You'll become a god, you'll create Earth ONLINE

Su Hao didn't speak. He pulled out the fire axe from his waist and looked around warily.

"Fatty, hold the shield and lead the way. Third Brother, you defend the flanks. Boss, protect Cha Cha in the middle. I'll cover the rear."

"Everyone, please walk quietly and try not to make too much noise."

"Our destination is Building 8 across the street, about thirty meters away as the crow flies. Don't bother with anything in these bushes, just go full speed ahead."

Su Hao quickly arranged the formation.

The fat man took a deep breath, raised his left arm, which was tied to the metal cabinet door, in front of him, and held a pair of rusty pliers in his right hand. He then carefully took his first step.

"Shh...shh..."

Five people trudged through waist-deep grass.

With each step, you have to use your hands to push aside the tough blades of grass ahead. The sharp blades scrape against your clothes, making a teeth-grinding screeching sound.

The sun overhead was getting increasingly scorching.

Su Hao glanced at the status bar.

The status icon for "mild thirst" is flashing, indicating that stamina is being lost at a significantly faster rate.

"It's too quiet."

Zhao Lei said in a low voice.

It was indeed too quiet.

Apart from the sound of them shoveling through the grass, there were no insects chirping or birds singing, and even the barking of the zombie dogs that had been heard upstairs earlier had disappeared.

This deathly silence seemed particularly eerie in this mutated jungle.

Just as they had moved forward about ten meters and reached the center of the small garden.

"Click".

The fat man at the front seemed to step on something hard.

The fat man stopped and looked down.

A section of white bone was visible through the gaps in the weeds.

Judging from its shape, it resembles a human thigh bone.

There were still some bite marks on the bone, and it was crawling with black ants.

"Holy crap, dead man's bones..."

The fat man swallowed hard, feeling a chill run down his spine.

In that half-second of his daze...

A sudden change has occurred!

"Whoosh—!"

Less than two meters away from the fat man, a dark green vine, as thick as a baby's arm and covered in barbs, suddenly shot out from the bushes on his right without warning!

The vine moved with astonishing speed, like a venomous snake that had been lying in wait for a long time, flashing a green afterimage in the sunlight, heading straight for the fat man's face.

"Watch out, Fatty!"

Chen Fei was the first to react and loudly reminded him.

But it was too late.

The vines were moving too fast for the fat man to dodge.

At the critical moment, the fat man acted entirely on instinct, suddenly raising his left hand, which was tied to the metal cabinet door.

"Bang!!!"

A dull thud.

The thorny vine lashed firmly against the green metal cabinet door.

The immense force dented the thick sheet metal, leaving a noticeable deep crater, and sparks flew everywhere.

The fat man groaned, staggered back two steps from the force of the blow, and fell hard on his backside.

But this crudely made iron tower shield was indeed tough enough, managing to block the fatal blow.

[System Notification: You have been attacked by the 'Mutant Bloodthirsty Vine'. Due to shield blocking, the damage has been greatly reduced. Health -5.]

"Enemy attack!"

Su Hao roared and instantly raised the fire axe.

The vine that missed its target didn't retract; instead, it nimbly twisted in mid-air like a whip, then wrapped around the ankle of the fat man lying on the ground.

"Still trying to pester me?"

Just as the vine was about to touch the fat man's calf...

"Whoosh!"

A blue light shone from the grass.

Chen Fei, clad in light leather boots, moved with ghostly speed.

He lunged forward, his [Poisonous Rat Tooth Dagger] flashing with a chilling light, and precisely sliced ​​into the vine.

"Pfft!"

Green juice splattered.

The sharp blue dagger sliced ​​through the tough vine like butter, severing a section of it.

"-45!" (Weakness attack!)

Half of the vine lay on the ground, writhing and twitching wildly like a severed snake's tail.

The remaining vine seemed to feel a sharp pain and abruptly retreated into the depths of the dense grass.

"Don't chase!"

Su Hao grabbed Chen Fei, who was about to rush into the bushes to finish him off.

"The visibility is too poor in the bushes; be careful, it might be a trap."

Su Hao stared at the direction where the vines had retracted.

A very brief message flashed across the system panel the instant the dagger struck the vine.

[Lv.3 Mutated Bloodthirsty Vine (Normal Monster)]

[Status: Photosynthetic Frenzy (Increased activity during the day, extremely aggressive).]

"A mutated plant monster. No wonder it was silent."

Zhao Lei cautiously leaned against Su Hao, protecting Lin Chacha behind him.

"We can't stay here for long."

Su Hao gripped his axe tightly and looked around at the green sea of ​​grass that looked exactly the same, yet was full of hidden dangers.

"Plant monsters don't move, or they move very slowly. They hunt by camouflage and ambush."

"Fatty, stand up! Hold the shield up, let's charge!"

The fat man scrambled to his feet, stared at the deep dent in the metal door, and felt a wave of fear wash over him.

If it weren't for this piece of scrap metal, that slap to the face would have made my head explode like a watermelon.

"Walk!"

The five quickened their pace, no longer carefully parting the bushes, but instead having the fat man, shield in hand, forcefully break through the grass to make way for them.

However, this mutated garden, which had been interfered with by higher-dimensional forces, clearly did not want them to leave so easily.

Just as they had rushed forward less than five meters...

The grass that had been peaceful suddenly began to sway violently without any wind.

"Shhhhh—"

From all directions came the extremely dense sound of plant leaves rubbing together.

Immediately afterwards, in the grass within a two-meter radius around them.

A dozen or so thorny vines of different colors, like awakened venomous snakes, slowly peeked out from the camouflage of green vegetation.

They swayed in mid-air, tightly surrounding the five-person team in the center.

Not only that.

Behind these vines, a bright red flower, as big as a washbasin, slowly bloomed.

In the center of the flower's stamen, there is no nectar, only a disgusting gaping mouth covered with sharp teeth, constantly dripping corrosive acid.

"My goodness..."

The fat man looked at the scene around him, and the iron gate in his hand trembled.

"Have we fallen into a spider's web?"

"Prepare for battle!"

Su Hao's eyes were cold and stern as he gripped the fire axe tightly with both hands.

There's no escaping it in this dense grass.

The only way out is to fight your way out!

Just as the two sides were about to clash, Su Hao was preparing to strike first and cut off the nearest vine.

"Whoosh—!"

A familiar, extremely shrill sound of something tearing through the air came rushing down from above!

"Knock!"