Chapter 342
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Chapter 342: Entering the Forest
“Dad, what brings you here?” Li Deyang was slightly taken aback when he saw the old man at the door, then quickly stepped forward to help him unload the checkered cloth bag from his shoulder.
“So heavy? What’s inside?”
The old man didn’t respond immediately but looked suspiciously at Lin Qiye and the other three as they walked out of the house. Only then did he retract his gaze and lower his voice to ask, “Deyang, what are those four people here for?”
Li Deyang was surprised. “Just a group of tourists planning to enter the forest. I persuaded them to turn back. What’s the matter?”
The old man shook his head. “Nothing… By the way, these are all winter clothes I brought for you. You can wash them and wear them.”
“Dad!!”
The little girl beside him jumped into Li Deyang’s arms, her rosy cheeks breaking into a radiant smile.
“Hey, my little Tingting!” Li Deyang also smiled, bending down to pick up the little girl and rubbing his stubbly chin against her face. “It’s been so long; did you miss your dad?”
“Yes!” The little girl laughed while dodging Li Deyang’s stubble.
Li Deyang glanced at the bag full of clothes and sighed. “I’m telling you, Dad, I have clothes here. Why did you go through all that trouble to bring so many?”
“Have? Besides this military coat, what else do you have?” The old man snorted. “Your heating isn’t working well, and you’re too stingy to buy clothes. If I didn’t bring these, how would you survive this winter?”
Li Deyang held the little girl and smiled helplessly.
“I’ve told you to find a decent job in the city. I’m not saying you’ll earn a lot, but at least you could get through the winter comfortably, right? Who knows, you might even meet a good woman who can take care of you when you’re old. Little Ting can have a stepmother…” The old man said as he placed his luggage on the table, rambling on.
“I’m already this old; what do I need a wife for? I’m doing just fine here,” Li Deyang waved his hand.
“Fine? What’s so fine about it?” The old man glared at him.
Li Deyang pretended to cough a couple of times and changed the subject. “You came all this way; did you book a hotel?”
“Booked it. It’s at the… Happy Hotel, not far from here.”
Li Deyang frowned. “Why didn’t you book a better one? Coming to such a remote place?”
“It’s just for one night; why does it need to be so nice?” The old man replied confidently. “It’s close to you, and it’ll be convenient to return at night. If Tingting misses you tomorrow, she can come back.”
“Alright, alright, you’re in charge.”
The old man tidied up his things and took out a few bundles of vegetables and meat from the bag, quickly heading towards the door. “Stay here; I’ll go prepare some dinner for you…”
Li Deyang held the little girl, watching the old man’s stubborn back, shaking his head with a wry smile.
…
“Did you all take notes?” Lin Qiye asked.
“Noted it down.”
An Qingyu adjusted her glasses. “No mistakes. The edges of that map correspond with the outskirts of the forest we just passed. It’s definitely a map of this forest area, but I still need to study the meanings of some of the markings when I get back…”
“Wait, you guys, hold on.” Bai Li Pangpang’s mouth twitched slightly, looking at An Qingyu as if she were a monster. “In just a few short minutes, you memorized that map?”
“Not even a few minutes.” An Qingyu replied calmly. “Just a dozen seconds was enough.”
Bai Li Pangpang: …
Seriously, is this even human?
“I thought you meant a more direct approach, like knocking them down and torturing them for information.” An Qingyu looked at Lin Qiye.
Lin Qiye’s eyelid twitched. “We’re all night watchmen; we wouldn’t resort to such extreme measures… My intention was to first figure out the routes to the base and then find an opportunity to sneak out some clues. Who knew they would openly hang the map on the blackboard?”
“Speaking of which, this night watchman team is indeed a bit pitiful.” Bai Li Pangpang sighed. “There are only two of them, and they live in such a remote place…”
“Anta County has a small population and weak activity, so there usually aren’t any powerful ‘mysteries’ around. At most, there are small fry at the ‘Lantern’ or ‘Pool’ levels. A two-person team is indeed sufficient.” Cao Yuan said.
“Then why is there such a powerful ‘mystery’ this time?”
“Unknown.” Lin Qiye shook his head. “This ‘mystery’ originally came from the primitive forest, so there must have been some changes inside the forest… The specific reasons will require our own investigation.”
Cao Yuan nodded. “Now that we have all the equipment and clues in hand, what’s next…”
Lin Qiye responded with an “mm” and looked up.
The dim yellow sun was gradually sinking, and the shadows in the mountains ahead were growing more pronounced. This vast primitive forest, located at the edge of the misty border, was slowly being engulfed by darkness.
“It’s time to enter the forest.”
…
The path into the forest was smoother than Lin Qiye had imagined.
This place wasn’t like Jinnan Mountain, where the roads were rugged and the terrain varied greatly. At least on the outskirts of this primitive forest, the terrain was relatively flat.
Upon entering the forest, the surrounding trees weren’t too dense or tall. The original trees had been cut down once during the development of this county, and the ones here now were newly planted.
The four of them, carrying heavy backpacks and shining flashlights, made their way through the forest bit by bit.
They could have moved faster, but at this moment, there was no need for that. This was no longer the Jinnan Mountain where they had trained before, but an entire vast primitive forest. Even if they were heavily loaded, it would be impossible to cross it in a short time, and it would only consume a lot of their energy and food.
Moreover, within this primitive forest, there were ‘River’ and even ‘Sea’ level mysteries lurking, so they had to keep themselves in optimal condition to deal with any potential dangers at any moment.
“Is this the right direction?” Lin Qiye turned to look at An Qingyu behind him.
An Qingyu nodded. “Yes, it’s this direction, but we need to go deeper. If we walk for about three more hours, we’ll reach an abandoned logging site, where we first discovered traces of suspected ant-type ‘mysteries.’”
“An abandoned logging site?” Bai Li Pangpang asked in confusion. “If it’s abandoned, how could anyone go there? How were the traces discovered?”
Cao Yuan, walking in front of him, paused and turned back to look at Bai Li Pangpang with a strange expression.
“What are you looking at me for?” Bai Li Pangpang asked, puzzled.
“Nothing.” Cao Yuan shook his head. “Although your brain doesn’t seem to work well, you always manage to notice some odd things…”
