Global Fog Survival

Chapter 74: The Land of Withered Olives

Boom…

The roaring flames formed a massive fire wall, blocking the terrifying “living olive trees” behind the blaze. Colin, standing about twenty meters back, continued setting up explosive barrels, forming a line of bombs. Glancing up, he noticed the peculiar way they ignited the fire and shot Li Chou a strange look.

“Heh, I learned it from the chat channel. Eating meat for days made me overheated…” Li Chou chuckled dryly, his facial hair singed slightly. Although he and Number One had quickly retreated the moment the flames erupted, some hair had been scorched, but fortunately, they were unharmed.

Meanwhile, Colin had nearly finished stacking the barrels of explosives and signaled for everyone to retreat quickly. The fire wouldn’t hold off these things for long, merely blocking the path. The “living olive trees” could easily go around the flames, and many trees around the path were reviving. If these creatures were smart enough to take detours, they might get entangled.

It wouldn’t completely stop them but could slow them down a bit. Colin had noted that each olive tree took one to three minutes to revive and another two to three minutes to uproot. Escaping would depend on the damage caused by the explosives.

Soon, Colin had piled up a large number of explosives on the road. Seeing the increasing number of “living olive trees” behind the flames and those emerging from the sides, along with the continuously writhing, twisting “living olive trees,” Colin took a deep breath and instructed someone to quickly ignite the fuse and retreat immediately.

This was a repeat of the strategy they had used to kill the Lord-level mutant, creating obstacles to buy time to escape the forest edge. Otherwise, they couldn’t outrun these bizarre, fast-moving creatures. Ten meters, twenty meters, forty meters, fifty meters…

?…You realize now is the time to ignite the fire.?

Colin’s expression changed… too fast! And too close! He had only been running for less than five seconds before needing to ignite the fire. But he quickly understood why: a small “bizarre form” had broken many branches and was rushing out from the side. The way they ran, sweeping the ground, would clear the fuse clean.

With no other choice, Colin ignited the explosives. Sizzle, sizzle… Thick white smoke rapidly spread across the ground. “Run with all your might!” Colin shouted, leading the group in a frantic run. He had just placed half a ton of explosives, and they hadn’t run a hundred meters yet.

They could still run for a few more seconds! Fortunately, with a base attribute of 2.0, except for Li Chou who lagged slightly, everyone ran like Liu Xiang. After running for eight or nine seconds, Colin abruptly shouted to stop, and a few shield bearers positioned their shields at an angle towards the explosion.

They had practiced this scenario the previous night, so they were familiar with it and quickly set up their shields. The others lay down, while Sanna cast “Holy Light Shield” on most of them and used “Wind of Revival” just before the explosion.

The next second, just as everyone covered their ears, opened their mouths, and lay down to brace for the shockwave, a flash of fire erupted behind them, and a scorching red explosion spread out. The terrifying shockwave hit instantly.

The shield bearers, kneeling and holding their shields, felt a sudden jolt in their arms, as if a huge wave had struck them, almost knocking them over. But the force dissipated quickly, and after a moment of mental blankness, they realized the danger had passed.

The rumbling thunder echoed, and shortly after, fragments of olive trees of various sizes fell from the sky. The explosion had silenced dozens of “living olive trees,” and many others were now on fire, emitting eerie, chilling screams.

Simultaneously, Colin immediately got up after the explosion’s shockwave subsided and pulled out more explosive barrels from his inventory. Blowing up just one wave wasn’t enough… Dozens of “living olive trees” sounded like a lot, but it was too few considering their total number. There were likely hundreds of thousands of such trees in the forest.

Fortunately, they took time to revive; otherwise, it would be despairing. It was clear that they would have to keep alternating between setting explosives and running until they escaped this bizarre and terrifying forest. Colin had plenty of explosive barrels—over a hundred, each weighing over a hundred pounds—with a continuous supply from the rear, so he didn’t worry about running out.

After piling up another half-ton of explosives, Colin immediately repeated the previous routine and began to retreat quickly. While retreating, he used the hint to confirm the direction:

?You believe that just thirteen minutes straight ahead will bring you to the forest edge…?

?Three kilometers directly to the right, there is a temporary safe spot.?

A temporary safe spot… Who would choose such a location? Colin looked away, thinking of something else. But then, unexpectedly, the system’s voice echoed in his mind.

?Detected the killing of one hundred “crying olives,” quest “The Land of Withered Olives” is now issued.?

?Quest issued, please check.?

…A questat this time? Wait… Are there other ways to trigger quests besides the system quests? But killing a hundred living olive trees itself is already a difficult task. While running, Colin felt a bit helpless. He had no intention of doing the quest; he just wanted to escape quickly.

So, he didn’t even glance at the task. However, unexpectedly, after the third explosion, when he checked the hint to see how far they were from the edge, his face changed abruptly.

?You believe that just thirteen minutes straight ahead will bring you to the forest edge…?

It was still thirteen minutes. “We’re caught in a ghost wall.” In that instant, Colin felt an indescribable helplessness. The “living olive trees” behind them now numbered over a thousand, their movements causing the ground to shake like an earthquake. At this point, even a Lord-level mutant might not be able to help.

“A ghost wall?” Li Chou was distraught. Why didn’t the monsters chasing them get caught in the ghost wall? They were clearly moving in a straight line! They hadn’t retraced their steps; how could it be a ghost wall?

On the other hand, Sanna, Number One, and the others were unfamiliar with the term “ghost wall.” They had heard the words individually, but together, they didn’t understand the meaning. However, with some system compensation, they understood the term within a second.

Then, their faces changed. Were they going to be trapped here forever?