"Wha... What?"
Xiao Xiao looked at Ye Feng with confusion.
"When we just walked past, the people from the City of Arcane sensed someone approaching and would normally look over, or at least glance our way, but the person you mentioned was focused on their work..."
"And when they finally looked in our direction, they deliberately shifted their gaze away!"
"So she must be Yun Yao, but for some reason, she can't acknowledge us. And that reason is likely within the City of Arcane's camp!"
"And she specifically let you see her just now, probably to remind you!"
Ye Feng glanced in the direction of the City of Arcane's camp and quickly explained to Xiao Xiao.
"So that's how it is... I thought I saw the wrong person!"
...
By dusk,
Most of the adventurers were growing impatient, even a bit restless, when the people from the Adventurers' Guild, the City of Arcane, and four other major powers finally made their move.
Seeing the five major powers set off, the other adventurers followed suit, and Ye Feng was no exception.
Even though he had the treasure map, it seemed less important now. He decided to first observe what these major powers were up to.
...
Soon,
Led by the members of the five major powers, Ye Feng, Xiao Xiao, and countless other adventurers arrived at the foot of a mountain that wasn't particularly high, nor short; it was quite ordinary.
Looking around, a river winding down from the peak and encircling the entire mountain was exceptionally prominent.
The mist formed by the evaporation of the river's water made the entire mountain look like it was wrapped in a white ribbon, or as if it were bound by a giant white python...
"Hello everyone, I am Ji Hei from the Adventurers' Guild. The Water Serpent Mountain before you is the location of the ancient ruins!"
"To repay... to thank everyone for your continuous... we have united with several other..."
The leader of the Adventurers' Guild stood on a large rock and shouted loudly to the crowd of adventurers.
However, Ye Feng lost interest after listening for a few sentences, as it was all boastful talk about how selfless they were in contributing the clues to the ancient ruins' treasure...
"Damn, what is this idiot rambling about up there?"
"Fuck!"
...
Many people in the crowd began to express their dissatisfaction, but in hushed tones, clearly intimidated by the status of the Adventurers' Guild members.
"Big brother, why did the sky suddenly turn dark!"
At this moment, Xiao Xiao's puzzled voice rang out.
Ye Feng immediately looked up, because although it was almost dark, the sky had clearly darkened too rapidly just now...
"Thunderclouds?"
Many people, like Ye Feng, frowned upon seeing the dense, dark mass suddenly forming in the sky.
"Big brother, such a large patch of dark clouds... it looks like the thunderclouds from the thunderstorm area we encountered before!"
Xiao Xiao's voice carried a hint of worry.
"Everyone, do not be afraid. This is indeed the thunderclouds from a thunderstorm area, but the appearance of this thundercloud directly above us proves that we have found the right place!"
At this moment, Ji Hei on the boulder spoke, "After the thunderstorm and lightning pass, the gate to the ancient ruins will officially open. As for how much you can obtain, it will be up to each individual's ability!"
"Crack!"
"Rumble!"
As Ji Hei's words fell, a flash of light streaked across the dark clouds in the sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder.
"Sizzle~ Sizzle~"
"Crack crackle~~!"
"Rumble~ Rumble!~"
Large raindrops began to hit the ground, followed by a second, third, and fourth flash of lightning... The deafening thunder made many people involuntarily cover their ears.
"This lightning..."
In the pouring rain, Ye Feng narrowed his eyes as he looked at Water Serpent Mountain.
He noticed that all the lightning striking from the sky hit the mountain, but rarely split trees or rocks, and the commotion was relatively small.
Those dense lightning strikes, at first glance, seemed to be... absorbed by Water Serpent Mountain...
As the rain lessened and the lightning strikes gradually decreased, several distorted spatial fluctuations appeared on the summit of Water Serpent Mountain, resembling whirlpools. In the dim light, they were somewhat unclear.
"Teleportation gates!"
Someone in the crowd excitedly shouted, and then several people quickly ran towards the summit of Water Serpent Mountain.
However, before they could run a few steps, they were struck by lightning, charred inside and out, and met their demise...
Seeing this, the others forcibly suppressed their excitement and remained in place, waiting for the lightning to completely disappear...
"As you all speculated, the teleportation gates at the summit of Water Serpent Mountain are the entrances to the ancient ruins!"
"Everyone, by your own abi..."
As soon as the lightning subsided, before Ji Hei's words could even finish, a group of adventurers could no longer hold back and rushed directly towards the summit of Water Serpent Mountain.
"Charge!"
"The treasure is mine!"
"Son of a bitch, it's mine!"
"I want the Illusion Beast System Enhancement Serum, get out of my way!"
...
A group of adventurers, with red eyes and crazed expressions, yelled and charged towards the mountain, with fights breaking out along the way.
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao did not move, as he noticed that the five major powers had also remained stationary, and some of them even wore smug smiles...
"Young man, why aren't you going up? Don't you need treasure?"
Sha Gui from Sandstorm noticed Ye Feng still standing there and squinted, speaking to him.
"Oh, I'm just passing by, observing here. Don't know what treasure it is~"
Ye Feng's face showed an air of casualness and ease, but he was secretly on guard.
"Bang bang bang..."
"Ah~ Ah!~"
"Ah~!... ."
At this moment, a series of intense gunshots and shrill screams erupted almost simultaneously. It was the adventurers who had reached the lower-mid part of Water Serpent Mountain.
Some had their heads blown open, some had large holes in their chests, and some had half their shoulders blown off...
"Gatling?"
Ye Feng was quite surprised.
Because near the mountainside of Water Serpent Mountain, rows of Gatling heavy machine guns had appeared at some point, with staggered positions, opening fire on the adventurers.
"Now!"
At this moment, the five major powers finally made their move. They quickly ran towards Water Serpent Mountain.
Seeing this, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao followed, but maintained a distance from the five major powers and took different routes.
"Bang bang bang!~..."
"Ah!~ What the fuck~!"
"Your mother, where did the Gatling come from, damn it!"
"Boom~ Boom!~ Whoosh~ Whoosh~"
"Rumble~ Bang!~ Bang!~"
...
Amidst the curses of the adventurers, the dense gunfire of the Gatling continued to erupt.
Not only that, but many flamethrowers emerged from the mountainside behind them, unleashing a torrent of fire onto the group of adventurers. Numerous adventurers turned into human torches, screaming as they rolled down the mountain...
Interspersed among the Gatling guns and flamethrowers were explosions from a large number of grenades, C4 explosives, napalm bombs, and white phosphorus bombs...
...