Chapter 15 Strange Tales (Part 2)

The fierce wind howled, and yellow sand filled the sky.

You walked into a dilapidated restaurant named Iron Pot.

The air in the restaurant was murky, filled with the smell of tobacco, alcohol, and sweat.

"Boss, two catties of braised beef!"

You found a corner seat and slapped your battle saber on the table.

Your cloak was stained with dried blood and dust, and your entire person exuded an aura that warned others to keep their distance.

As you slowly chewed the beef, you habitually perked up your ears, filtering out the noisy conversations around you.

Sometimes, an unintentional remark could be worth a thousand gold.

"Hey, Old Liu, have you heard? Sunset Canyon in the neighboring Tiannan Province has been a bit eerie lately."

Not far away, an old hunter with half an ear missing lowered his voice and mysteriously spoke to his companion.

"How so? Isn't that place perpetually shrouded in thick fog?"

"This time it's different!" The old hunter gestured. "I have a brother who was gathering herbs on the outskirts of the canyon a few days ago, and he said he saw what looked like an Inverted Mountain in the deep fog of the canyon! Its peak was pointing downwards, suspended in mid-air, surrounded by purple light!"

"And... the exotic beasts nearby were all rushing towards it like crazy, as if... as if they were summoned by something!"

"Tsk, you've had too much to drink and are seeing things, aren't you? An Inverted Mountain? I think that's just a mirage!" The companion scoffed.

The speaker had no intention, but the listener paid attention.

You, sitting in the corner, suddenly paused your chewing.

"Inverted Mountain..."

"Exotic beast riot..."

These two keywords made your hand gripping the teacup tighten slightly.

If it were an ordinary person, they might just dismiss it as a hunter's drunken ramblings or some rare mirage.

But you were different.

In your mind, the distorted spatial ripples on the lake in Changlin Park that night, and the mystic ice twin lotus that materialized out of thin air, subconsciously surfaced.

That scene also defied logic, equally bizarre and inexplicable.

"An Inverted Mountain peak..."

Was this truly just a refraction of light? Or was it some kind of higher-dimensional sight?

You had no conclusive evidence, nor was there any theory that could prove this was definitely a "dimensional ripple."

There was too little information; no one could guarantee it.

This might just be some unrecorded natural magnetic field phenomenon.

But did that matter?

Better to make a thousand futile trips than miss this one Opportunity.

More importantly, it was May, and the College Entrance Examination was still a month away.

There was plenty of time.

If it was true, this would definitely be a great Opportunity no less significant than the "mystic ice twin lotus"!

"Sunset Canyon..."

You quickly searched for this place name in your mind.

It was a dangerous place at the border of the two provinces, with complex terrain and chaotic magnetic fields, a true lawless zone.

Although this was just a drunken rumor.

But for you, who yearned to become stronger, even a one-in-ten-thousand chance was worth taking a gamble on!

"Boss, check, please!"

You threw down a banknote, picked up your saber, and without even waiting for change, you walked out of the small restaurant without looking back.

Time waits for no one.

Outside, the wind and sand stung your eyes.

You pulled your cloak tighter, staring intently into the distance.

After leaving the Iron Pot restaurant, you didn't just blindly plunge into the vast wilderness like a hothead.

Although the hunter's words had made your blood boil, reason told you that Sunset Canyon was a perilous place spanning two provinces, with terrain as complex as a labyrinth, and countless high-tier exotic beasts lurking within.

Trying your luck based on a vague rumor of an "Inverted Mountain" was courting death.

"Sharpening the axe doesn't delay chopping wood."

You pulled down the brim of your cloak, not rushing out of town, but instead turning towards the administrative center to which Wind and Sand Town belonged—Chiyang County.

Half a day later, you arrived at Chiyang County.

Your first destination was the Chiyang County Library.

This was a small county town that had long been in decline, with a sparse population.

Even the county library building was covered in withered climbing vines.

You entered the local history reading room of the library.

The administrator was a sleepy old man wearing reading glasses. Seeing someone enter, he didn't even bother to lift his eyelids, merely pointing to the corner: "Ten federation coin for research, copies extra. Handle with care, don't damage the rare editions."

You paid the fee and walked past rows of dusty bookshelves.

Clearly, no one had been here for a long time; the thick layer of dust on the shelves recorded the passage of years.

But your eyes gleamed with excitement.

In this era where the Intelligence Network covered everything, most people were accustomed to getting information online.

However, due to the chaotic magnetic field in Sunset Canyon, Intelligence Network signals couldn't reach it, and satellite maps were perpetually obscured by clouds and fog, showing only blurry outlines.

The true details were hidden in these forgotten stacks of paper.

With the patience granted by your Hardworking and Enduring nature, you frantically flipped through books, embarking on a tedious reading journey.

"Chiyang County Annals: Mountains and Rivers Volume," "Study of Sunset Canyon Vegetation," "History of Tiannan Geological Changes (Incomplete Manual)"...

You went through them one by one, not even sparing county newspapers from a hundred years ago.

"In New Martial Era Year 35, purple fog appeared deep within Sunset Canyon, lasting for three days; herb gatherers who mistakenly entered became lost and could not exit..."

"The place anciently known as One-Line Sky often produces lightning-struck wood during thunderstorms; the magnetic field here is most intense..."

"There is an underground river in the canyon's interior called Bone Eater..."

You pieced together these fragmented bits of information. With your superb memory and comprehension skills, which consistently ranked you first in your grade at school, a three-dimensional map of Sunset Canyon slowly began to form in your mind.

You not only memorized the terrain but also deduced the flow of the underground river, the patterns of poisonous miasma, and even marked several potential lairs of high-tier exotic beasts.

Three days.

You stayed in this musty reading room for three whole days, subsisting only on dry rations.

When you closed the last volume, "Supplement to the County Annals," the sleepy administrator finally looked up in surprise: "Young man, are you an archaeology student? Nowadays, who still cares about such a dilapidated place?"

You smiled, offered no explanation, merely brushed the dust from your clothes, and turned to leave.

At this moment, although you had never entered Sunset Canyon, your understanding of it probably surpassed that of many elders who had lived in the area their entire lives.

...

Preparations complete, it was time for a field investigation.

You returned to Wind and Sand Town and hired the most experienced local guide, Old Ma, at a high price.

Old Ma was a dark-skinned, gaunt man with two missing fingers. He had originally retired, but under the onslaught of your thick stack of federation coin, he agreed to take you around the periphery.

"Little brother, we agreed, only around the Eagle Beak Cliff area on the outskirts, absolutely no going deep inside!" Old Ma grumbled as he checked the dilapidated off-road vehicle. "This place has been really eerie lately."

"How so?" You asked casually from the passenger seat.

"Before, you wouldn't see a single outsider in this godforsaken place for a month. But in the last half-month, it's been truly lively."

Old Ma started the car, and the engine roared like a beast, carrying you into the swirling yellow sand.

"Just yesterday, I saw a team driving heavy armored vehicles go in. Judging by their equipment, tsk tsk, they were either from the military or a major conglomerate's private army. There were also several groups of Lone Wolves like you, each radiating Killing Intent."

Old Ma glanced at you, implying something, and said: "Little brother, you're a student from out of town, right? Listen to your uncle's advice, even if I don't know what treasure is inside, some excitement isn't for the likes of us. Those people, they really dare to kill."

You nodded, said nothing, but silently noted the information Old Ma provided.

Sure enough, the anomaly had already attracted the attention of various forces.

There were many competitors.

But this only made you more excited.

The more people there were, and the more chaotic the situation, the greater the Opportunity for you as a Lone Wolf.