Chapter 1035 - Abduct Them To The Prosperous Northwest! (1/2)

As the campfire flickered in the dark of the night, the light and heat it emitted spread into the forest. However, it looked like there was a huge mouth in the forest that was looking to devour the light bit by bit.

In the boundless darkness of the forest, the lonely campfire was the solitary source of light.

As Li Shentan had turned around too late, he did not see what the human face that was hanging upside down from the canopy looked like, nor how the other party had vanished.

As such, Li Shentan shouted in that direction, ”Um… Can you show yourself again? I didn't see clearly just now!”

The forest was empty and no one responded to Li Shentan's request. It was as though no human face had ever appeared there.

Seeing no response, Li Shentan was a little disappointed.

Next to him, Little Liren looked at Li Shentan with a puzzled expression. ”What are you doing?”

Li Shentan replied, ”I think that was a pretty interesting magic trick. Pity I didn't get it.”

Little Liren's eyes widened. ”You think that person is doing magic for us?”

”Probably?” Li Shentan sat back down at the campfire. ”Are you scared?”

”A little.” Little Liren said, ”But only a little. If anything ghostly really tries to approach us, I'll beat it to a pulp.”

”Impressive, impressive,” Li Shentan praised.

He decided to ignore the human face that appeared in the forest for the time being. He looked towards the herb collectors standing around the campfire in a daze and muttered while sizing them up, ”How should we deal with them?”

”Why did they try to poison us?” Little Liren asked.

Li Shentan patiently explained, ”They're probably seeking reincarnation.”

Si Liren was silent for a moment, then said with a deadpan expression, ”Answer me properly.”

”Grandpa mentioned there's actually many treasures hidden in this mountain range in the South.” Li Shentan said in seriousness, ”Before The Cataclysm, human civilization was spread across the entire continent, and there was practically nowhere they did not develop and build upon. So while we're seeing mountains here now, there must be up to several dozen cities buried under the forest. There should be a lot of gold and silver buried underneath, as well as valuables and information that can be found in this place.”

”When they saw us two superhumans appear here while carrying a large metallic box, they must've thought we had found some treasure here.” Li Shentan said, ”Thus, a criminal intent was formed.”

The forest south of the Zhou Consortium had turned into an utterly deserted land. Even the Zhou Consortium's troops could not bear the venomous creepy-crawlies and noxious vapor in the forest, let alone junk dealers who collected treasure.

In the early years, junk dealing was a very popular industry. Many people who thought they were capable made a living by looking for the treasure left behind by the Pre-Cataclysm civilization. Most of the current mob bosses had started off this way.

However, there were not many ”treasures” that could be found anymore, so the junk dealing profession gradually ceased to exist.

People also used to come to Xiuzhuzhou where this forest was located. But as the number of deaths increased, others stopped coming. If it weren't for the fact that Li Shentan and Si Liren had brought along Chen Wudi, who was invulnerable to all evil, they wouldn't actually be able to stand the harsh environment out here either.

However, rumors of treasure buried in this forest were still circulating among the refugees.

”But finders keepers, so why did they try to rob us?” Si Liren mumbled.

”Because they're the real bad guys,” Li Shentan remarked. ”But we can't kill them yet because we still need them to lead us out of the forest. We won't get lost this time, right?”

”Then are we leaving right away?” Little Liren asked.

”Of course not.” Li Shentan said with a glint in his eyes, ”Didn't you hear what they said? The Lian tribe of Xiuzhuzhou sounds quite interesting. If the Lian tribe can really fight as well as these herb collectors claim, there'll be other uses for them.”