Chapter 34｜Abandoned Stronghold: First Footsteps into the Unknown Territory

The sky hung heavy and gray, mist creeping slowly through the low-lying areas of the forest like a thin veil. Li Xing stood on high ground, his gaze sweeping past the sparse edge of the trees to settle on unfamiliar terrain. This wasn't the familiar hunting grounds behind the mountain, but an area scarred by human destruction: collapsed wooden fences, iron nails half-buried in the soil, and fire-scarred marks long blurred by rain. The air carried a musty smell and faint whiff of rust.

“Someone... has been here,” Zhao Yun murmured, crouched on a protruding rock, his finger lightly resting on the Desert Eagle's trigger.

Li Yu knelt down, scraped away a patch of soil, and pulled out a deformed shell casing. “Old model, but well-preserved. Someone used a weapon here recently.” She looked up at Li Xing, her brow furrowed.

Zhou Xiaoyu stood on high ground, aiming at the distant tree line. Her gaze darted through the gray haze, her movements as cautious as ever. “No system-marked enemy traces, but the scent is fresh. At least two people.”

Zhou Yan crouched to calm the hunting dog, murmuring, “It sensed them too. Alert, but no aggression.”

Li Xing paused briefly before speaking in a low voice: “Formation changes to 2-1-2. Zhao Yun leads the advance, Li Yu flanks, Zhou Yan covers the rear. Xiaoyu and I push through the center.”

The team swiftly shifted into the new formation without a single objection. Forged in the crucible of the Life-and-Death Hunting Ground, they understood that hesitation equaled death.

The abandoned outpost gradually came into view. Several low wooden huts leaned crookedly against each other, black tarps hanging from holes in the roofs fluttering gently in the wind. Distinct drag marks marked the ground, branches deliberately snapped and piled up, resembling intentionally placed obstacles.

Zhao Yun signaled a halt, crouching at a cabin doorway. He pointed to shallow carvings within the doorframe: “Black market or other hunters' markings. Not system-generated.”

Li Xing leaned in for a closer look. The engravings bore the characteristics of hierarchical symbols, indicating this had been a permanent outpost rather than a temporary camp.

“Why didn't the system flag this?” Zhou Yan whispered.

Li Xing shook his head. “It only marks areas under its control. This place... isn't.”

They entered the first cabin to find its interior surprisingly orderly. Tables and chairs stood neatly arranged. Unspoiled ration packages sat in a corner. Several yellowed maps hung on the wall, their coverage clearly extending beyond the current hunting grounds' boundaries. Li Yu studied the maps, her breathing deepening. “These routes are manually marked exploration paths, not system-generated.”

Zhou Xiaoyu halted at the skylight window, her gaze fixed intently on a half-open metal box on the table. Inside lay a heavily worn badge. It bore neither black market insignia nor a system contract holder's ID number, but an unfamiliar symbol—three intersecting lines forming an irregular ring.

Li Xing's gaze lingered on the badge for a moment, yet no corresponding information surfaced in his mind. The system panel remained unresponsive, as if telling them: this exists entirely outside the system.

Suddenly, a faint crackling sound came from outside—like the snap of a dry branch being broken.

Everyone immediately drew their weapons and held their breath. Zhao Yun moved forward along the wall, eyes fixed on the window. Li Xing raised his hand in a stop gesture, signaling the team to hold their positions.

A figure flashed past the window of another wooden hut. Not a beast, but a human. The figure didn't rush to flee but deliberately revealed its presence, as if testing them.

Li Xing murmured, “This place isn't abandoned. There are observers here, at least.”

The system panel vibrated faintly. No mission prompt appeared, only a rare line of text slowly flickering into view:

[Warning: You have entered a non-system-controlled faction activity zone]

[Current actions will generate irreversible variables]

Li Xing lifted his head, peering through the gaps in the dilapidated wooden hut toward the depths of the forest. Night had completely swallowed the distant contours.

“Beyond the hunting grounds lies the true world,” Li Xing murmured. Every member of the team held their breath, preparing to face the unknown challenge.