The Miraculous Treasure Hunting System-Chapter 142. Crawling Bones

As they moved forward, they arrived at a place resembling an abandoned town. The buildings were mostly well-preserved, with some collapses and damage, but their original forms were still discernible beneath a blanket of various plants.

"When the treasure erupted, the people here probably didn’t even know what was happening. They just died here in a daze," Jason said with a sigh, looking at a skeleton lying by the door of a collapsed building not far away. This place was just within the lethal range of the eruption’s effects.

Looking at the skeleton, Jason prepared to go over and examine it for useful information.

Ed immediately grabbed him. "Wait, you idiot. Don’t just walk toward anything you find interesting."

Hearing this, the two turned to look at him. "What’s wrong?"

Ed pointed toward the skeleton. "Look closely. There’s something wrong with where it’s lying." As he spoke, he manipulated the light to flicker around the bones. "Although plants are covering the body, look at what’s underneath it. It doesn’t look like it’s been lying there for hundreds of years."

The two examined it closely. They saw that some plant roots and leaves under the skeleton appeared freshly pressed down, not like growth that had been crushed and hidden over centuries. However, shrouded in darkness and obscured by the bones, this detail was difficult to notice without careful observation.

Looking at this, Jason couldn’t help but swallow hard, saying nervously, "Could this skeleton be alive? Like, able to move, as you mentioned in your story?" When he was bored, Ed had told Jason the story about his mother’s skeleton being alive, and because magic existed everywhere, Jason hadn’t doubted him.

"Very likely," Ed nodded seriously.

Gami stared at Jason and Ed, somewhat puzzled. "Why are you guys so nervous? Haven’t you ever seen a living skeleton before?"

Jason and Ed shook their heads. Ed had seen such things, but that was his mother, so it was safe, and he had seen them in stories from his past life, but he valued his life too much to seek out a fight casually every mother he saw. He has quite a few women waiting for him; how can he be careless with his life?

Jason had only been with the treasure-hunting team for two years, busy with a treasure vault. Not long ago, he was just an ordinary person. Living skeletons or ghosts were characters from stories and picture books to him; this was probably his first potential encounter with a real one.

"Ed, aren’t you nervous?" Jason asked, turning around. He felt Ed was just as tense as he was, and since they had many similarities, he wanted to find someone to share the burden in this creepy situation.

Even though Ed had only recently entered the world of the extraordinary and begun to learn its secrets, he shook his head while taking a deep breath. "It’s alright. What can a skeleton do?"

With that, Ed pulled his Locker-G3 double-barreled shotgun from his inventory and checked the magazine to ensure the bullets were properly loaded.

Then he took out his pistol, ejected the magazine, and checked those bullets as well. They were noticeably different from ordinary rounds, with simple patterns engraved on them, indicating special effects.

Jason did the same. He also took out a pocket watch from his pocket, opened the cover, moved the hands on the dial, and then closed it. This was the magical equipment he had acquired earlier.

Ed had borrowed it before to see how it worked; simply put, it could temporarily increase the user’s acuity. The prerequisite was spending magic to move the hands beforehand. Closing the cover and then channeling magic would start the hands moving, providing the buff.

Jason had simply closed the watch case; when he needed the effect, he would channel magic into it.

Gami, meanwhile, piloted his strange, self-made half-robotic vehicle, standing still as two rifle-like stone-thunder gun barrels extended from either side. Four tentacles also popped out, ready to provide ranged support.

From the way everyone prepared as if for a final dungeon boss instead of a random skeleton on the ground, one had to wonder just how much they feared death.

After completing their preparations, they slowly approached the skeleton. The mirrors used for illumination were adjusted to spread light over a larger area.

When they came within ten meters of the skeleton...

Crack.

With a sound, the skeleton twitched. A faint, eerie green flame appeared within its hollow eye sockets. It slowly rose from the ground, pulling a decaying longsword up with it. It opened its jaws as if to roar and showcase its deadly aura, to scare the bastards who had ruined its sleep.

But comically, its jaw fell directly to the ground with a clatter.

...

For a moment, the air was still. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Ed raised the shotgun in his hand, channeling magic into it. Numerous magical patterns emerged from the grip and the bronze-covered decorations on its back. He pulled the trigger.

Bang!

With a muffled sound, the projectile, gathered together and enveloped in a faint white flame like a fireball, was launched. It struck the skeleton’s skull, scattering bone fragments instantly.

The eerie green flame flickering within its eye sockets was extinguished. The remaining bones slumped limply, crumbling into a pile on the ground like knocked-over blocks.

"That’s it?" Jason, initially tense, was bewildered as he watched the skeleton fall instantly. He then curled his lip in disdain, somewhat regretting his earlier state of high alert.

Gami walked over and said, "What else did you expect? It was just an ordinary skeleton, and the bullet Ed fired was imbued with holy flame. Of course, it was easily destroyed. Frankly, what Ed did was overkill; normal bullets would have been enough. You guys were just overreacting."

Oh? Then why did you take out all your weapons as well? Jason sniffed mockingly. He crouched down, ruffled through the pile of bones, and looked at the decaying longsword beside them. He tapped it with his pistol.

"What’s the use of this blade? It’s supposed to be for cutting people, but it’s more suited for smashing things."

The three began to examine their surroundings. Besides this poor skeleton, they could see many others around, but these appeared much more normal, at least showing no signs of having moved from their original resting places.

They were covered in mud and filth, overgrown with various plants that had grown alongside them. They had long ago become one with the earth.