CHAPTER 4: CHAPTER 4: SPECULATION

The speed is so fast, let’s first see if there are any living people in this town, and where the nearby escape routes are.

Zhou Yingting pondered for a moment, and then immediately made a decision.

The surroundings of the town looked a bit eerie, with tiny glowing particles floating everywhere, especially dense in some areas.

This sight made Zhou Yingting frown.

He had already taken a stroll around the entire town and discovered that it was completely deserted, likely abandoned.

The overall structure of the town appeared elliptical, with a massive, straight road dividing it into two.

At this moment, Zhou Yingting began patrolling along the town’s perimeter, and after about half an hour, he slowly stopped.

He discovered that the damaged Ion Tower he had read about in the entry was located in the southwest of the town. However, the town was surrounded by water on three sides, and only the southwest offered an exit.

Logically, exiting from the southwest should be feasible.

However, the damaged Ion Tower lay in the way of the southwestern path, causing that stretch to be filled with Plasma. He could clearly feel that where Plasma was denser, the damage was more severe, and the rate at which his Life Value depleted was significantly higher than in other places.

Zhou Yingting couldn’t see how long the path was or how far the Plasma had spread.

Should his Life Value deplete before he managed to escape, he would be doomed.

Thinking about the Plasma surrounding the town, Zhou Yingting couldn’t help but frown.

After circling the town and nearing the Plasma for a moment, his Life Value had already dropped a bit—a whole year of lifespan gone!

"Troublesome..."

Zhou Yingting glanced around, seeing Plasma particles floating everywhere like nuclear radiation.

"Hey, that guy over there!"

Zhou Yingting turned at the voice and saw a few figures sitting at the entrance of a convenience store.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Yingting thought for a moment and walked over.

As Zhou Yingting approached, he saw that the person who called out to him was the man in black who had previously explained the entry information on the bus.

Although he knew that the man had explained the entry probably due to the attributes of Zhou Yingting’s entry, Zhou Yingting still felt somewhat grateful for the guide before him.

"Did you call me for something?"

Zhou Yingting came up and saw what they had in their hands.

It was some food, and looking at the convenience store behind them, it seemed that the food was taken from inside.

"We just noticed that your speed was very fast, and you might have basically toured this Wali Town, right?"

The man in black sat on the ground and asked Zhou Yingting.

Hearing this, Zhou Yingting nodded, "I’ve pretty much circled the perimeter of the town."

"That’s good."

Upon hearing this, a warm smile immediately appeared on the man in black’s face, "We have roughly explored the interior and obtained some useful intel. How about an information exchange?"

"You must have noticed, every second here depletes our Life Value, so time is life—exchanging information can save us a lot of time."

Zhou Yingting pondered this suggestion briefly and nodded, "Okay."

Exchanging information with the others was not disadvantageous, so he readily agreed.

Seeing Zhou Yingting’s quick agreement, the smile on the man in black’s face grew even broader, "As the initiator of the transaction, I’ll first share what we found out."

"Firstly, there’s quite a bit of food here, all unexpired, but unfortunately, it’s all been contaminated by Plasma. Consuming it results in Life Value deduction."

"Even food we brought with us has been contaminated."

With that, the man in black took out his bag, and Zhou Yingting saw that some of the food inside had luminescent substances attached, even though the packaging was intact.

Zhou Yingting raised an eyebrow at this, his face showing some surprise.

Truly a veteran of the dungeon, he was thoroughly prepared.

"Additionally, we found a ticket office in the southeast corner of the town, selling boat and bus tickets."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yingting fell into contemplation, a ticket office, huh?

So next, prepare to buy tickets and leave here using transport?

"Next, can you share what you found?"

The man in black looked up at Zhou Yingting and asked.

Seeing this, Zhou Yingting recounted his findings to the group.

Basically, there was only one path out of here, or they could take the waterway.

The path out was crowded with Plasma, and the closer one got, the quicker the Life Value depleted.

After receiving Zhou Yingting’s report, the group exchanged glances, their expressions turning grim.

"It seems like there are two paths left for us: either rush out braving the Plasma, or try to get tickets to leave using transport."

Their expressions grew more serious at the mention of this.

Those boat or bus tickets won’t come easy.

"This dungeon is called Extreme Racing. I’m thinking maybe it means we must rush out within a time limit."

The man in black expressed concern.

The rest sitting with him nodded at his words.

"I also worry that maybe the moment we entered, following this path out was the way to survive. But if we hesitate, staying here will allow the Plasma to steadily erode our bodies, waste our Life Value, and squander our escape chance."

Up to this point, everyone’s Life Values were still relatively healthy.

If they were to make a run for it now, it was probably their best chance, but waiting here meant depleting their Life Value day by day.

When the time comes to run, they might not have a chance left.

Especially as this dungeon is named Extreme Racing.

Perhaps it’s a sign that escaping as fast as possible is the only way out.

Listening to their analysis, Zhou Yingting’s gaze flickered subtly.

Their analysis had some merit, but Zhou Yingting couldn’t shake the thought of the entry information he saw on the bus.

The entry suggested using other transport to leave here.

Could he really escape relying on his own two legs?