192: Chapter 192, the hidden cave quest! And the second phase of the game?

Just as Leopard Mom said.

That damn savage lied.

This was unavoidable; although An Ke, before the interrogation...

...had used words to threaten the other party, claiming he had the ability to discern lies.

However, in reality, he didn't.

If the other party truly lied, An Ke would have no way of knowing.

This was the cunning of humans.

If it were an animal, they wouldn't have so many schemes.

Take "Sycophant Python" for instance; it would be more than willing to sell out all its companions just to save its own skin.

Tiger Mom also spat in disgust.

"To think he actually lied and said it was in the northern cave."

"I really wish he could come back to life just so I could bite him to death again."

Hearing Tiger Mom's words, Hua Hua was suddenly startled.

"The northern cave—you must not go there."

"It is extremely dangerous there."

"My brother told me that once any animal enters, they can never come back out."

Tiger Mom and Leopard Mom were very surprised.

"No animal can come out after entering?"

"What's in the cave?"

"Could it be some large carnivore?"

At that moment.

Jingang landed on An Ke's shoulder, the feathers on its head slightly disheveled.

It chirped, "I said it, I would definitely come back."

"What are you talking about?"

"A man-eating cave?"

"Do you want this Hulking One to go in and investigate?"

The current Jingang possessed a body of strength and feared nothing.

It dared to act insolently before any creature, except for An Ke.

Every time Jingang spoke, An Ke felt a headache coming on.

He said irritably, "You'd better take it easy."

"Something that prevents animals from leaving after entering isn't necessarily an animal."

It could also be marsh gas or various other dangerous natural phenomena.

In the wilderness, there are far too many things to be careful of.

After speaking, An Ke gave a cold laugh. "That savage truly was sinister and cunning."

He now felt that letting the savage die directly was too easy.

If he had known earlier, he would have definitely kicked the savage into that cave.

And while An Ke was still making guesses with a scientific mindset...

[National Fortune Announcement] suddenly rang out:

[Hidden mission triggered. This mission can be chosen to be completed or not.]

[Explore the Unknown Cave. Once the progress reaches 100%, you will receive the hidden mission reward.]

[Hidden mission reward: Exploration progress will be directly increased to 10%.]

[Additionally, if the Unknown Cave is ultimately cleared, you will receive the treasure chest reward inside the cave.]

[Global Announcement: When a National Destiny Bearer's exploration progress reaches 10%...]

[...the National Fortune Game will enter its second phase.]

The sudden announcement shocked the public outside.

"Hidden cave!?"

"Could it be that these are the hidden rewards mentioned before that exist on the islands?"

"Holy crap! They aren't given directly, but require exploration?"

"Isn't this too much of a trap?"

"Who knows what kind of terrifying animals are in that cave? It feels too dangerous."

"Yeah! I think it's probably better not to go in."

"Anyway, by exploring outside, you can also raise the exploration progress to 10%. There's absolutely no need to take the risk."

"But if you complete the exploration, there are extra rewards in the cave!"

"So what if there are rewards? Staying alive is the key."

"True! By the way, what the heck is the second phase of the National Fortune Game?"

"It wasn't mentioned before that reaching 10% exploration progress would lead to a new phase."

"Could there be even more terrifying animals?!"

"..."

The announcement about triggering the hidden reward could only be seen by An Ke and the viewers in the Dragon Country Live Stream Room.

However, the following "announcement that the second phase of the National Fortune Game will begin" was a global notification.

It immediately caused a massive stir.

"What is the second phase of the National Fortune Game for?"

"Strengthening animals? Or will even more ancient species appear?"

"God! Mythical creatures won't appear, will they?"

"No way! This is a wilderness game, not an exploration game."

"Yoshi! Can new contestants be selected to enter in the new phase?"

"Have the people of the Wa Country not died out yet?"

"They really are resilient!"

"Hahaha! Is your Wa Country so eager to go in and seek death?"

"If you fail this time, forget your country; I'm afraid even your ethnic group will cease to exist."

"Baka! Our Great Wa Empire will not perish!"

"As long as we can get contestants in, we will definitely rise again."

"..."

Regarding the National Fortune Game entering its second phase, some were expectant while others were worried.

The unknown meant there was still danger.

What if too many powerful and ferocious beasts appeared in the second phase?

Although after this period of training, the contestants who managed to survive all had the strength to hold their own...

...and had triggered Thousand Times Materialization for their countries a few times...

...without firearms, they would still be doomed if they encountered powerful wild beasts.

Inside the live stream.

An Ke immediately furrowed his brows.

Exploring the northern cave.

He didn't expect that "man-eating cave" to actually be a hidden mission.

To be precise, it was a hidden dungeon.

As long as the cave was successfully explored, the exploration progress could be directly increased to 10%.

Obtaining the milestone rewards for exploration progress.

It also meant that as long as he could complete this dungeon...

...An Ke would be able to get three rewards.

To be honest, he was a bit tempted!

However, the unknown danger made An Ke somewhat hesitant.

No one knew exactly what was inside the cave.

"The second phase of the game!?"

At this moment, Kata, who was behind him, spoke in surprise.

He hurriedly came to An Ke's side. "Lord An Ke, you... you..."

"...heard it, right?"

An Ke snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. "I heard it."

"What will the second phase be?" Kata was clearly a bit worried.

He had almost died in the first phase, let alone the second.

"I don't know either." An Ke shook his head.

Who knew what the mastermind behind the National Fortune Game was planning to do?

It wasn't mentioned before that reaching 10% exploration progress would lead to the second phase.

It was obviously something the "mastermind" had come up with on the fly.

Of course! This was all just An Ke's own speculation.

What if this was originally part of the National Fortune Game's setting and programming?

It was just that everyone's exploration progress hadn't even reached 1% before, so there was no announcement.

Now that more than a month had passed...

...the exploration progress of the National Destiny Bearers who had managed to persevere must have all broken through 1%.

That's why this announcement was triggered.

"Lord An Ke, what should we do?" Kata asked.

An Ke shook his head. "What else can we do?"

"We'll take it one step at a time."

"We aren't the designers; we have no way of knowing what that damn designer has planned next."

Kata gave a helpless, bitter smile and said no more.

An Ke was right.

They were merely players selected to be in the game.

To put it bluntly, they were chess pieces.

How could a chess piece control its own board?

They could only take it one step at a time.

An Ke stopped thinking about the announcement just now.

The situation they were currently facing was the key.

According to Hua Hua, they were now heading towards the savage Tribe.

It was possible that before long, they would encounter savages again.

It's a bit troublesome.

Just then, Hua Hua's voice came through:

"I'm sorry! I've troubled you, Brother."

"If there's a chance, I hope to see you again."