Chapter 536: Abandoned Camp
Chapter 536: Abandoned Camp
"Yawn—"
Lindsey walked along the road, covering his mouth as he yawned.
The group of refugees behind him followed closely, just as they had been doing for the past few days.
Lindsey opened his map, and the surrounding area seemed safe.
The accumulated knowledge and skills he had gained over time all proved useful.
It seemed that Lindsey's hunter mark had served its purpose.
In the following days, the wildland hunters who had appeared that night did not catch up to launch an attack.
Lindsey's reconnaissance efforts revealed no signs of their pursuit.
Until today.
Three whole weeks had passed.
Additionally, due to the unpredictable dangers of the desolate land, the team's progress was faster than anticipated.
Lindsey unfolded his map and made a quick calculation:
"Hmm... At this rate, we'll reach the borderlands in at least two weeks."
"That's much faster than I expected."
At this moment, Hammer came running from behind.
After spending some time together, he had realized that Lindsey was easy to get along with. The middle-aged man took the initiative to approach Lindsey, but his attitude and tone remained cautious:
"Lindsey sir, is everything alright today?"
"Those wildland hunters... they haven't caught up yet?"
Hammer was well aware of the greed of the people in the desolate land, and this matter concerned him greatly.
Lindsey waved his hand dismissively:
"Don't worry, I assure you."
"Even if they do catch up and attack us, I can guarantee there won't be any issues."
Hammer smiled awkwardly, following Lindsey like an assistant.
The team continued their journey.
At noon,
Along the road leading to the world's edge, Lindsey discovered an almost dried-up riverbed on the side of a small valley.
"There's a river over there, with some water left. Do we need to replenish our water supply?"
Lindsey asked.
The refugees had no reason to refuse, and they began to approach the river to refill their water supplies.
"This way, I won't have to create infinite water for them."
During his break, Lindsey unfolded his map again, and this time, he noticed something unusual.
Following the direction of the small valley, behind some rocky cover, there was an open plain with obvious signs of human activity.
"This... is a settlement? And there's no one here?"
To be honest, this was the first time Lindsey had discovered a human settlement in the desolate land.
He became curious.
He called out to Hammer and then went to investigate on his own.
Lindsey leaped over the valley several times and found a clearing that humans had cleared. There were pit holes in the ground, and above them were rough wooden, leather, and grass-covered tent roofs. Nearby, there were also abandoned farmlands and a game-processing area with flaying racks.
"They used to grow crops here."
"But they couldn't continue, and hunting alone couldn't sustain their livelihood, so they had to abandon this camp?"
Lindsey switched modules as he spoke:
"Old animal hide tent—abandoned for more than a week; abandoned farmland lacking fertility—almost impossible to continue cultivation; man's footprints—weight 56 kg, height 177 cm, fresh footprints within the last two hours..."
"What? Two hours?"
Lindsey's gaze shifted, and he realized the significance of this data.
All the other tents and farmlands had been abandoned for more than a week.
In the area where production and habitation had ceased, why would there suddenly be footprints with only a two-hour interval?
"This can't possibly be my own footprints..."
Lindsey muttered to himself as he continued his inspection, and even more intriguing results unfolded before him.
There were six sets of fresh footprints in the camp, belonging to five men and one woman, all arriving and departing at the same time.
"..."
"What's going on here?"
Lindsey was perplexed, so he activated his skill to piece together clues, and the corresponding holographic scenes began to appear.
Approximately 15 hours ago.
These six humans entered the camp from the south.
They first explored the interior structure, then engaged in seemingly meaningless activities, as if pretending to be natives of the place.
Lindsey fast-forwarded through the images.
At the last moment, two hours ago.
The six individuals stood up simultaneously and moved towards the east side of the camp, seemingly confronting something.
Lindsey followed the direction and found several more sets of fresh footprints.
This time, the group consisted of two men and two women.
What caught his attention was that among the women, there was a very young child.
"A child? Only 3 or 4 years old?"
Lindsey continued to guide the clues together.
The four new arrivals seemed to be searching for something in the camp, and upon encountering the previous six, they began to communicate.
Eventually, they reached an agreement, and the group set off together.
In an instant, Lindsey's mind filled with various scenarios.
Scenes of love, hate, conflict, and resource disputes, one after another, emerged in his imagination.
However, Lindsey had no intention of getting involved in other matters for now.
"After all, this is the Desolate Land, and anything can happen..."
"Huh?"
Lindsey's plan to leave was interrupted by a new task that popped up in his quest log.
[Fallen Benevolence]
[A rare act of kindness in the Desolate Land has been betrayed. Hungry wolves have long been plotting, sharpening their knives against the shepherd. The traveler will lend a helping hand, protecting those with good intentions in this harsh land!]
[Task Reward: A small amount of money, a small amount of Attribute/Skill Experience Points.]
"..."
"Such a meager reward?"
Lindsey furrowed his brows.
What concerned him was not the meager reward for this task.
The task difficulty and rewards in the quest log have always been proportional, and more importantly, they have always been closely related to Lindsey himself!
The sudden appearance of such a 'weak' task was highly unusual.
There must be something suspicious about it.
"The beginning of a new quest chain?"
"But right now, I don't have the time to linger in this world."
After a moment of hesitation, Lindsey took action.
He thought carefully; after all, this task not only involved saving a good person but also potentially resolving his own doubts.
"Anyway, let's first catch up and see what's going on."
"They've only been gone for two hours, it won't take much effort."
With his decision made, Lindsey immediately set out.
He first expanded the reconnaissance range of his map, confirming that there were no dangers nearby, before running over to the refugees and shouting: "Hammer, I have something I'm curious about, so I'm going to check it out in the west."
"You guys collect the water source, stay in place and wait, or you can set off first, it's all fine!"
Hammer didn't dare to voice any objections and replied from a distance:
"Okay!"
"Lindsey, sir, you go ahead!"
"We'll be fine with me here, nothing will happen!"
(End of Chapter)
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