Chapter 215: One Must Be Careful

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Wang Xiao, Wu Yan, and Tang Longji gathered in front of the crack and looked at the “X” drawn with blood. The expressions of the three of them became solemn.

The blood had already dried and turned black. Wu Yan dabbed it on his finger and rubbed it. He sniffed and said in a low voice, “It’s human blood. It’s already dry. It’s been at least ten hours.”

Wang Xiao and Tang Longji looked at each other. If this blood was left ten hours ago, wouldn’t it be when the last exploration team came in?

“Let’s go in and take a look!”

Tang Longji immediately made a decision. “Maybe the last team is inside!”

“Even if we find them, it’s only going to be their corpses.”

Wu Yan sighed and looked at the frowning Wang Xiao. “What are you thinking?”

“Don’t you think it’s strange?”

Wang Xiao pointed at the blood on the rock wall. “Generally speaking, they wouldn’t be separated during this kind of exploration, right? If this mark was left by the previous exploration team, who left the mark on the topographic map of the base?”

The two of them looked at each other and Tang Longji guessed, “Maybe they left a mark at the base first before setting off here.”

“If that’s the case, how did they know that there was a crack here?”

Wang Xiao continued to ask without thinking, “The cracks on these rock walls are all naturally weathered. There’s no pattern when it comes to their locations. The fact that they can accurately mark this location means that they must have been here before.”

Tang Longji immediately changed his words. “That means they first discovered the crack and then went back to mark it!”

Wang Xiao and Wu Yan looked at each other and did not say anything. At this moment, Tang Longji also reacted.

The mission of the exploration team was to enter the secret realm to collect resources. Even if they wanted to draw a map for convenience, they would definitely carry the map with them.

If the previous team discovered anything special about this crack, they could just go in and explore it. No matter what happened after the exploration, there was no need to return to the base and leave a mark.

After a moment of silence, Wu Yan said, “I’ve thought about it carefully. There can only be one explanation for this situation.”

Wang Xiao and Tang Longji immediately perked up. “Tell me about it.”

“The last team encountered danger after entering this crack, but they were not completely wiped out. At least one of them survived, which is the person who left this mark.”

Wu Yan pointed at the “X” mark on the rock wall and paused for a moment before continuing, “After that, the survivor returned to the base and left a mark on the topographic map. It might be to warn the people behind or to get people coming later to rescue them.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Longji immediately shook his head. “No, no. If that’s the case, at least one person should have left the secret realm.”

When Wu Yan heard this, he suddenly revealed a strange smile. “How do you know no one did?”

“If anyone had survived, our team wouldn’t have existed! ”

Tang Longji replied matter-of-factly, “The Lord’s Shop wanted to know what had happened because the previous team was completely wiped out. That’s why they summoned us—did your manager not mention this situation?”

“He did.”

Wu Yan nodded, but there was a faint smile on his face. “I don’t know how your relationship with the Lord’s Shop is, but that store manager and I often lie to each other. He could have lied that there were no survivors. He’s definitely capable of doing such a thing.”

Hearing this, Tang Longji’s expression also became subtle, as if Wu Yan’s words had evoked some unpleasant memories.

“But why?”

Wang Xiao frowned and asked curiously, “Just like Uncle Tang said just now, if there were really survivors, why did the Lord’s Shop look for us?”

“Don’t you understand?”

Wu Yan looked at Wang Xiao suspiciously, as if he felt that the other party was pretending to be stupid. “How long have you been working with the Lord’s Shop?”

Wang Xiao thought for a moment. “More than a month? What’s wrong?”

No wonder.”

Wu Yan smiled in realization and patted Wang Xiao’s shoulder. He said earnestly, “Since you call me a senior, I’ll teach you something. You shouldn’t suspect the words of the Lord’s Shop, but you can’t believe them all. Do you understand?”

Wang Xiao shook his head in a daze. Actually, he understood what Wu Yan wanted to express, but he did not know what it had to do with the current situation.

“He thinks that the Lord’s Shop is deliberately hiding something.”

As someone with experience, Tang Longji explained, “For example, the survivor revealed some troublesome danger. The Lord’s Shop was worried that no one would dare to accept this mission, so they simply hid the existence of the survivor. I’ve encountered this kind of thing a few times.”

“I see…”

Wang Xiao nodded, but the expression on his face was even more puzzled. “But is there a need? If there’s really a troublesome situation here, won’t we encounter it too?”

“The meaning is different.”

Tang Longji sighed. It was impossible to tell if his tone was angry or helpless. “Before entering the secret realm, we still have a chance to choose. However, after entering the secret realm, no matter how troublesome the situation is, we can only face it if we want to survive.”

“Isn’t this forcing people to their deaths?”

Wang Xiao exclaimed and finally understood.

Wu Yan patted Wang Xiao’s shoulder and chuckled, “Don’t be so agitated. It’s true that the Lord’s Shop is lying, but it’s not to the extent of sending us to our deaths. After all, there’s no hatred. What benefits will they have if we die here?”

“That’s right. Since the Lord’s Shop chose us, it means that they think we have the ability to solve this problem.”

Tang Longji nodded in agreement. Then, his tone became complicated again.

“But now that Li Tongfu is dead, I wonder if we still have this ability?”

The three of them looked at each other wordlessly, and the atmosphere immediately became a little oppressive.

A moment later, Tang Longji perked up and clapped his hands. “It’s useless to say anything more! Since we’ve already reached this stage, we’ll know everything once we go in and take a look!”

Wang Xiao and Wu Yan nodded in unison. However, just as the three of them were about to enter the crack, a silver light suddenly flashed. The Silver Shadow Leopard jumped out from somewhere and blocked the crack.

“We don’t have time to play with you. Move aside!”

Tang Longji shouted, but the [Silver Shadow Leopard] was unmoved. He could only look at Wang Xiao and say helplessly, “It listens to you. You deal with it.”

Wang Xiao nodded and agreed. Before he could take two steps forward and say anything, the Silver Shadow Leopard suddenly turned around and stuck its claws into the crack. It quickly grabbed the weeds on the surface and revealed a few pitch-black vines.

The black vines were stuck tightly to the rock wall like creepers. Each of them was only the thickness of a thumb. There was a layer of scales and feathers on the surface, making them inconspicuous among the weeds.

“What’s this?”

Wang Xiao frowned and tore open a [Identification Scroll]:

[Poison Feather Thorn]

[Poison]

[A top-notch material for creating poison attribute items. Be careful not to be injured by it. If you’re stabbed by it, killing yourself might be your best option..]