"Hah..."

Liu Xingxing opened his eyes and stretched, instantly feeling much more refreshed. He seemed to have just had a dream. What was it about? He couldn’t remember. He only recalled someone speaking to him—soft whispers, rustling sounds, like an ethereal voice drifting from a distant, empty place.

He thought for a moment but still couldn’t recall the specifics of the dream, so he decided to just drop it. ’It was just a dream, after all. If I forgot, I forgot.’ He had important things to do. Today, he needed to explore the surroundings and see what the Wraith Mountain Range truly held.

Danger?

Of course it was dangerous. But as a Treasure Hunter, wasn’t facing danger just part of the job? ’Treasure hunting... Treasure isn’t just going to wait for you in a safe place.’ Whether it was deep in barren lands, old-growth forests, or even under the sea, where wasn’t it dangerous? To be a Treasure Hunter, you needed a heart that was both cautious and fearless in the face of danger.

He still had to make some preparations. Liu Xingxing used the materials he had collected over the past few days to redeem quite a few things from the system, such as a Windproof Fire Stick, a Survival Dagger, Fishing Line, a safety rope, and a Windproof Magic Scarf. These were all common survival items used in exploration.

Due to his limited materials, Liu Xingxing could only craft simple, basic survival items. But thankfully, they were still useful and could serve their purpose in a pinch. It was better than having no way to save himself if danger struck.

After organizing his things and packing them into a Beast Hide bag, he had a bite to eat with the two Catmen and then prepared to set off.

Oh, right. Perhaps because they had faced life and death together while fighting the Headhunter Race, Liu Xingxing’s relationship with the two Catmen was now incredibly good, just like family.

The Treasure-Hunting Catman Mobile Fortress trembled slightly, then detached from the Bone Plate Platform and sped off into the distance. The Minotaurs who were working simply glanced up before returning to their tasks, unfazed.

Traveling along the edge of the mountain range, Liu Xingxing took in the scenery on both sides and drew a sharp breath. ’This place really is strange.’

It was as if an invisible dividing line split the Wraith Mountain Range from the Wasteland. On one side were shady green trees, the twitter of birds and the fragrance of flowers, and lush vegetation. On the other was yellow earth, sparse grass and trees, and desolate emptiness.

The Treasure-Hunting Catman Mobile Fortress moved quickly. Liu Xingxing kept an eye on the notifications on his system map, which already marked numerous locations. Some were stone quarries, some were metal mines, some were forests or water sources—they were all resource points.

In a place like the Wasteland, an area with so many resource points should have been a fiercely contested territory. But it was exceptionally peaceful here, with not a single Tribe in sight. He did see plenty of Wild Beasts and herds, though, all of them lazing about.

"Stop! Stop the fortress!"

After traveling for nearly two hours, Liu Xingxing, who had been focused on the system map, suddenly shouted. The Catman controlling the Mobile Fortress quickly pulled a lever, and the fortress lurched to an abrupt halt.

A huge skull icon was displayed on Liu Xingxing’s system map. He had set this up specifically to help Li Ziyu find Skeletons, designing it to locate places with large quantities of them. The size of the skull icon indicated the number of Skeletons.

’The problem was... this thing is fucking huge!’

The skull icon was several times larger than the one for the Swamp Graveyard. And the marked location was right here in the Wraith Mountain Range, not far from his current position.

’An area this big... why didn’t it show up when I was back at the platform? Why did it only appear after I came over here? So weird.’

Liu Xingxing scratched his head, then led the two Catmen down from the fortress. He followed the indicator on his system map, wandering around the area.

Maybe his Level was too low, or maybe it was something else, but the map wasn’t very precise. It only gave a general area, so he still had to search for it himself.

After searching around for a while, Liu Xingxing started heading up the mountain.

The vegetation was dense, with grass growing over half a man’s height. This place had clearly never been tread by anyone before, making it difficult to walk. But the more difficult it was, the more curious Liu Xingxing became. He wanted to know where those Skeletons were buried.

He walked for a long time before stopping to survey his surroundings. The system couldn’t help him much more from here. The specific location had to be somewhere nearby.

"Search around. See if you can find anything unusual," Liu Xingxing ordered the two Catmen, joining the search himself.

The system hadn’t given any specific hints, so even he didn’t know what he was looking for.

"City Lord! Over here, over here! Meow!" one of the Treasure Hunting Catmen suddenly shouted, jumping into the air. He was short, and he was afraid his City Lord wouldn’t be able to see him if he didn’t jump.

Hearing the shout, Liu Xingxing and the other Catman hurried over. The first Catman extended a furry paw and pointed at a spot concealed by vines, leaves, and grass. "There’s a cave here!"

A cave?!

Liu Xingxing rushed forward and pushed aside the debris. There really was a cave, and it wasn’t small. The entrance was nearly four meters high, and wide enough for five or six people to enter side-by-side.

He poked his head in and looked. It was pitch-black and utterly silent.

Liu Xingxing picked up a rock from the ground and tossed it into the cave.

RUMBLE, RATTLE...

The rock landed inside the cave and rolled a short distance, proving the passage didn’t just drop off vertically.

Liu Xingxing felt that this must be the place marked on the map. ’It even has an entrance... this is getting weirder and weirder.’

He gathered some dry branches and resin, fashioned a simple torch, and carefully entered the cave with the two Catmen.

The torch illuminated a portion of the cave, allowing Liu Xingxing to see his surroundings. The cave was dry, and the stone walls showed no man-made marks. It was a natural cave, a long one, and there was no telling where it led.

After they had walked for about five hundred meters, one of the Catmen suddenly stopped, looking around in confusion.

"What is it?" Liu Xingxing stopped and walked back to the Catman’s side, asking in a low voice.

"City Lord, do you hear anything?" the Catman asked, his face full of confusion.

"What did you hear? I don’t hear anything but our footsteps," Liu Xingxing said quietly, glancing around warily.

"I... I thought I heard a calling sound. Never mind, let’s keep going. I was probably mistaken," the Catman said, sounding uncertain.

Liu Xingxing sensed something was off. A Catman’s hearing and sense of smell were far superior to a Human’s. He looked at the other Catman and whispered, "Did you hear anything?"

"I think I heard it too," that Catman said after a moment’s hesitation, nodding.

*Hiss—*

’Both Catmen heard something. So it wasn’t a mistake—there really is a sound, and I just can’t hear it.’

He swallowed nervously, and just as he was hesitating about whether to press forward, a strange, eerie, and ethereal voice echoed by his ear, "Come... come over..."

"Uh... I heard it too. Let’s go. We’re getting out of here," Liu Xingxing said, his face twitching. He turned to the two Catmen, then spun around and started walking out without a second’s hesitation.

The two Catmen were momentarily stunned. ’That’s not the right reaction!’

’This is an adventure! Shouldn’t we be heading deeper and courting death to see what’s there? Why are you leaving so decisively, City Lord?’

"Are we... really just leaving like this?" one of the Catmen asked hesitantly, glancing back at the dark, deep cave.

"What else are we supposed to do? Can you fight it, or can I? We’re completely useless in a fight! Weaklings have to accept they’re weak."

"Even though I’m curious about what’s inside, our lives are more important. We’ll tell the boss about this tonight and have him bring people over. There’s no need to rush."

Liu Xingxing lectured them matter-of-factly as he walked out, not the least bit ashamed.