Watching the Fu family and Taozi return with a huge pile of food, Nan Muran and the others turned around and left the family compound, heading towards the nearby Mount Ling.

They walked all the way to the foot of the mountain, where they saw that the eagle still had no intention of going back.

Nan Muran, Si Ye, and Jiawu finally resigned themselves to the fact that the eagle really hadn’t noticed what had just happened.

Nan Muran helplessly turned to the eagle and said, “Take Xiao Qijin and go around everyone, back to your home.”

The eagle looked startled upon hearing Nan Muran’s words. “No, Nan Jie(Sister), we don’t know what the situation in the mountains is like. It’s better for me to stick with you and lend a hand.”

“Stop talking nonsense, just do as Nan Nan said,” Si Ye said firmly to the eagle, his expression even growing a little colder.

Jiawu furrowed his brow, thinking to himself about what was wrong with the eagle today, his brain completely malfunctioning.

Even Xiao Qijin, standing next to him, sighed helplessly, pulling on the eagle’s sleeve with a resigned expression. “Brother Eagle, let’s go back. Your family needs us more than the mountains do.”

The eagle froze for a moment when he saw Seven Jin’s actions.

Since Xiao Qijin could accurately predict the future, his words meant that something would happen to his family: “What’s going on?”

“I thought you were emptying your backpack so conspicuously to lure out the people who might have ill intentions toward your family,” Jiawu said, somewhat helpless. “But it turns out you’re just plain foolish.”

The eagle, however, wasn’t stupid and immediately understood the key point: “It’s the food…”

“This is the apocalypse. The food you gave your parents, your older brother, and Taozi is worth far more than several lives,” Si Ye looked at the eagle, his tone tinged with frustration that the eagle had acted so thoughtlessly.

As soon as Si Ye finished speaking, the eagle’s heart began to race in panic. He couldn’t waste any more time thinking; he quickly bent down to pick up Xiao Qijin and ran towards the family compound at the mechanical factory.

The eagle was frustrated with himself. Since the apocalypse, he had been following Nan Muran. With abundant supplies, he had never gone hungry and even lived more luxuriously than before the apocalypse.

But he had ruined everything, forgetting that in the apocalypse, food could not only save lives but also take them.

He had been so careless as to give so much food to his parents, older brother, and Taozi in front of so many people—this was reckless, and it could cost them all dearly.

Xiao Qijin, feeling his stomach churn violently, was about to remind the eagle that he was being shaken to death. But he held back. After all, he had a family too, and if something happened to Grandpa and the others, he would be just as anxious.

It wasn’t until he realized the eagle was about to enter through the main gate that he couldn’t hold back anymore. “Big Brother, are you crazy? Go around the back.”

The eagle snapped back to attention and realized he needed to secretly return home, not through the front gate. His mind had gotten too muddled in his panic.

At the sight of the eagle turning around just before reaching the entrance, Nan Muran couldn’t help but scratch her brow and explain to Si Ye and Jiawu, “It’s the worry that’s messing with his head.”

“He’s just being dumb,” Jiawu said bluntly.

Si Ye chuckled helplessly. “He’s been living too well. Maybe he should skip a few meals.”

Today, the eagle had acted foolishly in front of a group of ordinary people, but the situation was still under control. If they faced a stronger opponent in the future and made a mistake, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The wolf king silently led the way, but seeing the unspoken understanding between the members of the Star assaultSquad, he liked it. After all, the wolf pack operated in the same way.

The trip to the back mountain cave was twice as far as the road to the Taoist temple and would take some time.

When they reached the halfway point, the wolf king looked back at Nan Muran and said, “There might be a rat swarm in the back mountain cave, with several mutated rats. It will be difficult to deal with, so be prepared.”

He hadn’t planned on telling the humans about this, thinking that his role was just to lead the way. Whether they made it back safely depended on their luck.

However, after seeing how happy Nan Muran was earlier, the wolf king suddenly felt reluctant.

If these humans were unlucky enough to encounter a rat swarm, it would be a shame. He had to admit, if these two unusually beautiful humans died, it would be a great loss.

After Xiao Liu relayed the wolf king’s words to Nan Muran, she smiled knowingly. She realized the wolf king had accepted her.

It seemed that convincing him was still very much possible.

“The rat swarm had three level-four mutated rats and one level-five mutated rat. We dealt with them the first time we went into the mountains,” Nan Muran didn’t hide this from the wolf king.

The wolf king’s cold, dark eyes showed disbelief. The disgusting rat swarm had been handled? How fierce were these humans?

Alright! It seemed these tough humans were indeed not to be underestimated.

The group, following the wolf king, arrived at the back mountain cave around 4 p.m. Although they had been hiking for five hours, they weren’t tired thanks to their good physical condition and awakened abilities.

But upon seeing the scene in front of them, Nan Muran couldn’t help but frown. Wasn’t this a bit too ordinary?

The cave wasn’t very big, and the surrounding plants concealed the entrance. If you didn’t know the location, it would be hard to find.

But as the resting place for the “big treasure” that could cover all the creatures of the mountain, it seemed a bit rough.

However, she didn’t doubt the wolf king. As they got closer to the cave, she felt an inexplicable craving in her body, similar to the feeling when encountering a high-level crystal core—except this craving was a hundred times stronger.

Si Ye and Jiawu felt the same sensation.

The wolf king took a step forward and leaped into the cave.

Seeing this, the three of them stood there dumbfounded. He didn’t walk in, he jumped in. Was this an underground passage?

The wolf king looked back at them. “Come down, it’s not deep.”

Si Ye grabbed Nan Muran before she jumped. “I’ll go first.”

Nan Muran nodded silently.

Even though her ability was invincible, and she could easily scan the cave’s situation, she still wanted to accept her boyfriend’s kindness.

Jiawu frowned. Well, another one was being foolish.

Si Ye jumped down first, realizing the cave, though descending, wasn’t very deep—around four meters. “About four meters. Be careful.”

Nan Muran and Jiawu followed suit. After jumping down, Nan Muran realized that after going down another ten meters or so, the space opened up.

They stood before a huge karst cave that extended in all directions, like a giant underground palace intricately carved.

Looking up, the cave ceiling was about several tens of meters high, like a giant inverted stone forest. It was breathtaking.

“I’ve never heard of a karst cave in this mountain,” Jiawu, who had reviewed the information, was stunned by the sight.

“It’s just that no one found it before. Karst caves take millions of years to form. It couldn’t have appeared recently,” Si Ye said, looking at the various stalactites and stalagmites, marveling at nature’s intricate craftsmanship.

Nan Muran nodded. “It’s a pity. If only there were some savvy capitalists with the ambition to develop it, they could show it to the public.”