Mei Niang's persistent mention of the blood crystals made him increasingly wary.
Even an idiot could guess that this item was extremely valuable, otherwise a powerful figure at the fifth layer wouldn't keep bringing it up.
Seeing his reaction, Mei Niang shook her head regretfully and continued to lead the way.
Although the big man and his companions had entered just a few minutes earlier, Li Zhonglou and Mei Niang surprisingly hadn't seen them. Li Zhonglou had looked at Mei Niang's back several times, wanting to speak, but then he remembered the blood crystals.
He held back.
"Could there be another way here?"
Li Zhonglou glanced around, but unfortunately, everything was blocked by weeds and towering trees. For some reason, his Sky Eye Perspective divine ability was unusable, and he could only passively follow Mei Niang.
As they walked, they still hadn't reached the camp Mei Niang had mentioned. Li Zhonglou suddenly remembered something he had overlooked.
"Wait a moment!"
Li Zhonglou spoke up abruptly, startling Mei Niang, who quickly turned around and asked, "What is it? Is there trouble?"
Li Zhonglou first glanced at the sky. Although he couldn't see the entire landscape, it was undeniably bright, just like broad daylight outside.
But the problem was, it was midnight when they entered!
Li Zhonglou looked at Mei Niang, frowning deeply, and asked, "Mei Niang, wasn't it dark when we came in? Why is it daytime here?"
Mei Niang immediately rolled her eyes.
"You almost scared me to death, you brat. I thought we'd walked into an ambush. That's daylight ore."
Mei Niang gave Li Zhonglou a look of exaggerated surprise and then turned to continue leading the way.
Li Zhonglou followed, pressing, "What is daylight ore?"
Whether it was because she was getting annoyed by his questions or because it was a trivial matter, Mei Niang didn't mention the blood crystals this time and directly explained, "The name describes its function. It's a kind of rare ore, but it can't be mined. Once removed, it loses its effect."
"That amazing?"
Mei Niang chuckled, "You should be glad it's like this. Otherwise, you'd definitely have to bring your own lights when you came in here."
That was true. Li Zhonglou nodded. Human greed was endless and had no bottom. There would always be selfish people in this world.
Mei Niang continued, "As for its origin, experts have analyzed it. It might have been formed by the remains of ancient creatures over long periods of time. Although not very authoritative, it's another reason not to disturb them, so we accept it as fact."
As soon as she finished speaking, Mei Niang's eyes suddenly lit up.
"We're here! It seems there's no trouble for now."
Li Zhonglou blinked in surprise and then noticed, at the corner where Mei Niang was standing, that a camp appeared at the end of the small path.
As they hurried over, Li Zhonglou found that it bore some resemblance to the camp in Iron Forest.
Soon, the two emerged from a patch of grass into a clearing with a wide-open view, appearing somewhat isolated, as if a flat area had suddenly appeared in the deep mountains.
It was about the size of a football field, surrounded by a fence over two meters high. The situation inside was somewhat visible, and the layout was indeed similar to the camp in Iron Forest, with all buildings made of wood.
As Mei Niang led him quickly to the main entrance, a head poked out. "Guide?"
Li Zhonglou, following behind, froze.
Mei Niang nodded. The person glanced at Li Zhonglou and then withdrew their head.
With that single glance, Li Zhonglou felt his heart pound uncontrollably!
That pressure!
Li Zhonglou leaned closer to Mei Niang and said in a low voice, "Mei Niang, who was that just now..."
Mei Niang smiled, "You felt it, didn't you? That doorman could probably destroy us with a flick of his hand."
Her smile clearly carried a self-deprecating tone, but Li Zhonglou remained silent.
That feeling of pressure should have been the rumored seventh layer, or perhaps even higher. Li Zhonglou hadn't experienced it firsthand and couldn't distinguish the difference yet.
After a moment, the main gate in front slowly lifted. This time, he could see more clearly, and a familiar sense of déjà vu washed over him.
At this moment, an acquaintance also appeared.
"You've arrived."
It was Xiong Da, the burly man over 1.9 meters tall who had complained about Lao Wang at the bar.
Mei Niang nodded and asked, "Where are the others? Have they all gone on missions?"
Xiong Da also nodded, "They've all gone. They asked me to stay and inform you."
Li Zhonglou looked at the two curiously. They didn't seem to intend to go inside?
There were quite a few houses here, although most were battle fortresses, similar in exterior to the base fortress Li Zhonglou had entered before reaching the third underground level. However, there were also normal houses.
About ten meters away from the three of them stood one of these houses.
Xiong Da continued, "The invasion was premeditated. They attacked three camps simultaneously. Our main force is still entangled with them in Grey Valley, and the captains have dispersed to the three camps. They asked me to accompany you two."
"You're accompanying us? That won't mean we're all going to Number Three, will it?"
Xiong Da gave a wry smile, "Precisely."
Mei Niang's expression changed suddenly, and she asked with some confusion, "What is the captain thinking? This young brother is still a newcomer, and he's being sent to Number Three?"
Xiong Da also glanced at Li Zhonglou, whose brows twitched slightly.
"It's not the captain's decision; it's from above."
As soon as Xiong Da said it wasn't the captain's arrangement, the two of them fixed their gazes on him.
Li Zhonglou felt a sense of dread. "What are you looking at?"
Mei Niang's face suddenly turned stern. "Kid, confess. What's your relationship with the Wu family! Could you be someone from above?"
He had actually realized this when Xiong Da said it wasn't the captain's arrangement, but it was better to be upfront about such things. "Uh, if I were from the Wu family, would I not even know about blood crystals?"
Mei Niang was still skeptical, "Then it's possible you're just pretending to be a rookie to trick us."
Li Zhonglou was speechless, "But you'd have to tell me why I would want to trick you, right? Do I have nothing better to do?"
That's right, why would he want to trick them?
Mei Niang was momentarily stumped. Xiong Da then interjected, "Forget it. If they don't want to say, we don't need to ask more. In any case, thanks to you, we all have to go to Number Three."
Li Zhonglou cleared his throat, changing the subject, "Does Number Three have anything special about it?"
Mei Niang rolled her eyes, "Of course it does. It's the most dangerous camp in our front sector. Those lunatics' main targets in every attack are to take down Number Three."
"Why?"