The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

After confirming that he was not the one who killed the Ghost General, the other party's tone and demeanor became noticeably colder.

Although basic politeness was still maintained, the feeling that "you are no longer our focus" was already evident.

Su Mu showed no displeasure. He stood up and nodded slightly to Elder Li: "Thank you."

Old Li nodded and did not try to stop him.

Su Mu turned and walked out of the building.

The outside was still bathed in the pale golden light of the defensive towers, and the professionals remained in formation as if they had not moved at all.

As he walked back, his impression of the Golden Pagoda organization became clear: they were completely different from the Wind Organization. The Wind Organization at least offered some protection and guidance, while the Golden Pagoda's logic was more direct...

If they like you, they'll use resources to win you over; if they don't, they'll keep their distance.

It's not a matter of good or bad, just more realistic.

He didn't care about these things, after all, the other party hadn't threatened him, nor had they shown any unusual reaction to his concealment.

When Su Mu returned to the vicinity of the tower base, he waited for a while, but the ghost did not come again.

When Lin Yuwei came around from the other side, she had a new backpack on her back, which was bulging, obviously because she had picked up a lot of things on the way.

She walked over to Su Mu and stood down, tightening her backpack straps a little, then said, "I observed the area along the way. The three tower roads are basically safe; the monsters won't attack people on their own, and there are no strange creatures."

However, beyond the three paths, there are some wandering monsters corrupted by ghosts; they are few in number and scattered.

As Su Mu listened to those words, he pieced together the information and the arrangement of the defensive towers in his mind, and an increasingly clear outline emerged... Three

Roads, turrets, jungle, neutral creeps...

If this thing were in a game, everyone would recognize it at a glance, but in reality, no one would want to treat it as a real game.

As he was pondering this question, Lin Yuwei spoke up again: "There's another important piece of information. If you're killed here and forced to return to the cable car, you'll drop items, roughly 20% of your supplies will drop randomly."

Most of the people who died before didn't have anything important with them, so no one noticed.

But someone in the channel has already said that someone dropped out with their equipment.

Furthermore, if you die and exit the game, everything you acquired in Ash City will be lost. There are two ways to exit: one is by dying, and the other is to return to the normal area and wait eight seconds to teleport back to the cable car.

Su Mu frowned slightly.

He originally thought that forcibly retaining some health points during teleportation would be safe enough, but now it seems that the cost of being killed while carrying a full load of supplies is far higher than he expected.

He glanced at his experience bar; he was just one step away from breaking through to level thirteen. He didn't want to waste this opportunity to enter the dungeon.

"I'm planning to explore areas beyond the three routes," he said.

Both women looked at him simultaneously. Lin Yuwei frowned slightly: "You're planning to go into the wilderness?"

Lin Xiaohe didn't speak, but her gaze clearly shifted. Su Mu nodded: "There should be quite a few infected monsters on the outer perimeter of the regular route. Although they're sparsely distributed, their levels aren't high, so killing them won't be slow. I was almost leveled up; grinding outside for a while should allow me to break through."

After he finished speaking, he walked directly towards the outer edge of the nearest road, Talu, without waiting for a response. The two women were silent for a moment, then followed him in unison.

The terrain outside the three tower roads is significantly different.

The ground changed from smooth stone slabs to a mixture of broken bricks and sand, the buildings on both sides were spaced further apart, and vegetation began to appear...

Withered bushes, vines half-buried in the ground, and grass with yellowed edges.

Su Mu slowed his pace and walked for about seven or eight minutes before encountering the first corrupted monster beside a dry riverbed.

It was a mutated wild boar, larger than a normal wild boar, with dark purple markings on its skin and only two dim green lights where its eyes should be.

Its level wasn't high, around level five. Su Mu easily took it down with a single shot. The experience points fluctuated slightly, but the increase was negligible.

Over the next ten minutes or so, they encountered three or four similar monsters. They were indeed very sparsely distributed, and sometimes they would walk for five or six minutes without encountering a single one.

The infected monsters are generally between level five and seven, making them easy to kill, but the efficiency is too low.

Su Mu stopped and put away his spear. A thought popped into his mind: If these are like wild monsters, then could there be higher-level neutral creatures... like red and blue buffs, or even dragons and barons?

He turned to look at Lin Yuwei: "Has anyone in the channel encountered stronger wild monsters? Like those with obvious characteristics, or those with fixed locations?"

Lin Yuwei thought for a moment, then shook her head: "During the day, some people encountered some relatively strong ones while exploring the wild, but their numbers were extremely small, and their distribution was irregular. Some people have speculated whether there might be fixed spawn points similar to those in games, but no conclusive evidence has been found."

She paused, as if recalling something, "Some people say that these stronger creatures might only appear at night. But so few people survive to explore outside at night, so no one has really confirmed it."

Su Mu frowned.

The area itself is large enough, equivalent to half a city, so it's normal not to encounter them unless you happen to walk into their activity range.

Old Li obviously knew more about these mechanisms, but he didn't plan to ask anymore.

Judging from the atmosphere of the meeting just now, the other party will not provide any additional assistance.

Su Mu glanced at the distant outline shrouded in dark red night mist, gripped his spear again, and made his decision.

"I'll go check out the outer perimeter of the eerie area."

His tone was flat, as if he were talking about something he had already thought about.

Lin Yuwei's expression clearly changed. "Are you crazy? That area is full of monsters."

"I've already gone through it once. The monsters on the outer perimeter aren't very high-level, and my survival skills are better than the average person's." Su Mu didn't explain the parrying talent in detail. "You don't need to follow."

Lin Yuwei was silent for a moment, then said, "What if you run into something while you're going over there alone..."

"Nothing will happen," Su Mu interrupted her, his tone light but certain. "Your presence would only hinder me."

Lin Yuwei snorted. The snort carried a clear emotion, but she didn't say anything more.

Lin Xiaohe stood behind her, saying nothing, simply watching quietly as Su Mu turned and walked towards the dark red night mist. Her fingers clenched slightly at her side, then relaxed.

She knew she couldn't help, and she knew Su Mu was telling the truth... If she went, she would only be a burden. But that thought didn't make her feel much better.

Su Mu's figure gradually disappeared into the dark red night mist. Lin Yuwei stood there for a few seconds, then turned and walked back the way she came.

Lin Xiaohe followed behind her, and after walking for a while, she whispered, "I want to become stronger."

Lin Xiaohe walked a little further, then repeated it softly again, as if speaking to herself: "I want to become stronger."

......