The Miraculous Treasure Hunting System-Chapter 143. Treasure in the Ruins

Ed flipped through the map, examining their current location.

Based on their landing point and the island’s landmarks, there were two white dots within the ruins where they stood.

Ed clicked to view them.

[ Ordinary Treasure

Difficulty: Daring Warrior

Fame: 0

Treasure Information: None ]

The two white dots had identical information, their positions so close they were nearly touching.

Bang!

Another muffled gunshot rang out.

Ed didn’t wait for the skeleton lying beside the rubble to stand up, shattering its skull with a single shot. Only a fool would let their enemy prepare; smart people attacked during the transformation or while they were rising.

"You should’ve let him stand up and move around a bit. He’s been lying there so long; it can’t be easy," Jason teased.

Ed rolled his eyes. "Fine. I’ll save the next one for you."

Hearing this, Jason waved a hand dismissively. "No, no need. I’m only interested in women. Alive ones. You can keep the skeletons for yourself."

Using his leg to push aside the waist-high weeds, Ed angled his mirror to reflect light into the partially collapsed building.

The dense vegetation within the ruins still scattered the illumination. The interior was choked with plants, and any remaining furniture had long since rotted away.

A strong, musty odor of decay hung in the dark air. Only traces remained within the building, silent records of its past.

"There are books here," Gami said, using a tentacle to nudge the volumes on a rotten wooden table. Before he could even turn a page, they crumbled to pieces.

"Completely rotted," he concluded helplessly.

"Why are all the drawers and cabinets open?" Jason asked, puzzled.

Ed considered it for a moment. "We weren’t the first group here. Since we have a map, someone must have visited this island before. It’s normal these were already searched." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"That makes sense."

Following that logic, Ed reasoned that the treasures marked by the white dots would be in hard-to-find locations. Any easily discovered wealth would have been taken long ago.

He began carefully observing the collapsed structure, pondering where valuables might be hidden. Hidden pits, wall crevices—these were the only options in such a place.

After all, the residents’ deaths were accidental; they hadn’t intended to hide things. This was likely just wealth they had concealed in their homes.

Where would a normal family hide their wealth?

Thinking this, Ed stepped onto the sparsely vegetated parts of the floor, checking for pits and examining the walls for anything unusual. Judging by the building’s size, it wasn’t from an exceptionally wealthy family.

After searching, he approached the nearly collapsed bookshelf and gave it a push. With a groan, it fell over, sending a cloud of dust into the air.

"What happened?" The other two, checking nearby rooms, hurried over.

"Nothing. Just the bookshelf collapsing," Ed said, waving dust away and directing his mirror’s light.

There, in the wall behind where the shelf had stood, was a dent overgrown with weeds. A rectangular object, wrapped in cloth and tangled with roots, was nestled inside. The weeds obscured it, but its white outline glowed clearly through the gaps.

Ed reached in, picked it up, and the white light vanished. He tore open the disintegrating wrap to reveal a heavy, palm-sized metal bar covered in grime. He rubbed it vigorously with his thumb, revealing a golden glint.

"A whole bar of gold?" Jason stared at the object in Ed’s hand, his voice full of doubt and a hint of envy. Finding a solid bar of gold so casually was hard to believe.

Gami glanced from the collapsed shelf to Ed. "You’re really sharp. No wonder you’re a professional treasure hunter."

Jason, standing nearby, opened his mouth to protest that he was also a professional, then thought better of it. He sighed and closed his mouth again.

"A small find. Not bad," Ed said with a smile. A faintly magical metal card appeared in his hand, and he used it to slice a small piece from the gold bar. He then divided this into two smaller pieces and handed one to each of his companions.

Seeing their strange, almost disbelieving expressions, Ed winked. "What are you waiting for? Think I’m made of money? We’re a team. Just take it, alright?"

"Thank you," they both said, pocketing the gold.

After one more sweep of the room confirmed no other valuables or useful information, they left, splitting up to search the ruins independently. This was the ruin of a whole town; the three of them together would be too inefficient. They needed to check for any remaining items or clues for their next move.

Taking the opportunity, Ed headed for the location of the other white dot. He found only a vast expanse of completely collapsed rubble, buried under weeds, mud, and stone. There was no way to tell where the dot was hidden underneath.

Ed scratched his head. "Forget it." He decisively gave up and turned away.

This wasn’t a safe place. Digging through such a large area of rubble, not even knowing the exact spot, and likely having to move massive stones, wasn’t worth the effort for a single white dot.

Judging by the rubble, that family probably hadn’t been very wealthy. It wasn’t worth it, considering the minimum known value of a white dot was twelve silver snakes.

After regrouping with the others...

"There’s no church here, so it shouldn’t be in these ruins. Let’s check elsewhere," Jason said, leading them deeper into the island.

Their primary objective was to retrieve the Holy Relic. The Church of the Holy Mother had existed for a very long time, positioned between two nations before their mutual destruction. The relic was used by local churches for prayer and listening to the divine Word.

The cataclysm of the mutual destruction was too sudden, killing all church members in the area. Coupled with the pervasive darkness and sheer number of dead, much information was lost, including the relic’s whereabouts.

Over the years, the church had periodically sent teams to search for these lost artifacts. Their investigation had determined the relic’s last known location was somewhere among these islands, which was why their team had been dispatched.

As they walked, Ed passed another white dot located deep within a dense forest, surrounded by impenetrable trees and undergrowth. He didn’t bother stopping to search, simply ignoring it. I’m a wealthy man now, he thought. This kind of small treasure isn’t worth risking my precious life.

Following an overgrown stone path, they arrived at the outskirts of a larger town deep within the island. These ruins were a size or two larger than the port town, with many buildings in relatively better condition, perhaps sheltered from the sea breeze by surrounding trees and hills.

Here remained the first blue dot they had seen, with a white dot almost overlapping it.

Using his light, Ed kicked a pile of bones at his feet. The skeleton’s skull had been smashed to pieces by something heavy. It wasn’t alone; as they walked further, they encountered many more skeletons, bones broken and fragmented, every single skull destroyed.

"The last group must have done this. They were really violent," Jason remarked casually, looking around. The massive town ruins were utterly empty, not a single animated skeleton in sight. The previous visitors had cleaned it out thoroughly, which also meant any easily accessible valuables were likely gone.

Ed shone his light into the distance and nudged Jason with his elbow. "Look over there. Isn’t that a church?" He wasn’t very familiar with the Church of the Holy Mother’s architecture.

Jason immediately looked. "Yes, that’s the church."

The three quickly made their way over and soon stood at the church entrance. The structure was remarkably sturdy; aside from some loose stones, it was largely intact. Inside, the wooden benches lining the sides were broken, but the statue of the Holy Mother at the front was well-preserved, wrapped in vines that gave it a peculiar, solemn aura.

After looking around, Jason observed, "The last group who came here definitely weren’t from the church."

"If they were, this island would have been ruled out already," Ed retorted, thinking the guy needed his brain checked.

Hearing this, Jason slapped his forehead and laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, right."

He then approached the statue and began clearing away the dirt and vines. Gami drove his vehicle over and assisted with his tentacles. Though Ed wasn’t particularly devout in his faith toward the Holy Mother or the Stone Mother, he was on their side now.

He didn’t mind helping; doing a good deed sometimes felt nice. Who knows, he thought, maybe the Holy Mother will be impressed and grant me a blessing or something? Don’t forget, this is a magical world. Anything is possible.

After cleaning, Gami said, "Since the last group wasn’t from the church, they probably didn’t find the meditation room." He moved behind the statue, past a donation box that had been smashed open and emptied. Extending a tentacle, he felt around beneath the box’s base and pressed something.

Click!

A mechanism engaged. The back of the statue vibrated, dust puffing out as a section slid aside. Jason was already there. He crouched, reached in, and lifted a stone slab, revealing a dark passage descending into the earth. This was likely the silence chamber Gami mentioned.

"Let’s go down. No one should have been here before," Jason said after a moment’s inspection. He tossed down a glowstone and began climbing down.

Truly a church insider, Ed thought. He can find a secret chamber that would be nearly impossible for an outsider to discover without a clue. Who would think a church had a secret chamber?

With that thought, Ed jumped down into the opening. Gami followed closely behind in his vehicle.