18: Chapter 18 Entering the Secret Realm

The crowd bustled at the entrance of the Secret Realm.

A massive, mirror-like teleportation portal stood silently, its surface rippling with slow undulations of energy.

The queue snaked out from before the gate like a long serpent, extending all the way to the edge of the distant woods.

Gu Changming and the other three moved forward slowly with the flow of people.

Finally, the figures of the team ahead of them submerged into the ripples and vanished.

A soldier stationed there made a gesture toward them.

Wang Dongxin took a deep breath, looked back at the three of them, and said in a low voice, "Get ready."

After waiting for about four or five minutes to confirm the entrance was stable, the stationed soldier nodded to them.

Wang Dongxin took the lead; the moment his body touched the ripples, he vanished as if merging into water.

Li Haoxing and Ye Qing followed closely behind.

Gu Changming was the last to step in. The moment he touched the ripples, he felt a slight dizziness and a sense of weightlessness.

The next second, the feeling of solid ground returned, and the scene before his eyes suddenly opened up.

They were currently standing in a vast forest. Towering ancient trees rose from the ground, their canopies blotting out the sun. The air was moist and fresh, and as he inhaled, there was a cool sweetness to it.

Above the horizon, three moons hung conspicuously in the sky. It was enough for anyone to clearly tell that this was not Earth.

"Every time I come in, it feels incredible," Li Haoxing lowered his voice.

The team that had entered before them was nowhere to be seen, as the teleportation location for each entry was not fixed. This was why they had to wait those four or five minutes before coming in.

After landing, the four quickly adjusted their state and checked their equipment and weapons.

While adjusting his backpack straps, Li Haoxing looked at Gu Changming with a grin and said:

"Xiao Gu, Sister Ye Qing said before we left that the primary mission of this trip is to help you complete your 'first time'—letting you kill a demonic beast with your own hands!"

Ye Qing was squatting down to tighten her shoelaces. Hearing this, she immediately looked up and shot Li Haoxing a glare.

Some people were just like that; whatever words came out of their mouths would end up sounding wrong.

Wang Dongxin also looked at Gu Changming at this time and said, "Don't worry. We've dealt with those Steel-Maned Rabbits on the outskirts many times. They look intimidating, but they aren't actually very aggressive; they're just a bit thick-skinned. We'll back you up later while you take the lead in the middle to get a feel for it. Nothing will go wrong."

Seeing that they were all looking at him and that things had been put this way, Gu Changming was silent for a moment before nodding.

"Understood."

Once everyone was ready, they began to move cautiously toward the area marked on the map where Steel-Maned Rabbits were likely to be active.

The marks on the map were made by various teams after their own explorations; they didn't require points to purchase and were considered a form of mutual benefit.

Of course, this was only in the early stages. Later on, such behavior basically ceased, and every map would cost quite a few points to buy.

Wang Dongxin and the others were also very steady. They didn't risk taking a shortcut through the dangerous inner zone, but instead chose to take a safe, wide detour.

As they found more gnawing marks on the ground and scattered hard bristles, Wang Dongxin and the others knew they were nearing the target area.

The group simultaneously lightened their steps, subconsciously holding their breath and essentially ceasing to speak.

Ye Qing glanced at Gu Changming's empty hands. After a moment's hesitation, she handed over the short blade in her hand, gesturing with her eyes for him to take it.

Although those Steel-Maned Rabbits weren't particularly strong, they were still difficult to deal with without a weapon.

Gu Changming's gaze swept over the short blade, and he gently shook his head, indicating he didn't need it.

Ye Qing's lips moved as if she still wanted to persuade him, but the current environment didn't allow for much talk, so she had to take the short blade back.

After quietly creeping behind a cluster of bushes thick enough to hide their figures, Wang Dongxin made a gesture, and the group immediately crouched down low.

Wang Dongxin also began to lay out the tactics. "Haoxing and I will go out first and make some noise. It would be best if we can lure out two or three. Then we'll lead those rabbits further away and let Xiao Gu finish them off."

After Wang Dongxin finished, his gaze swept over everyone as he asked, "OK?"

The three nodded, indicating there was no problem.

Their usual fighting style was like this. There were hundreds of rabbits in these Steel-Maned Rabbit gathering areas; if they just rushed in directly, they wouldn't even know how they died.

So, the tactic used was always to lure a few rabbits out and then deal with them one by one.

Then, Wang Dongxin gave Li Haoxing a look. The two of them stood up slowly in sync, trying not to make a sound as they crept toward the area where the Steel-Maned Rabbits were active.

Ye Qing and Gu Changming remained crouched behind the bushes, holding their breath and concentrating.

However, after several seconds passed, the front was unusually quiet; the expected sound of the rabbit colony being startled didn't come.

A flash of confusion crossed Ye Qing's face, and her brows furrowed slightly.

Before she could even wonder what had happened, Wang Dongxin's voice came from the gaps in the trees ahead.

"You guys... come take a look."

Ye Qing and Gu Changming exchanged a glance. No longer hiding, they quickly stood up, took a few quick steps forward, and pushed aside the branches blocking their view.

The scene before them caused both of them to freeze in their tracks.

As far as the eye could see, dozens of Steel-Maned Rabbit corpses lay strewn about. Their hard bristles were torn, and their bodies were covered in horrific wounds.

In the center of this small clearing, the little pool where the Steel-Maned Rabbits usually drank was now tinged with red, as if it had been filled with blood.

Ye Qing looked at the scene before her and subconsciously took a step forward. "What... what happened here?"

She paused and speculated, "Could another team have gotten here ahead of us and cleared out all the Steel-Maned Rabbits?"

Wang Dongxin shook his head with a grim expression. He crouched down and used the tip of his knife to carefully poke at a nearby Steel-Maned Rabbit corpse, saying in a heavy voice:

"Doesn't look like it. Look at these wounds; the tearing is severe, it doesn't look like it was caused by the weapons we commonly use. And..."

"The most valuable parts of these rabbits, the steel bristles and the incisors, are all still intact. If it were another team, it's impossible they wouldn't collect these things."

Hearing Wang Dongxin's analysis, Ye Qing and Li Haoxing immediately realized where the problem lay, and both of their faces turned somewhat pale.

Ye Qing seemed to suddenly remember something. With a hint of unease in her tone, she whispered, "Brother Wang, do you remember the news we heard at the market a day or two ago? That team that was almost completely wiped out on the outskirts..."

"Could it be... that the fellow who came out from the inner zone and caused that incident is the one who did this too?"

Li Haoxing instinctively looked at Wang Dongxin, waiting for him, the captain, to make a decision.

Wang Dongxin's brow was locked in a tight frown. He hesitated for less than two seconds before making a decisive call: "Don't worry about it so much. Move fast, collect the valuable materials from these dead rabbits, and we'll leave here immediately and head for the extraction point!"

These Steel-Maned Rabbits had clearly just died not long ago; that demonic beast might still be roaming nearby.

Therefore, the best choice was to quickly harvest the goods and then evacuate.

Besides, the materials from so many Steel-Maned Rabbits were enough to make them a large profit; leaving directly wouldn't be a loss.

Ye Qing and Li Haoxing immediately nodded upon hearing this, offering no objection. The two quickly crouched down, pulled out the harvesting tools they carried, and began cutting off the hard bristles and large incisors.