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."
"Like what?" Si Liren wondered.
"Didn't you hear them constantly going on about the Prosperous Northwest when we were at the Sacred Mountains? We can abduct the people of the Lian tribe to the Prosperous Northwest. Ren Xiaosu will definitely be surprised when he receives such a gift." Li Shentan got excited and said, "So it's decided then!"
Actually, when Li Shentan said the herb collectors were seeking reincarnation, he was fundamentally not wrong in saying so.
If these people knew the superhuman they were facing was the Demon Whisperer, they would probably not have dared to try to poison him.
Over the years, even the most outstanding hitman was unable to kill Li Shentan, let alone these amateurs who suddenly got the idea of killing him.
Right now, Li Shentan had not only gained control of the herb collectors, he even wanted to abduct the entire Lian tribe to join him in the Prosperous Northwest.
Li Shentan thought for a while and said, "How do we find those people of the Lian tribe? I'm definitely sure the Lian tribe exists, but where are they? Oh well, I'll just wait for them to come and find us."
After that, Li Shentan looked at the herb collectors and said with a smile, "The night is still young and I can't sleep. It's rather boring out here in this wilderness with nothing to do, so why don't you guys put on a talent show for me? Like doing the splits, singing and dancing, or something?"
In an instant, the herb collectors started singing and dancing. Their out-of-tune voices sounded like dreary cries and screams in the forest.
A dark figure in the forest had been approaching the campfire slowly. But when it saw what was happening at the campfire, it quickly retreated like a frightened animal.
Li Shentan looked back in the direction of where the dark figure had disappeared off to and said melancholically, "Did it get intimidated by us? I thought it would feel very welcomed by our warm atmosphere."
He then suddenly stood up and commanded the herb collectors to chase after the dark figure together with him.
Little Liren tacitly flew up into the sky immediately. Her eyes locked onto the target below as she gave directions to Li Shentan, who was giving chase below.
As the two sides sped through the forest, the dark apparition traversed through the forest like it was running on flat ground.
"What a big detour." Li Shentan muttered, "Where's it trying to lead us?"
Li Shentan pursued it at an unhurried pace and didn't seem like he was anxious.
More than 20 minutes later, Si Liren suddenly hovered in the air. When Li Shentan caught up with her from the rear, she landed on the ground. "There's a hole in the ground up ahead. Some lady dressed in strange clothing went inside."
The other party had also noticed Si Liren flying in the air. She knew that if someone had been watching her from above throughout the chase, she could not escape at all. Therefore, she found a hole in the ground to shake off Si Liren's pursuit.
"Is it someone from the Lian tribe?" Li Shentan slowly walked to the wide entrance of the underground tunnel that stood more than two meters tall. It was clear that the squarish entrance was man-made. However, it looked extremely dilapidated, probably because it was constructed a long time ago.
"Eh, this might be the entrance to the ruins left behind by human civilization before The Cataclysm." Li Shentan wondered, "Do you think there could be any treasure inside?"
"It doesn't lookit. What treasure could there be in such a rundown place?" Si Liren said.
"There must be!" Li Shentan said firmly, "C'mon, let's go in and have a look."
After that, Li Shentan took out a flashlight from his backpack and walked straight into the underground tunnel. As he walked, he kept muttering, "If there's any treasure in here, we can present it as a gift when we get to the Prosperous Northwest."
Little Liren grumbled, "Grandpa always said you're biased and would side with outsiders rather than your own family. He really wasn't wrong about you. Can't you leave some money for Grandpa? I heard he's quite short on cash."
Li Shentan thought for a moment. "If there's any treasure in here, we'll share half of it with Grandpa!"
But before he could walk much further in, Li Shentan's expression turned strange. He saw some mottled words on the wall he was shining his flashlight on.
Underground Parking Garage.