After Ma Lu and Mai Mai dealt with the runaway, they turned around to see Boggy''s fight had also ended.


    The knife-wielding Hunter couldn''t withstand the pincer attack from Boggy and Sadie, and was quickly turned into a hedgehog.


    Boggy actually didn''t like fighting among Hunters; she much preferred hunting wild beasts in the desert.


    But she was well aware of ck Horn''s style of conduct and knew what fate awaited those they targeted. The blood scent emitted by her own kind nearby still instinctively made her feel a bit ufortable.


    Meanwhile, Ma Lu had already started eagerly rummaging through the bodies.


    "What are you looking for?"


    Ma Lu tossed a ck brooch shaped like a rhino horn to Boggy, "This is yours."


    Boggy immediately understood what Ma Lu intended, "Are you nning on going down to find Jinjian?"


    "Mhm, these guys must have been summoned by Jinjian. If they lose contact for too long, Jinjian will definitely be alert. Staying outside in ambush won''t make sense anymore, and he might call for even more people. It''s better to head down directly."


    "But Jinjian should know these people. Even if we disguise ourselves as them, we won''t be able to fool him," Mai Mai said.


    "It''s okay, this is just a precaution. If we bump into him by ident and he sees these brooches, Jinjian will probably hesitate for a moment, giving us the chance to strike first," Ma Lu said.


    The Hunting Clothes used by the Hunters provided good coverage, and with goggles and face masks on, it was hard to recognize anyone from a distance.


    This was probably why the Hunting Groups all made brooches—to easily identify their own.


    Boggy didn''t say anything else, removed the Twin Sunflower brooch, reced it with a ck Horn one, and the others did the same.


    Seta thenmanded the Sand Soil Puppet to pull open the stone b door, revealing a narrow path, winding downward.


    "I''ll go first." Boggy created seven small Water Shields with the water from a newly found water skin, floating them in front of her chest, and then she proceeded down first.


    Little Grey followed closely behind, then Seta and Sadie, with Ma Lu and Mai Mai still at the end of the line.


    The air below was not as murky as expected; there must be venttion connecting with the outside, or perhaps Jinjian''s team included a Psychic Power User with the ability to aerate the space quickly.


    Wary of an ambush, the five of them didn''t walk fast.


    This ce seemed to be a natural cave, but unlike ordinary caves, the rock walls around were fiery red, probably containing a high amount of trivalent iron elements, which indicated that water might have been present here millions of years ago.


    Shaped by both water and wind erosion, many rocks had bizarre forms.


    Some resembled fierce beasts, others sharp des, and some even had features simr to that of humans, which frightened Sadie enough to huddle closer to her brother.


    As everyone continued forward, the light grew fainter, and soon they could barely see the path ahead.


    Fortunately, they found shlights on the bodies of the ck Horn Hunters who came to support Jinjian.


    However, the light also risked exposing their position, and Boggy realized why Ma Lu had been collecting brooches from the bodies.


    They walked a little further, only toe across a three-way fork in the path, causing Boggy to stop and frown slightly.


    Ma Lu said, "Look around for marks. Jinjian is also new to this ce. If there are many forks and it''s easy to get lost, he would have left some signs to helpter reinforcements find their way."


    Boggy hummed in agreement, lifted her shlight, and after searching around, indeed found an arrow mark on a rock.


    "This way." Boggy entered the rightmost path and after walking for a while, her foot stepped on something that made a crisp crack.


    Boggy looked down to see a bone, thinner and longer than a human''s, belonging to some unknown animal.


    And as she moved her shlight forward, she soon found more bones.


    "Be careful, there should be wild beasts living here."


    "What exactly is this ce?" asked Seta.


    "A treasure burial site, but just like in those fairy tales, treasures of inestimable value are always guarded by powerful protectors."


    The response didn''te from someone within the squad but a voice that was maic and slightly cunning from up ahead.


    "You''ve arrived. Follow me, and once we''ve dealt with that remaining Mother Spider, we''ll get the treasure."


    "Vice Captain Jinjian?" Ma Lu called out tentatively.


    "Hmm, what about it?" the person replied offhandedly.


    The five members of the Twin Sunflower Hunting Group quickly exchanged nces and each gripped their weapons tighter.


    Boggy shone his shlight in the direction of the voice.


    A figure stood beside a rock pir not far away, and the sudden strong light made the person squint instinctively.


    Sadie had already extended her right hand and shot out seven Thorns in one breath!


    However, the seven Thorns ultimately only embedded in the rock pir, while the figure had disappeared.


    Jinjian was craftier than they had imagined. Although he initially mistook them for reinforcements, when he realized something was off at thest moment, he also fled quickly.


    "Chase!" Boggy didn''t waste words and immediately charged forward with his Mechanical Spear.


    As Jinjian ran, he tried to warn his people ahead, but as soon as he opened his mouth, four more Thorns whizzed by, narrowly missing his scalp.


    So he also learned to be wise and merely fled headlong without another word.


    The five Hunters and a wolf closely pursued him, but Jinjian clearly knew the terrain of the cave better than they did, managing to escape using the oddly shaped rocks each time they were about to catch up.


    But after running another seventy steps or so, he suddenly stopped, turned his head, and spoke again.


    "Did Chief Sanrew send you to kill me? If he wants the treasure here, he could have just told me, and I would have given it to him with both hands."


    "Sure, then Vice Captain, you surrender first, and I''ll take you to the Chief for you to exin to him," said Ma Lu.


    "That''s not how you negotiate," Jinjian shook his head. "You have to show some good faith as well."


    "What good faith do you want?"


    "For instance... how about having your people stop aiming at me?" Jinjian said leisurely.


    The next moment Sadie shot out Thorns again towards Jinjian, but they were blocked halfway by something.


    Then, a rustling sound came from the rock wall.


    Boggy pointed the shlight upwards and saw a creature over one meter in length with spines on its legs, reminiscent of both a spider and a scorpion. It was the one that had just blocked Sadie''s Thorns.


    Just as the scanning cooldown ended, Ma Lu received a new notification.


    — Ding! Congrattions on discovering a 3-star ingredient, the Spiked Leg Tailless Scorpion. The Spiked Leg Tailless Scorpion encyclopedia entry has been unlocked.


    "Have a good time with my little treasures," Jinjianughed.


    Apart from above them, there was a Spiked Leg Tailless Scorpion on the rock walls to their left and right, each crawling towards them. At the same time, Jinjian''s subordinates, alerted by the noise, rushed over, resulting in an encirclement of the five Hunters.