124: Arrival in the Abandoned City

"Professor Huang from Dragon County's School of Teleportation Magic?!"

Qi Gou's voice made the Consultant turn his head for a look.

[Name: Huang Gu.]

[Race: Human.]

[Awakened Class: Mage.]

[Level: 70.]

[Affiliation: Dragon County.]

[The System's evaluation is: One of the high-level administrators of the Dragon Army, a Master proficient in Teleportation Magic, and formerly a member of the Oracles!]

Judging from Huang Gu's profile, he might not be as famous as Qi Gou, but his status is significantly higher, and he was even previously affiliated with the Oracles.

No wonder Qi Gou was so surprised by his appearance.

The Consultant glanced at Huang Gu.

Somewhat unexpectedly, Huang Gu did not wear the cold expression most people did; instead, a noticeable spark of light flashed in his eyes upon seeing the Consultant.

He took a few steps and stopped in front of the Consultant. "My name is Huang Gu. You must be 'Wu,' the Bounty Hunter who accepted the investigation mission, right?!"

Oh, right.

He almost forgot the main business!

The Consultant slapped his forehead, finally remembering that he was here to use the Teleportation Formation.

However, the expressions of the people around them showed subtle changes after hearing Huang Gu's words.

They were not Qi Gou's disciples, but Rune Masters sent by the Bounty Hunter Guild. They exchanged glances, their faces filled with shock.

"'Wu'? Is that the famous Bounty Hunter who's been popular recently?!"

"It must be him. I remember someone saying he wasn't very old!"

"I can't believe it's this young man! He's the one who solved many difficult missions in Dragon County alongside Heart-Piercing Spear!"

"I never thought this 'Wu' was also a Rune Grandmaster!"

The conversations of the surrounding people reached the ears of Qi Gou's disciples.

They were momentarily speechless looking at the Consultant, and recalling their recent childish remarks, they felt as if they had been petrified.

That was the most famous person among Bounty Hunters recently, and a Rune Master whom even Qi Gou admired!

Such a person could even be personally greeted by Huang Gu, yet they had just failed to recognize a great figure!

The more those people thought about it, the more terrified they became, fearing the Consultant might retaliate against them.

But in reality.

The Consultant had no intention of paying attention to them at all.

"Hello, Mr. Huang. I accepted the investigation mission. Shall we start now?"

He had already wasted some time here, so he'd better complete the mission quickly so he could still have a day off.

"Of course, of course!"

Seeing the Consultant speak straightforwardly, Huang Gu smiled, nodded, patted the Consultant's shoulder, and gestured for him to move to the side.

The Consultant didn't forget Mr. Qi. As he left, he casually waved at him, "Mr. Qi, I will proactively come find you after I complete this mission."

"Good, good, good!"

Qi Gou was not disappointed that the Consultant had to complete the mission first; rather, his face was filled with joy because the Consultant had agreed.

"Take care and be safe!"

That was someone who possessed ancient, mysterious Rune Knowledge.

Such a person, with just a few simple words, could guide him to unlock a bottleneck that had troubled him for years. Naturally, Qi Gou dared not treat him lightly.

The Consultant followed Huang Gu and left.

Since the mission location was some distance away, Huang Gu needed to prepare a few things.

Fortunately, these preparations weren't complicated, so the Teleportation Ritual was mostly complete shortly thereafter.

Huang Gu held a Long Staff in his hand and stood on the outer ring of the formation.

"Consultant, just stand in the center and don't resist. I will guide you to your destination."

The Consultant followed his instructions, standing quietly in the center of the formation and looking down at the formation beneath his feet.

This formation was extremely complex, something he, as a Rune Master, couldn't comprehend. It probably required a Mage's Magic Power to activate it.

"I understand."

The Consultant nodded silently at him.

"Very well!"

Huang Gu raised the Long Staff in his hand and slammed it heavily onto the edge of the formation.

Instantly, a stream of Magic Power emerged from his body and poured into the formation!

The blue Magic Power abruptly activated the Teleportation Formation. The surrounding space began to twist, and a familiar sensation returned.

His internal organs began to shift, feeling as if he had been tossed into a spinning washing machine.

At the same time, the Consultant once again felt the sense of spatial dissonance that accompanied the activation of Teleportation Magic... "Consultant, this mission carries a certain degree of danger. If you decide to give up, you just need to tear up the Mission Card, and we will be immediately notified and teleport you back. Understand?"

Inside the Teleportation Formation, the Consultant could faintly hear Huang Gu's warning, which made him feel a bit confused.

Since this mission could be actively abandoned, and tearing up the mission card granted the right to be teleported back, why hadn't the previous Bounty Hunters chosen to give up?

No one could answer the Consultant's question.

Because in the next moment, he had already appeared in a different location.

This was a city dozens of miles away from Dragon County. To be precise, it was a place that had long turned into ruins.

As soon as the Consultant landed, he smelled the stench of Demonic Beasts in the air.

At the same time, the System provided a reminder—

[City of the Abandoned: Originally named Sen County. Over a decade ago, due to unknown reasons, rampaging Demonic Beasts invaded, ultimately destroying the entire city. It has now become a nest for Demonic Beasts.]

"Sen County."

The Consultant mumbled the city's original name and suddenly felt a strange, inexplicable throbbing pain in his head.

"Tsk... what's going on?"

The Consultant covered his head and groaned with a frown. However, the pain came quickly and left just as fast. In the next moment, the pain vanished completely, as if it had never been there.

"?? What's happening?"

Just as the Consultant was wondering if something was wrong with his body, a strange sound suddenly came from the side.

He immediately turned his head toward the sound.

Huang Gu had used the Teleportation Formation to send the Consultant to the center of Sen County.

All around him were various city buildings, but because no one had lived or maintained the area for decades, they were already dilapidated.

Green vegetation had engulfed the entire city.

Vines climbed the walls of the city buildings.

Weeds cracked the ground and covered all the narrow corners of the city.

As for some dense, tall trees, they pierced through the city's original structures like giant tentacles.

The entire City of the Abandoned exuded an aura of death, yet beneath the lush green environment, it offered a strange vitality, making it extremely eerie.

Tsk, it really lives up to the 'Sen' (Forest) in Sen County.

The Consultant muttered under his breath.

"Kid, be careful, that thing is coming!"

Accompanied by the strange sounds around them, Black Marsh crawled out from his collar, warning him in a low voice.

The Consultant, of course, knew this, and he had already detected it.