I have a map editor

But the two chatterboxes seemed to be surprisingly interested in this. They gave Lucas a not-so-standard military salute with serious expressions, stopped talking, and focused all their energy on building the fortifications in front of them.

Lucas and Merry also worked together to build the fortifications, and they stopped when they were almost done.

"The tanker truck stays, and you stay too..." Lucas said as he calmly took off his goggles and handed them to Merry, who also calmly took them.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked.

"Manage the defense of the camp, look after the supplies, and... observe the movements of the space entrance. I now suspect that this thing is not fixed. You must observe its changes and ensure the safety of our retreat."

"What about you?"

"I left the supplies behind and took some people and vehicles deep into this space to look for those naughty kids... Shit! Shit!! Too many unexpected things happened."

At the end, Lucas couldn't help but vent his anxiety.

Coming out of a hellhole and into a peaceful world... well, a generally peaceful world, who would go back to that hellhole for no reason? For more than a year, he thought he had completely gotten rid of the word "Misty Realm". Who would have thought that it would have different versions 2.0 or even 3.0, or "Misty Realm 2" or "Misty Realm 3"?

In response, Merry cursed along with him.

……

After unloading most of the supplies, Lucas took two-thirds of the vehicles and personnel, carrying only weapons and a small amount of supplies, and continued tracking along the traces left on the ground.

The mountain terrain is flat, but the environment is very dry, with no signs of fog at all. Tracking traces on the ground is quite difficult. Neither Lucas nor the people in the team are proficient in trace tracking, and can only simply follow the traces left by the vehicles on the ground.

But this is a mountainous area. Although the terrain is relatively flat, not all places are accessible by car.

When you reach a dead end or a dead end, you will find that the wheel tracks show signs of repeated reversing. You can follow the tracks to find the way down the mountain from the other side.

It was past nine o'clock in the evening. Lucas looked up at the sky and compared it with the marks he had made on the car window with a marker. The bright and flawless full moon had not moved in its position at all. It seemed to be a fixed scene like a stage background.

As they passed by an open area suitable for the vehicles to stop, Lucas ordered the convoy to camp there.

The convoy was full of double-row pickup trucks, with enough space for one person to lie down in the back seat. Although the cargo bed was a bit short, it was much more comfortable to lay a blanket on it than on the ground, not to mention that after the guardrails were installed, there was also a tarpaulin to protect against wind and rain. The vehicles were still arranged in a circle, leaving behind the necessary night watchmen, while the rest of the team members lay down in their clothes with their guns in hand, ready to go into battle at the slightest sign of trouble.

The coverage range of the car radio is said to be about 70 kilometers in the plain area, so Lucas did not lose contact with Merry on the top of the mountain, and the communication quality was still quite good.

The two sides informed each other of their respective information. After the initial establishment of the camp, Merry conducted a certain range of reconnaissance in the surrounding area and discovered a bottomless cliff a few kilometers behind the camp. The defense pressure was suddenly reduced, and they only needed to guard against the side from the bottom of the mountain.

There is nothing to report from Lucas's side, nothing was gained.

Apart from leaving some easily recognizable marks along the way, there were also some observations of the environment, such as withered trees and almost no signs of any biological activity.

After switching to the pre-arranged frequency band in his car, Lucas had a secret conversation with Merry.

"That thing is really moving. In the few hours you were away, it moved a few centimeters towards the cliff. But it shouldn't affect our operation this time. It may take several months for it to move to the cliff."

"I see"

"That thing" naturally refers to the space exit leading to the outside world. Lucas' anxiety was relieved a lot after hearing Merry's estimate.

As long as we find those naughty kids, it will only take a few days to completely escape from here. There is no need to spend several months.

……

Nothing happened that night, and the next day the convoy continued to track the traces on the ground.

However, the sky still had a bright and flawless full moon, without any change.

Lucas was no longer surprised, but it was the first time for other team members to experience such a scene. They were somewhat surprised, and while driving on the road, they talked to each other about this strange phenomenon using the car radio.

There was also the strange silence here. Apart from the sound of the wind blowing through the branches, there was no sound from any living creature, such as the cry of a night owl or the chirping of insects.

However, this is the notorious "Misty Realm", so considering this, it is not surprising that these strange phenomena occur.

At noon, the convoy made a new discovery.

Because we went around a mountain, we were able to see the scene that had been hidden behind it.

At the foot of the mountain about ten kilometers away, there is an abandoned town inhabited by humans... or at least intelligent creatures.

Many of the town's tiled roofs reflected the moonlight, making them extremely conspicuous.

Looking through a telescope, you can see many buildings with pointed roofs and numerous ruins.

This gave the team a new goal.

Those naughty kids came here in search of the legendary "treasure". There were only desolate mountains and wilderness all around, and not even a single living creature could be seen. An abandoned town was obviously their treasure hunt target.

So Lucas decided to ignore the tire marks on the ground and head straight for the ruins of the town.

However, as the saying goes, "A horse never dies before it is seen." The terrain is complex and changeable, and there is no direct access to the town. The convoy kept trying for possible paths on the mountain. It took half a day to reach the foot of the mountain, and then passed through a belt of twisted and withered trees before finally arriving outside the town.

A large open space outside the town was covered with dense, withered weeds that were two or three meters high and blocked the view. It was estimated that it was a place like a farmland in the past, and plants and crops could grow normally here. I don’t know what happened to make it look like this now.

There were very obvious signs of being crushed on the weeds, with several marks about the width of a pickup truck. They must have been caused by those naughty kids who chose to wade directly through the weeds.

However, the convoy did not rush in, but camped in the dead woods outside the grass belt.

Firstly, according to the outside world's time, it was already the evening of the next day. After going around in circles, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening when they arrived here. Driving on the mountain road, the driver's attention was highly concentrated, and the people who were on guard with guns in the cargo box were all tossed around and were quite tired. It was no longer suitable for in-depth search and rescue activities.

Secondly, an abandoned town, coupled with the eerie atmosphere here, looks weird no matter how you look at it.

If those naughty kids are still in the ruins, some signs should be observable outside the town.

So, observe nearby for a night before making any plans.

……

Although he and Merry claimed that this was their first time entering here, Lucas had demonstrated enough "professionalism" from before departure to the entire journey, so the others had no objection to his command.

Most of them are Big Daddy's henchmen. Although they have signed a rescue agreement, their main purpose is to search for possible "treasures" rather than saving people.

The only two townspeople might be brave men who were rewarded with a large sum of money. Although several communities near Dongcheng Town are high-end communities, the moon waxes and wanes. It is estimated that Ed and Green's economic conditions are not very good. Moreover, although there is no "996" in the Flower Kingdom at this time, the pressure of maintaining a life in a high-end community is still not small.

Apart from anything else, each family has a large lawn with flower-themed landscape, and the water bill alone is enough to cost them a fortune every year.

After digging the isolation zone, the rescue team, including Lucas, took the logging equipment and cut down some wood. Of course, there must be armed guards when necessary.

The trees here have long since withered, so there may not have been any storm damage. The branches remain relatively intact, but the heart of the wood has long since dried out, making it quite easy to cut them down.

The dry logs were chopped into firewood and piled into a bonfire pile. A little fuel was used to ignite the fire. A few bonfires that burned vigorously and had flames as high as four meters were ignited.

It is very conspicuous at night and the flames can be seen from far away.

Leaving a pickup truck in front of the fire, the convoy retreated slightly, formed a cross-fire point in the nearby woods, and hid.

"I hope those little bastards will show up when they see the fire, otherwise they will be in big trouble, and so will we."

Lucas said this on the car radio, speaking to both his fellow team members and those who stayed behind in the camp on the mountain.

If those teenagers who came here to look for treasure could see the fire and show up on their own initiative, it would mean that they were still nearby and were not in danger. Otherwise... at least there would be a big problem with this town.

But unfortunately, things did not develop as everyone expected. The fire burned for two hours until it was extinguished, and none of the missing teenagers in the town appeared.

"Shet..."

……

Each pickup truck carries a solid alcohol stove, which only leaks out a small amount of flame when burning, allowing everyone in the convoy to drink hot drinks. The food is military rations such as compressed biscuits, which do not need to be heated.

While the fire was burning, all personnel completed their food supplies, and some greedy people even heated up canned food to eat.

Since the person they were expecting did not show up, except for the necessary night watch personnel, the other team members began to sleep to reserve their energy for tomorrow's search and rescue operation.

Lucas was the same, and having had experience of surviving in such a "fog realm", he was extremely adapted to this kind of field march and could fall asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

He placed two boxes of supplies under the back seat, which was then leveled with a folded rainproof sheet. Although he couldn't stretch his legs, it was enough for him to curl up his legs and sleep in the back seat.

He slept like this for half the night and was awakened by a series of noisy noises.

I opened my eyes and found that the noise came from the front passenger seat.

"What's the matter?"

He subconsciously pulled out his gun, climbed onto the back of the front seat, and pointed it down.

Then, in the moonlight outside, he saw a furry little animal stunned in the passenger seat. The biscuits held in its two little paws fell down with a "pop", and then it was raised up like a hairy man.

Lucas was also a little confused. How did this thing get in? Although he lowered the passenger window halfway for ventilation, there was a wire mesh welded outside, so beetles with larger mesh could not get in.

Moreover, he actually made a gesture of surrender when being pointed at by a gun. It is obvious that this little thing knows that the thing in his hand is a weapon.

Looking closely, because of the angle, the little animal's eyes are flashing with the same light that cats and dogs see at night. It is obviously a creature with excellent vision at night. Its ears are like a fox's, but very wide, and it even seems that they can flap like wings.

It also has a cone-shaped face similar to that of a fox or a greyhound, but with a short snout. It doesn’t have a treacherous look, but instead is full of agility and cuteness.

The fur is gray-black, which is the camouflage color for survival. It is basically the same as the basic color tone of the outside world. The fur on the belly is egg yolk. The torso and limbs give people a round and short feeling. It has a big fluffy tail that is almost as long as its body. It does not look like an animal in reality, but more like a magical creature made up in a CG movie.

Seeing that the little creature had no intention of baring its teeth and attacking, but instead stood up with its two front paws raised high, looking well-behaved, Lucas lowered his guard, put down his gun, leaned back on the chair, and poked the little creature's body with his fingers in protective gloves.

This strange little thing tilted its body, as if it was tickled by him? It made a gentle whimpering sound.

"Still a weirdo"

Lucas laughed in his native tongue, lowering his guard further.

At this moment, his whole body was covered with small gadgets like wristbands and rings, hidden under protective clothing and gloves. Unless the creature in front of him was also an old silver coin who concealed his true strength, even a Cordia brown bear or even the largest carnivore on land, the polar bear, could fight him.

So he put away his gun and tentatively touched the little creature's fur. It just shrank back and didn't react excessively. Then Lucas picked it up by its two front legs and got closer to observe it carefully.

The little thing didn't resist.

Except when Lucas lifted it up to observe whether it was a male or a female, its tail curled up and hid itself for a moment.

"Ahaha, you're still embarrassed."

Because Merry stayed at the camp on the top of the mountain and he was the only one in the car, Lucas spoke these words subconsciously in his native language.

Probably realizing that he had no ill intentions, the strange little creature tilted its head and looked at him.

His two button-like black eyes were full of curiosity.

0014

Maybe because of its fluffy fur, this black unknown animal looks bigger than an ordinary pug, but it is lighter in the hand. Lucas had a pug at home a long time ago, so he knows the difference between the two very well.

Except for its extremely large ears, this thing looks like an oversized squirrel.

After putting it back on the seat, it picked up the compressed biscuits that had fallen before and started eating them with a crunch. Lucas poked it with his finger and it whimpered and twisted its body a few times, a real foodie.

On the passenger seat was the leftovers from his dinner, which would be landfilled by the fleet in the morning. A can of fish that had been almost completely eaten had some residue and soup left inside, but it was now licked clean. A few compressed biscuits wrapped in oil paper had been bitten open by the black little beast, and it took out the compressed biscuits from inside and held them in its paws, chewing them.

Lucas rummaged through the toolbox, took out a bottle of water, unscrewed the lid and poured some water into the fish can for the cat. The little thing was not polite at all. It pressed its two little paws on the edge of the can, apparently to fix the can, and started licking it. After drinking, it made two whimpering sounds at Lucas, meaning: refill.

Tsk...Lucas smacked his lips and poured some more water.

He found that the little animal's forelimbs and claws were particularly flexible, and it seemed to know how to use tools and could distinguish between wrapping paper and food. While he was observing it, it ate two compressed biscuits. The biscuits were turned back and forth on its little paws, and it nimbly used its teeth to chew off the outer packaging, without eating even a small piece of wrapping paper.

When drinking water, in addition to knowing how to use its two paws to fix the can on the uneven seat, it will also carefully avoid the sharp areas on the edge of the can.

After the founding of the country, it is not allowed... Uh, this is a different time and space, it should not be under the jurisdiction of the great river crab god...

After finishing Lucas's leftovers, the little thing was also full and sat back in a very anthropomorphic manner, leaning back on the chair, and using its little paws to stroke its belly, but its arms were a little short, so it looked a little funny.

Lucas tickled its belly with his gloved fingers, and the little thing squinted its eyes and made comfortable humming sounds. It was simply amazing... If it hadn't been for the wrong time and place, Lucas would have wanted to take it home and raise it.

After briefly tidying up the seats and putting the debris and garbage back into the plastic bag, Lucas opened the passenger door and pushed it open a crack.

He pushed the little black animal that was slumped in the seat like a human. The little thing looked at him, then at the open car door, as if it couldn't understand Lucas's intention.

Lucas simply held its front legs with both hands, picked it up, leaned his body sideways, and gently threw it out of the car.

The moonlight outside passed through the woods and formed mottled light and shadows on the ground. The black and white were dazzling, and for a moment Lucas couldn't see clearly whether it had run away.

I didn't see the strange little animal clearly. After standing there for a while under the car door, it quietly moved like liquid flowing on the surface of the car body, and rushed into the cargo box at the back of the car. It found a gap to fit in and lay down comfortably inside. Its two big ears covered its body like a quilt.

In the car, Lucas tore open a nylon magic tear strip on his body, took the tactical flashlight inside, pushed the door and got out to inspect the convoy members.

Except for the personnel on night duty, all the team members were resting in the car.

It is now past 2 a.m. outside time, the time when everyone is the most sleepy and sleeping the deepest.

After carefully checking the convoy one by one, Lucas was not sleepy at all, so he simply switched teams with one of the team members on night watch.

The other team member was very responsible. He was one of Big Daddy's henchmen. He was a 1.9-meter-tall, sturdy black man with a bald head, thick lips, sharp eyes, and a scar at the corner of his eye. Lucas remembered his name was Doug.

"Boss, what are your plans for tomorrow? Are you going into the town ahead?"

The two of them were in a pickup truck that was moving forward. Doug asked when he saw Lucas brushing his teeth and rinsing his mouth.

“No, we continue to wait here.”