After continuous hunting, Jiang Kai felt a bit exhausted.

With his current attributes, using the Nine Tribulations Chasing Death each time required a significant amount of stamina and energy.

"My basic attributes are still too low," Jiang Kai remarked to himself.

His stomach growled, and with the sky growing dark, Jiang Kai recalled passing by a hidden cave earlier and decided to head there for a temporary rest.

Inside the cave, a spring bubbled up. He filled a cup with the spring water, took out some dried meat, lit a small fire, and sat on a rock to eat and rest.

The sound of the spring and the flickering firelight reminded Jiang Kai of the Newcomer Trial, when he, Zhu, and Su Nuannuan sat around a campfire together.

Back then, they were also anxious and fearful, but with companions by his side, he never felt lonely.

But now, he was all alone here.

"Nuannuan is probably with the military too. I wonder if she and Zhu ended up in the same group," Jiang Kai mused to himself.

Although Nuannuan was just a doctor and a girl, she had a strength that other girls didn't possess. With her helping to take care of Zhu, Jiang Kai felt a bit more at ease.

"If it weren't for Huang Da, I wouldn't be unable to find a guild or a team!" Jiang Kai squinted slightly.

"Huang Da, you almost killed me in the real world, and now you're using the Black Tortoise Guild to suppress me. I'll settle this score with you sooner or later!"

After indulging in his thoughts for a moment, Jiang Kai took a deep breath to regain his composure.

Feeling bored, he took out the spoils of today's hunt.

There were sixteen Mighty Black Ape corpses in total, some earth-type, some wood-type.

"Killed sixteen, gained 980 experience points, still 600 points short of leveling up."

"I remember the price of Black Ape corpses varies slightly with age, usually between 50 to 100 Star Coins. Most of mine are juvenile and young, around fifty to sixty Star Coins."

"Altogether, it's less than 1,000 Star Coins, equivalent to 10,000 Alliance Coins."

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Jiang Kai calculated silently. At this hunting speed, he still couldn't gather the initial 800,000 needed for his brother's treatment within a month.

"Essence Crystals are about 500 Star Coins per gram, and a Heavenly Bone is 700 Star Coins, but the drop rate is extremely low. It's a bit tricky." Thinking of this, Jiang Kai decided to speed up his hunting tomorrow.

"I wonder if my brother and Ying saw the note I left..."

"Have Zhu and Nuannuan logged in yet..."

That day, Jiang Kai went through too much and finally couldn't hold on, falling asleep without realizing it.

...

When Jiang Kai opened his eyes again, he found the sky outside the cave was still gray.

He checked his watch; it was 4:30 in the morning.

After washing his face with clean water, Jiang Kai extinguished the fire and left the cave.

After last night's rest, Jiang Kai was full of energy, swiftly moving through the forest.

Whenever he saw a lone Black Ape on the way, he would immediately strike and kill it.

Two hours later, when Jiang Kai killed the sixth Mighty Black Ape, the system's voice sounded.

[Congratulations, you have reached level 6. Your current attributes are: Strength 22, Physique 26, Agility 39, Spirit 39]

[Talent "Double" activated, attributes changed to: Strength 24, Physique 28, Agility 42, Spirit 42]

Seeing his attribute increase, Jiang Kai was already used to it.

Just after checking his attributes, Jiang Kai looked up and noticed four or five tall Mighty Black Apes in the distance in front of a valley. They were either sitting or lying down but hadn't left their spots.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Kai found it strange.

It was his first time seeing so many adult Mighty Black Apes at once.

Moreover, given the Black Apes' restless nature, they usually wouldn't stay in one place.

Yet, these Black Apes were all standing obediently in their positions...

It felt as if they were soldiers guarding a city gate.

"Could there be something in that valley?" Jiang Kai wondered.

Thinking of this, Jiang Kai felt a bit eager.

However, the six adult Black Apes in front of the valley made him hesitant.

They were not far apart, and even if he could instantly kill one or two, he would still alert the others.

And with the higher attributes of adult Black Apes, being chased by four at once meant he likely couldn't escape.

As Jiang Kai pondered whether to take the risk and scout ahead, he suddenly noticed a faint green shadow flicker in the dense forest about seventy to eighty meters northwest of him.

If it weren't for his Ghost Eye, he might not have noticed.

"Someone else?" Jiang Kai's eyes widened.

After spotting the figure, Jiang Kai quickly realized there was a team of at least twenty people lurking there!

Perhaps it wasn't even just one team, but several.

As Jiang Kai stared at them, someone over there suddenly turned around and, by coincidence, met Jiang Kai's gaze.

For a moment, both were a bit stunned.

There's something magical about eye contact; sometimes, even with your head down, you can inexplicably sense someone looking at you...

"Uh-oh, I've been spotted." Jiang Kai felt a bit awkward.

After the person noticed Jiang Kai, they reported to their companions, and soon several people were looking at Jiang Kai.

Jiang Kai was now completely exposed.

With no other choice, Jiang Kai cautiously crouched and approached them.

"Where's your team?" A bearded man looked curiously behind Jiang Kai.

"I'm alone," Jiang Kai replied. "What are you guys doing?"

"Alone?" The man frowned, glancing at Jiang Kai's chest, confirming there was no team name written there.

"Which guild are you from?"

"I just passed the Newcomer Trial yesterday and haven't joined a guild yet," Jiang Kai answered.

Though the man seemed puzzled by Jiang Kai's answer, he apparently had more important matters to attend to and didn't want to spend too much time on this newcomer.

"If you insist you're alone, that's fine. Since you've discovered it too, we'll stick to the usual rule: whoever makes the kill gets the treasure chest!" the man said.

Jiang Kai furrowed his brow. "What treasure chest?"

"The valley is the lair of an elite Black Ape. Didn't you know?"

Jiang Kai thought for a moment and said, "I saw several Black Apes at the entrance, and I guessed there might be something inside, but I didn't know what."

The man pursed his lips, looking at Jiang Kai with disdain. "You really are a newbie. Don't mess things up for us... Inside should be the lair of an elite Black Ape. Once they reach elite level, beasts often like to collect treasures, such as equipment and valuables taken from players they kill, or precious mineral materials, treasures, and so on."

"They like to put their collections in a treasure chest, which is what I mentioned earlier, also known as the elite Black Ape's treasure."

Jiang Kai's eyes widened instantly. The word "treasure" filled him with battle spirit!