There's a big problem with dreams in this world.

"Don't even mention using them for experiments. What kind of experiments do you expect to do with just two oxygen tanks?"

"The only thing I can think of is what you're going to do with these two oxygen tanks: get through poisonous gas, or go diving?"

With her icy blue eyes fixed on the camera, Lu Qing spoke while keeping a watchful eye on her surroundings to guard against any potential attacks.

"These are all just your guesses. My collection contains many items that will be of help to you. After you've exchanged the oxygen tanks with me, go back. I don't have a way out of here."

"Are you sure you don't have it, or do you just not want to tell me? If you don't tell me the truth, I won't give you the oxygen tank." As Lu Qing spoke, she stuffed the oxygen tank into her backpack and left.

"Wait, wait a minute!"

The scientist was getting anxious. He quickly called out to Lu Qing, and after hesitating for a moment, he said, "I have a way to get out. You can sit down now."

"It would have been better to do this earlier."

Muttering something under her breath, Lu Qing sat back down on the sofa in the room.

"Sigh, I'm really impressed with you. How can you be so sure I have a way out?"

“Intuition,” Lu Qing said without hesitation.

It was just her intuition. Although Lu Qing didn't know why she thought that way, that was her feeling. This scientist definitely knew a way out.

This was the thought that came to her mind when she learned that the scientists wanted oxygen tanks. In addition, the secret mentioned on the sign when she first met the scientists was also something she was suspicious of.

Now it seems her guess was correct; perhaps this is what is known as a woman's intuition?

"Intuition...?"

The scientist rubbed his temples before slowly saying, "I do have a way out. I know of a tunnel that government personnel dug to get into the forest."

"But the entrance to that tunnel has collapsed, so there's basically no way to get in through it."

“I surveyed the area for a long time before and finally found a route that was most likely to lead us in.”

"That was a waterway, which was originally a huge underground lake. It was very close to the tunnel. After the tunnel collapsed, this underground water seemed to have flowed into the tunnel through some crack or opening."

"So you want to dive into the tunnel?" Lu Qing frowned, feeling that the scientist's idea was somewhat dangerous.

“Yes,” the scientist replied.

"Do you have a way to deal with the black water?" Lu Qing asked carefully.

In the dark forest, once the amount of water accumulates to a certain level, it will turn into highly toxic black water. Lu Qing didn't think the scientists were unaware of this.

As for Lu Qing, after taking the Nightmare Potion, she no longer needs to worry about the Black Water.

"I have two full-body, closed-back wetsuits, so diving is not a problem."

As expected, scientists had already prepared protective measures.

"When do you plan to leave?" Lu Qing asked after listening to the scientist's words.

"The sooner the better." After a pause, the scientist added somewhat helplessly, "Although I really want to say that, I have things I must take with me, so I need to make preparations for a while longer."

"That's fine then." Lu Qing nodded, then stood up and said, "I have someone at home, I'll go and bring him over. Besides that, I have six oxygen tanks at home. As for the protective suits..."

"I have taken the flesh and blood potion and will not be infected by the black water."

"You've taken the flesh and blood potion!?" Upon hearing Lu Qing's words, the scientist suddenly became excited and said, "Then you must be very strong."

"Uh, more or less." Lu Qing subconsciously scratched her cheek, feeling inexplicably embarrassed.

"Great! Don't worry, I'll be here waiting for you to bring your people. I hope you can protect me well during the rest of the trip!" the scientist said happily, seemingly very pleased that Lu Qing had taken the flesh and blood potion.

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Chapter 376: A Great Appetite

Secondary objective: Help the timid scientist (Completed!)

After leaving the scientist's room, Lu Qing immediately called Wayne down from the air.

"Keep an eye on this room for me. If anyone comes out, make sure you keep a close watch on them," Lu Qing said to Wayne.

This was a precaution to prevent the scientists from leaving after she was gone. Although the scientists' excited tone after learning that she had taken the flesh potion didn't seem to be feigned, it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on things anyway.

"Don't worry, little master, I'll definitely keep a close eye on things here," Vein said, patting his chest with his wing.

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you."

Nodding, Lu Qing didn't say anything more and turned to leave the scientist's place.

Before leaving, she had already arranged a departure time with the scientist. At eight o'clock the next morning, Lu Qing arrived at the scientist's place and went with him to the tunnel left by the government.

Yes, we should also take the elderly with us. Lu Qing doesn't want to leave them here alone. Since we're leaving, we should all go together. That's the right thing to do.

......

Upon returning home, Lu Qing immediately sought out the old man and recounted what she and the scientist had discussed, then inquired about his wishes.

"Of course I want to go out, but I'm getting old and might hold you back..." The old man squinted, stroked his chin, and slowly spoke.

"You don't need to worry about that, I'll handle everything," Lu Qing said confidently.

After reaching level 10 in the Extraordinary Sequence [Nightmare], all of her physical attributes except for Strength had exceeded the number 30.

Her highest stat is 45 in Spirit, followed by 41 in Stamina. These stats far surpass those of ordinary white-level players. If it weren't for her somewhat unbalanced strength, she could even challenge blue-level players.

At least in this dream, she wouldn't dare say she was invincible or incredibly powerful, but she figured passing through a water-filled tunnel wouldn't be a problem.

"By the way, you can swim, right?" Suddenly remembering something, Lu Qing quickly asked the old man.

She was so focused on other things that she almost forgot that if the elderly person couldn't swim, the plan would almost certainly be ruined from the start.

"I've played by the river since I was a child, how could I not know how to swim?" the old man said confidently after hearing Lu Qing's words.

"Then there's no problem." Lu Qing nodded in satisfaction.

She can swim, of course. Although there isn't a skill like "Basic Swimming" in her skill list, she definitely can swim.

It's like she can cook, but there's no "Basic Cooking" skill on her skill list.

According to her guess, either her proficiency level was less than 20%, or the two skills simply didn't exist in the game.

She leaned more towards the latter. As for cooking skills, she could accept that she could only cook some home-style dishes and her skill level was less than 20%. However, if she couldn't even reach 20% of the basic swimming skills, then this plan could be canceled on the spot.

Thinking about all these random things, Lu Qing began to pack her backpack, putting in the essentials she needed to bring.

The process of crossing the underground tunnel will likely not be easy, and the place we arrive at after passing through the tunnel may not necessarily be outside the forest.

Lu Qing's intuition told her things weren't that simple; after all, she hadn't yet achieved her last secondary goal: attending the underworld marriage.

Let alone completing it, I've never even heard of it. So, whether we can actually leave the forest after passing through that underground tunnel is a matter of doubt.

As for the target of the Thousand Jade Seal, the so-called King of the Headbreakers, Lu Qing can only say that it's up to fate.

If you happen to encounter one, killing it to increase your mark level is a good idea, but you can't force it. If you deliberately go looking for it, it might have the opposite effect.

"Oh right, I also need to be careful about waterproofing." Lu Qing suddenly thought of this as she looked at the backpack she had stuffed full of things.

They're going to dive into the water afterward, and if they just carry this backpack like that, won't the things inside get soaked?

After sharing their thoughts with the old man, the two immediately decided what they would do for the rest of the day.

Make a backpack that won't get wet!

The selection of materials is very simple; it is actually leather made from the skin of previously processed mutant crocodiles.

This type of leather is highly waterproof, ensuring that water will not penetrate the inside of the backpack to the greatest extent possible.

However, one day was still a bit short. It was unrealistic to make a large pure crocodile skin bag in such a short time, so Lu Qing and the old man adopted another solution.

Make a backpack out of wood and wrap the surface of the backpack with the skin of a mutated crocodile, one layer on the outside and one layer on the inside. Then stuff the previous backpack into the wooden backpack.

The only drawback of this backpack is its weight, but with Lu Qing's current attributes, this weight won't be a big burden for her, so it's basically fine.

Oh, and one more thing: the shoulder straps of this wooden backpack are made of crocodile skin, not pure wood, so you don't need to worry about them hurting your shoulders.

After these matters were dealt with, it was almost completely dark. Lu Qing lay on her bed, recalling her conversation with the scientist during the day.

"A tunnel..."

"Hopefully, this tunnel leading to the exit is indeed the way out."

Lu Qing closed her eyes, but for a moment she couldn't fall asleep.

After thinking for a moment, she started counting "dumplings" in her mind, because she had heard that doing so could help people fall asleep faster.

"One dumpling, two dumplings, three dumplings, four dumplings..."

"........."

After a long silence, Lu Qing suddenly felt that she was no longer sleepy. She sat up and touched her stomach.

"Goo~"

Lu Qing's stomach began to rumble in protest, and she realized that her digestion speed seemed to have increased significantly due to her skill.

However, correspondingly...

With nothing to eat in the middle of the night, Lu Qing went to the room where she and the old man had been processing wood during the day and picked up a plank that had been cut off.

[Great Appetite: Able to consume wood to restore stamina.]

Subconsciously activating the skill, Lu Qing felt as if the energy within her body was flowing in some strange way. She couldn't help but open her mouth and bite down hard on the wooden board.

"Crunch, crunch..."

The wooden plank was easily crushed by her teeth, sending a flurry of sawdust flying, but it did not cause her lips any harm. She swallowed the crushed wood and before she knew it, the entire plank was gone.

"I feel like I'm still not full?" Lu Qing licked her lips and looked at the other wooden plank.

Although it doesn't taste very good, it's filling and can help restore energy!

P.S.: Writing 8,000 words is too difficult; I only wrote 6,000 words today...

But no problem! As long as I write another 6,000 words tomorrow, the update won't be any less!

Anyway, that's it. Ah bah bah bah, I'm so sleepy. I want to kill myself from yesterday. I'm not going to talk about it anymore. I'm going to sleep.

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Chapter 377: The Abandoned Well