Chapter 225 - Exposed
Qin Feng retrieved the boxes and stored them into his own spatial equipment. He put some into the newly-acquired spatial button when his own was fully loaded.
He was jubilant with the loot he had found.
“That should do it.” Qin Feng decided to call it a day.
It was three in the morning. Qin Feng decided that they should return to the camp now. They could always revisit the cave later so there was no rush to bring everything out tonight.
Qin Feng retreated out of the cave, and his consciousness found Bai Li immediately. She was busy harvesting herbs around the area. This was a truly rewarding trip for them.
To many others, this was just an uneventful night.
The next morning, aptitude users were woken up by chirping sounds and immediately went into defense mode.
They knew another round of crisis had just begun.
They might have worked together during the night but that did not mean that they were comrades now. Everyone was being wary of each other. The situation was tense as fights might erupt at any time.
Some groups began to plan their next move.
“I thought Drakocrocs hunt during the night? Why on earth did they disappear last night?”
“Darn! Does that mean we can’t move around during the day?”
“It’s better to go out in the dark. Though it’s more dangerous, at least it’s better than being eaten alive by the crocs.”
“I still think it’s better to move during the day. Everyone needs rest. We have one less thing to worry about if we rest when those Drakocrocs are inactive.”
Last time, a few fearless users had gone out for an expedition during the night like Qin Feng.
Though they did encounter other mutated beasts, they did not meet any Drakocrocs.
Some had even returned to the beach they disembarked from. Nothing was seen there during the night.
The giant claw marks of the Drakocrocs had also vanished, washed by the waves.
No wonder they did not notice any beasts tracks earlier.
“Should we move during the night as well?” Han Jian was contemplating like the others and asked Qin Feng.
Qin Feng threw the question back to him, “Do you think we are afraid of the crocs?”
Han Jian was momentarily stunned. Chi Long, on the other hand, was beaming with confidence.
“Why should we be afraid? It’s our chance to harvest the valuable herbs on this island. We will have less competition if other groups dare not move out during the day.”
The five of them departed from the makeshift campsite without delay. It was another day of exploration, looting, and constant battling.
The island was rather huge. Once the group had scattered, they probably would not bump into anyone if they were to carefully avoid other aptitude users. After all, there were only less than a hundred people inside the island now after the tragic incident yesterday.
In the following days, Qin Feng fought alongside Han Jian, Chi Long, and Lin Wuyi during the day, while continuing his visit to the cave to loot for more treasures during the night. Qin Feng even collected the skins and bones leftover.
Such a peaceful routine was broken on the fourth day.
That night, the atmosphere inside the campsite was unusually edgy.
Qin Feng and co. always returned the latest as they could last the longest in the wild. They immediately realized the alertness and suspicion among the users.
“Let me go and ask,” Han Jian said. Most aptitude users around Chengyang City knew him so it was not difficult for him to get some information.
“I will go too.” Chi Long walked into the crowd as well. He was an aptitude user from Fu City and actually knew more people than Han Jian.
They returned not long after.
“Apparently, someone has discovered a passage that leads to the underground of this island. The energy in there is even richer. He also found a darkglow in there but it had clearly been harvested. They are now speculating that someone among us went in first but remained quiet about it.”
Qin Feng put on a poker face, while Bai Li played with the thing in her hand inattentively. He was determined not to reveal any signs of distress in front of them.
These people did not have the slightest idea about the richness of the treasure hidden down there. Otherwise, they would have died out of jealousy.
“Is it reliable? Perhaps it’s another trap set up by the Dark Coalition?” Qin Feng diverted the blame toward the Dark Coalition.
Han Jian shook his head. “Unlikely. They found the place as a group and split up to explore the cave. When they met back at the rendezvous point, the darkglow was gone. The group suspected that the aptitude user had stolen it so he ran away before the infighting escalated, and broke the news to others afterward.”
A typical selfish act. He would not allow his team members to earn the fortune if he did not get a piece of it.
This message clearly benefited those who initially had no knowledge of such a hidden passage.
Moreover, the aptitude user swore that he had not taken any darkglow. This only meant that someone had gotten in there earlier and already looted most of the treasure inside.
That was the reason for the tension. They were currently suspecting everyone around them.
Unbeknownst to them, they had guessed it right. That despicable thief was none other than Qin Feng!
“Let’s go and have a look tomorrow,” Qin Feng ordered.
“Sure!” Chi Long responded, “We are talking about darkglow! This plant usually grows in large patches. We are going to be very rich if we find any in there.”
Qin Feng’s team was not the only one excited to try their luck. Those from the Dark Coalition that had infiltrated the group also felt that this might serve them a good opportunity to strike.
No other place was more strategic than the narrow and dark underground cave for assassination.
The next morning, every team woke up and rolled out much earlier than the past few days. They all headed to the same destination—The cliff on the east side of the island.
Some teams had already begun the descent. There was still mistrust between different parties, so obviously, they were not going to cooperate.
As if they had rehearsed this, the teams went in one after another. The first party that entered was led by Tyrant. He was the strongest aptitude user among them. Besides, he still garnered substantial respect from the rest due to his affiliation with Wanzhong. His team had three other members—One also from Wanzhong while the other two were his acquaintances from Sea City.
They jumped down the cliff swiftly. After they were gone, another group appeared out of the woods and did the same.
There was a wind-type ability user in this group.
“Nimbus!”
The dense cloud shrouded the three of them and carried them downward.
This was when a horrible shriek came out from inside the cave. Along with the shriek was the growling of a beast. Following that was the sound of rocks falling.
Tyrant was then seen dashing out from the caves in a panic. He infused his legs with internal power and sprinted on the sea surface.
Behind him, one after another giant figure emerged from the large caves.
“Howl!”
It was Drakocrocs!
Those groups still on top of the cliff could clearly see the Drakocrocs swarming out from the caves.
The beasts immediately saw the descending group.
Boom!
One of the beasts leaped into the air, aiming its mouth at the wind-type ability user.
“Scram!”
The ability user explosively activated his ability and unleashed a series of cyclone blades. Though the fierce winds did slice open the Drakocroc skin, it failed to stop the beast’s advance.
The mouth of the Drakocroc was right in front of his eyes.