Ian left the City of Ashes and headed towards the farm in the east based on the vagabond's description as the sky quickly darkened.
The abandoned farm under the shroud of night, the cold and damp scent filled the air. Ian stepped through the overgrown path and looked around with a serious and cautious expression. The place was full of long-abandoned buildings, with broken fences and tumbledown huts that spoke of the desolation and coldness that had once existed.
Ian walked up to a dilapidated barn building, and suddenly, he was acutely aware of a figure flashing not far away, instantly alert.
"Who?" Ian shouted in a deep voice, his eyes staring sharply at the shadows.
In the shadows, four figures slowly stepped out, each with a guarded look, obviously noticing Ian as well. The leader of them was stout, with a hideous scar on his face, holding a wide machete, his eyes staring ferociously at Ian.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The scarred man's voice was low and hostile.
Ian calmly raised his hands to show that he had no hostility, "My name is Ian, I'm here to investigate the news of the mutant beast's unusual actions. And who are you guys?"
The scarred man was silent for a moment, his brows furrowed, and a thin man beside him whispered in his ear, "Captain, could he be sent by other forces to grab the treasure?"
The scarred man's gaze was gloomy as he coldly asked, "Which force did you send here? Did you also hear the news that there are treasures here?"
Ian frowned slightly, "Treasures? I don't know any treasures, I only came here because I have information about the abnormal activities of mutant beasts."
The thin man sneered at his words, "Who would believe your bullshit? We have spent a lot of money to get information from the intelligence peddlers that there are powerful energy fluctuations here, and that extremely precious treasures may exist. You suddenly appeared and said something about investigating mutant beasts? Who are you fooling?"
Another burly man in the team with a cross-faced face whispered to the leader, "Captain, why don't we just kill him to silence him, we can't risk letting the information leak out!"
The scarred man, however, raised his hand to stop him, his gaze calmly sizing up Ian. He saw a certain calmness and confidence in Ian's eyes, which caused a slight hesitation within him. He weighed the situation in his mind for a moment before finally speaking, "You guys shouldn't act rashly yet."
The thin man said in dissatisfaction, "Captain, are you still going to let him go? In case he's really someone from another force, then won't we be exposed?"
The scarred man responded in a low voice, "I have my own judgment. He appeared here alone without the slightest hint of panic, so he clearly has extraordinary strength. There's no need for us to invite unnecessary trouble."
After saying that, he looked up to Ian and said, "Ian, right? Since we have different purposes, let's keep our wells clear of each other. How about we explore separately and take what we need?"
Ian nodded, "That's best, and I have no intention of getting into conflict with you guys."
The scarred man signaled for the team to step back and whispered, "We'll go to the north, you go to the south, and we'll each stay out of each other's way."
Ian nodded slightly and watched the group slowly disappear into the darkness before turning back around and heading towards the south side of the farm.
However, in his heart, he was puzzled by the "treasure" they mentioned. What kind of treasure would generate powerful energy fluctuations and even attract the attention of other forces? What was even stranger was that such important information was actually easily sold by the intelligence peddlers.
With alarm in his heart, he began to explore the southern region more cautiously. The degree of desolation here was even worse than the north, with dilapidated barns and dumped farm equipment scattered in all directions, Ian carefully examined them, but never found anything unusual.
Just as he was about to give up, the system's beep suddenly resounded in his mind: [Abnormal energy fluctuations have been detected in the area ahead, please raise the host's vigilance].
Ian's mind was flabbergasted and he quickly advanced in the direction of the prompt. After turning around a dilapidated fence, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and his expression instantly became grave.
The sight in front of him shook him violently inwardly.
In the center of the ruins, there was a strange stone monument, which emitted a faint blue light, and the surrounding air seemed to have become somewhat distorted as a result.
Ian slowly stepped closer and felt a strong and peculiar energy gushing out from the monument. He reached out and gently touched the surface of the stone monument, and immediately felt a cold and shocking flow of energy.
The system voice sounded again: [The entrance to the relic is detected, the host is advised to prepare immediately to prevent potential danger."]
"Relic!" Ian murmured in a low voice, his heartbeat suddenly accelerating. Unexpectedly, this abandoned farm that was mistakenly thought to be nothing more than a gathering place for mutant beasts actually hid a relic entrance.
Just as Ian was deep in thought, a mournful scream suddenly came from the distance, followed by the sound of a violent battle. With a shock in his heart, he quickly turned his head to look to the north.
"Looks like they're in trouble ..."
Ian inwardly hesitated for a split second, then made up his mind and quickly ran towards the north. Regardless of whether the other party was hostile or not, he had to try to save the people, he had to unite all the forces he could right now, and more importantly, if that group of people really encountered a powerful enemy, it might be inextricably linked to the relics in front of him.