67: Private property! I'm a heartless mushroom!

"Hiss..."

Li Yaozhi gasped, her legs weakening, almost falling into the muddy pit.

The scrapes on her knees were white and swollen from being soaked in the mud.

Every step felt like steel needles drilling into her bone joints.

Behind them, the sickly green wall of poisonous mist continuously hissed, furiously devouring everything in its path.

"Are you a turtle? So slow."

A disdainful remark suddenly dropped from above her head.

Before Li Yaozhi could react, she felt a tightening around her waist and was lifted into the air!

Her vision spun.

The next second, she was already sprawled on a hard, warm back.

"Chen Du?! What are you doing! Put me down quickly!"

Li Yaozhi was startled, her face paling, her hands subconsciously pushing against the man's shoulders.

This position was too embarrassing!

Her long, muddy legs were pressed tightly against Chen Du's bare side waist.

As they moved, their skin rubbed against each other without obstruction, like an electric current.

As a 'flower of the high mountains' who only focused on studying and dancing, she had never even held a boy's hand, let alone been carried on a man's back!

Bang!

A loud slap echoed.

Li Yaozhi felt an electric shock throughout her body, her brain freezing for two seconds.

A burning sensation, both numb and hot, spread across her rounded rear.

He... he just... hit *there*?

"Behave, why are you squirming?"

Chen Du's large hand unceremoniously gripped the bend of her leg, using the leverage to push her up further.

"These legs are my private property. If they get ruined, whose legs will I look at in the future?"

"If you squirm again, I'll hit you again!"

"You..."

Li Yaozhi's eyes reddened, both from anger and shame.

Bastard! Big pervert! Annoying straight man!

What private property? I'm a person! And an injured one at that!

But for some reason, feeling the steady, powerful heartbeat of the man beneath her, much of her shame dissipated.

After struggling twice to no avail, her self-esteem finally collapsed.

Finally, she buried her face in Chen Du's back and sobbed softly: "Why are you so fierce... I get it..."

"Tsk tsk tsk."

A provocative smacking sound immediately came from beside them.

Xia Lai, carrying the already cracked bone shield, followed beside them with an 'auntie' smile on her face.

"Captain, your authority is growing. With that one slap, the 'flower of the high mountains' turned into a docile little lamb."

She then added, to her detriment:

"I've also put in a lot of effort, how come I don't get this treatment? I want a piggyback ride too~~"

Chen Du glanced at her. "If you can be used as a radar like her, I'll carry you too."

"Hmph, favoritism."

Xia Lai pouted, but her eyes instantly sharpened, scanning her surroundings vigilantly: "Two o'clock! Movement!"

As soon as her voice fell, the pile of withered bones in front suddenly slid down!

"Squeak, squeak, squeak—!"

Three corrupted giant rats, comparable in size to Tibetan Mastiffs, shrieked and lunged out!

Their flesh was rotting, ribs exposed, and their two yellowish incisors gleamed like daggers.

"Ah! Monsters!"

Li Yaozhi shrieked in fright, her legs clamping tightly around Chen Du's waist.

"Hold on tight, your delivery has arrived."

Chen Du smirked, his steps not faltering in the slightest.

Buzz—

He pulled the tendon rope with his right hand!

The Bone Chainsaw let out a hungry roar, its teeth blurring into a residual image!

The giant rats had already lunged at his face, their foul breath almost spraying onto Chen Du's face.

Chen Du's pupils suddenly contracted, and golden light burst forth!

Tyrants Gaze!

The pressure from a top predator descended with a rumble!

The three giant rats froze in mid-air, their fur bristling, their eyes filled with terror!

This was a hard crowd control!

"Next life, be a good person... oh no, a good rat!"

Chen Du swung the dozens of pounds heavy chainsaw with one hand.

He used his core strength, sweeping it out horizontally!

Even Li Yaozhi on his back experienced a human roller coaster ride.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Flesh and blood splattered!

The chainsaw cut through the giant rats' spines without obstruction, as smooth as cutting tofu!

The foul rat blood was blown away by the high-speed rotating airflow before it could even splash onto them.

Triple Kill! Clear the field!

Chen Du continued walking.

His left hand supported Li Yaozhi's thigh, and his right hand, with fingers spread, aimed at the remains.

"Sacrifice!"

A dark red light flashed and disappeared, and the three corpses vanished into thin air.

[Detected low-level demon beasts, boring! Sacrifice successful!]

[Obtained: 500ml nongfu spring x2, Pain Relief Spray x1, 3 portions of life essence.]

"Xia Lai, catch!"

Chen Du casually threw the supplies backward.

"Thank you, boss, for the reward!"

Xia Lai quickly caught them, and with a flash of light, everything was stored in the dimensional toolbox.

"Is this the joy of dungeon crawling?"

Xia Lai looked at the gradually accumulating supplies in her internal space, so happy she wanted to roll on the spot.

Others are surviving, we're stocking up! We've won big this time!

...Meanwhile.

At the edge of the poison zone, less than five hundred meters away from them.

A thin, dark-skinned team member from the Philippines got his foot stuck because he couldn't bear to leave a rusty machete on the ground.

"No! Help! Save me! Pull me up!"

No one paid him any mind.

The poisonous mist, like a living creature, coiled around his ankle.

"Ahhh—!!!"

A piercing scream echoed through the forest, making people's scalps tingle.

The skin on his body that touched the poison immediately blistered, turned black, and then peeled off his bones.

In just ten seconds.

He turned into a red, raw skeleton still desperately struggling.

Until he slowly fell, turning into a puddle of pus, not even bone fragments remaining.

In front of the Heavenly Dome screen.

The girls of 0819 screamed repeatedly, many covering their eyes, not daring to look.

This was the God-Forsaken Land; a moment's delay meant death.

The camera shifted.

The scene cut to a dark, damp underground cave.

It was covered with giant mushrooms emitting an eerie blue light, beautiful and enchanting, yet also dangerously poisonous.

Lin Keke was squatting under a large mushroom, her butt sticking out, muttering to herself.

"Can't see me... can't see me... I'm a mushroom... I'm a poisonous mushroom without emotions..."

Her Puella Magi Madoka Magica cosplay costume was now covered in mud, and she wore a chuunibyou-style pink eye patch on her head.

Rustle, rustle... Giant poisonous wolf spiders, each the size of a washbasin with eight compound eyes, crawled over her head.

Because her belief that she was a mushroom was so strong, in the monsters' perception, she actually became a mushroom texture!

Several spiders completely ignored her, and one even stepped on her back as it crawled past!

"Wuwuwu... I'm so scared... This dungeon difficulty is off the charts..."

Lin Keke trembled all over, tears welling up in her eyes.

She thought it was extreme luck.

But she didn't know that this was the nascent form of her awakening talent—as long as I believe it, it is real!

"Hmm? What's that ahead...?"

After the spider army passed, Lin Keke secretly peered through her fingers, her eyes suddenly widening.

In a grassy pit in the corner of the cave, a white, trembling object lay.

It was a pair of white lace panties with mud spots!

"Nuonuo?!"

An Nuonuo was huddled in the grassy pit.

Because her overcoat had been confiscated by the Heavenly Dao, she could only cover her upper body with two fern leaves.

In this state, she was both pitiful and exuded a certain alluring charm that made one want to protect her.

Hearing the familiar voice, An Nuonuo looked up.

Her large eyes instantly lit up.

"Wuwu... Sister Keke!!"

An Nuonuo, ignoring her exposure, burst into tears with a wail, snot bubbles even appearing.

"It's so dark here... and there are so many bugs... I miss my mom... I miss the Captain..."

The two girls hugged each other in the dark cave.

"Don't be scared, don't be scared, Magical Girl Sister Keke will lead you to break through!"

Lin Keke hugged An Nuonuo, forcing out a chuunibyou smile.

"The poison zone is coming, we have to leave quickly! The Captain and the others must also be heading towards the center!"

"As long as we find them, we'll be safe!"

"Mm! We must find them!"

An Nuonuo wiped away her tears and re-wrapped her chest with the leaves: "No one can die... We have to clear the dungeon together!"