It’s merely a gamble."

"Gamblers, in the end, all end up as losers."

"Could you defeat those two Rank-A Players?" Yan Jiayu asked, "If it comes to fighting, I’ll barely manage to hold one of them."

"Why fight?" Xu Huo chuckled, "If they want to turn hostile, we’ll just flee; the gaming world is vast, where would they find us?"

Yan Jiayu chuckled too, then suddenly added, "I feel they might not have entered using tickets. Could they have carried instruments that cross Wormhole Points with them?"

"Mixing truth and lies, no matter their intentions, we’re merely helping out," Xu Huo said, "Getting some ore before returning means it wasn’t a wasted trip."

Yan Jiayu knew that Xu Huo had lost quite a few props since coming out of Circus City, so she said, "If I get good props from high-risk instances, I’ll sell them to you at a low price."

Xu Huo certainly wouldn’t refuse, paused, then added, "Don’t remove your helmet anymore. We’ve somewhat been affected by mental interference since entering, and prolonged exposure might not end well."

Yan Jiayu nodded solemnly.

After resting, they set out again.

The extent of this underground passage was unknown, but they hadn’t retraced their steps. By now, they were very far from the underground Sky Pit, and some passages had collapsed stone fragments.

This made Pu Yu’s expression sour. Twenty thousand meters underground, ordinary props absolutely couldn’t pierce such thick rock layers to return to the surface, yet leaving like this felt unsatisfactory...

"Let’s change direction," she said, "a site underground couldn’t have left no trace at all!"

Xu Huo and Yan Jiayu exchanged glances, not opposing, and followed the other three to turn back.

The return journey was smooth, saving time on checking everywhere, and they quickly returned near the Sky Pit, this time taking the opposite route.

Initially, it was similar to before, with all snake-shaped passages, but after half a day had passed, the edges of some passages appeared to have remnants of structures—metal or bricks pressed into the stone walls.

Pu Yu’s spirits lifted and she urged her group to quicken their pace.

After some more distance, the discovery of signs of human life magnified their joy further.

"Whether they are remnants of this zone or Outer Zone players who lingered, at least it suggests we found the right direction, perhaps the direction my aunt initially took."

"Miss, be cautious," Granny Qiao stopped Pu Yu from touching a stone wall resembling a direction mark.

Pu Yu restrained her excitement and continued forward, and after nearly half an hour, they encountered living people.

The newcomers appeared within their perception range, clearly alive and moving, yet the instrument showed no change.

Before checking if the instrument was faulty, the two players approaching released their instrument first, questioning who they were and their purpose.

Pu Yu courteously explained their intention, and after a moment, the two players came closer. Judging by their attire, they were likely from different zones, not residents of this zone.

The two were straightforward about their background; both were Rank-B players who had stumbled into this instance. It was an unlimited time instance, and once inside, they hadn’t managed to leave; even as the instance upgraded, they hadn’t been transported away for unknown reasons.

"We initially worried about being directly teleported to a high-risk random instance, but who would’ve thought it would take a turn instead; hiding underground is better than losing our lives," Zhuo Mingfeng said, one of the two.