63: Whispers of the Guardian Tribe

The cave tunnel behind the waterfall was cold and damp, the air thick with a heavy smell of wet earth and moss.

After the team reunited, morale recovered to some extent. The return of Juan and Carlos gave the remaining support staff a sense of stability. Meanwhile, Lin Feng, through his near-miraculous actions, completely established his unshakable position as the leader of the team.

They did not linger in the cave for long. Using his remaining machete, Juan soaked some dry branches in oil to create several simple torches.

Under the light of the flickering flames, the team entered the man-made tunnel.

The tunnel walls were covered with axe marks, clearly dating back a long time. The floor was level but covered in a layer of slippery silt.

"Where does this path... lead to?" Wang Dalong held up a torch, curiously surveying his surroundings, his voice echoing in the empty tunnel.

"To the heart of El Dorado." Lin Feng walked at the front, his voice calm. "This tunnel bypasses the most dangerous section of the jungle and avoids that river. This is the true 'path' from the exploration notes."

Everyone suddenly realized the truth. As it turned out, crossing the river itself was a massive trap and a trial. Only those who saw through the mystery of the waterfall could find this safe passage.

The tunnel wasn't long; after walking for about half an hour, light appeared ahead.

When they emerged from the tunnel, the sight before them shocked everyone once again.

They seemed to have arrived in a massive, basin-like valley. It was surrounded by towering cliffs that reached the clouds, completely isolating this place from the outside world. The valley was lush with vegetation, warm and humid, like a hidden paradise.

Giant ferns stood several meters tall, and all sorts of colorful, never-before-seen flowers competed in beauty. Several clear streams meandered through the valley, flowing into a turquoise lake.

This place was like a lost world.

"My god... this place is too beautiful..." Wang Dalong was stunned by the scenery and instinctively reached for his camera.

"Don't move!" Juan suddenly barked at him sharply.

Not far from Wang Dalong's feet, next to an exceptionally vibrant red flower, several colorful butterflies were fluttering about.

"Those are deadly." Juan's expression was grave. "That flower's pollen is highly toxic, and the butterflies' wings are covered in it. In here, anything beautiful could cost you your life."

Wang Dalong pulled his foot back in a fright.

The team moved cautiously along the edge of the valley. Although the environment was beautiful, the dangers seemed even greater than those in the Rainforest outside.

They trekked with difficulty for another three days.

During these three days, they exhausted the last of their food and had to rely on Juan's experience to find edible plant roots and non-toxic insects to fill their bellies. Everyone had thinned out, their faces etched with exhaustion.

But the good news was that, based on Lin Feng's interpretation of the notes and his assessment of the surrounding terrain, they were now infinitely close to the final area marked on the map.

El Dorado was likely hidden in some corner of this valley.

On the evening of the third day, they set up camp in a forest clearing near a water source. This was the most ideal campsite they had found since entering the valley.

Everyone was exhausted. After distributing the last of the wild fruit they had found, they each found a place to rest, not even bothering to keep the campfire burning brightly.

Lin Feng did not rest. He sat on a rock at the edge of the camp, wiping a machete he had requested from the support staff.

His danger-sensing ability had been in a state of high activity since they entered the valley. That feeling of being watched was more than ten times stronger than it had been outside.

He knew they were being targeted.

Those "Guardians," the mysterious tribe mentioned in the notes, were nearby.

As the night deepened, the sound of snoring rose and fell throughout the camp. Days of fatigue had caused everyone's vigilance to drop to its lowest point.

Wang Dalong leaned against a tree, clutching his camera, and fell into a deep sleep.

Lin Feng remained awake, sitting like a statue, silently sensing every slight change in the surrounding environment.

At midnight, when the moon was obscured by dark clouds and the entire valley was plunged into pitch-black darkness, that intense sense of crisis suddenly surged through Lin Feng's body like an electric current!

They're here!

He made no sound, nor did he make any large movements. At the moment the sense of crisis erupted, he reached out like lightning, covering Wang Dalong's mouth while simultaneously using his other hand to pull him to the ground. The two of them rolled into a nearby dense thicket.

Wang Dalong woke up with a start and was about to struggle, but Lin Feng held him down firmly. Lin Feng held a finger to his lips, making a "shush" gesture.

Wang Dalong saw Lin Feng's eyes shining terrifyingly bright in the darkness and immediately understood something, remaining perfectly still.

The very next second after they hid in the bushes, a faint "pfft" sound rang out in the camp.

This was followed by a series of subtle whistling sounds through the air.

It was like the whispers of the Grim Reaper.

In the camp, their sleeping companions didn't even have time to let out a scream before they went completely silent.

Several dark figures appeared in the camp silently, like ghosts. They were not tall, but their movements were exceptionally agile. They held strange blowguns in their hands and quickly checked each of the fallen companions.

Wang Dalong saw this scene through the gaps in the bushes and was so terrified his whole body shook and his teeth chattered. He used all his strength to keep himself from crying out.

After confirming everyone was "dealt with," the dark figures didn't take any supplies. They simply hoisted their companions onto their shoulders one by one and disappeared silently into the depths of the dark jungle, just as they had come.

The entire process took less than two minutes.

In the camp, only a few campfires with lingering warmth and a dead silence remained.

Only when that suffocating pressure had completely vanished did Lin Feng release his grip on Wang Dalong.

Wang Dalong went limp, collapsing on the ground and gasping for air, his eyes filled with boundless terror.

"They... they... Juan and the others..."

"All dead. Or taken away." Lin Feng's voice was cold and devoid of emotion.

He had seen clearly just now that the tips of the blowdarts had a dark sheen, obviously coated in a lethal poison. Those hit would die almost instantly.

Now, of the expedition team that entered the Amazon, only he and Wang Dalong remained.

They were completely isolated and without help.

Lin Feng did not feel despair; instead, he felt a sense of calm as if a premonition had come true. He stood up from the bushes, walked to the center of the camp, and picked up a blowdart that had fallen on the ground.

The blowdart was about ten centimeters long, carved from some kind of hard wood. The tip was sharp and coated with a layer of black resin. A brightly colored feather was tied to the end of the dart.

He took out the notes and flipped to the page describing the "Guardians."

Beside the text was a simple sketch of an almost identical blowdart.

The notes read:

"They are the ghosts of the jungle, the sentinels of gold. Their poisoned arrows can bring down the strongest Jaguar within three heartbeats. Anyone who dares to approach the holy land will become a sacrifice they offer to the Sun God."

Lin Feng gripped the deadly blowdart and looked in the direction where his companions had disappeared.

Being attacked meant they were already infinitely close to their goal.

El Dorado was nearby.