"It would have been better if you’d just been this obedient from the start."
Victor nodded with satisfaction as he looked at the Abyss Drake, which had been arrogant and overbearing just a moment ago but had now shrunk back like a cowering gecko.
"It seems that a harmonious doctor-patient relationship ultimately relies on strength to do the talking."
He signaled the skeleton security team to step forward. They carefully harvested the stalks of Dragon Blood Grass and placed them into a specialized sample box.
As for that still-shivering Abyss Drake...
Victor had originally intended to give it a "full-body scale treatment" or perhaps a "caudal vertebrae realignment surgery" while he was at it.
However, considering that today’s main team-building task was herb gathering—and the fact that this fellow didn't look like it had much profit to be squeezed out of it—he decided to let it go for now.
"Alright, stop groveling."
Victor gave the Abyss Drake’s massive head a light kick.
"Since you were so cooperative, I’ll waive your consultation fee this time. Keep a good eye on the house from now on; don't let other monsters nibble on my herb garden."
As if granted a grand pardon, the Abyss Drake nodded frantically, looking like it was just short of wagging its tail.
'His herb garden?'
Elizabeth and Alice exchanged a glance, both seeing a trace of speechlessness in the other's eyes.
This Director...
The thickness of his skin was perhaps even more staggering than the scales of that Abyss Drake.
...
The herb-gathering mission was a complete success.
Not only did they obtain the desperately needed Dragon Blood Grass, but they also "picked up" several glittering magic crystals from the Abyss Drake's nest (which the drake had offered up as a voluntary tribute).
In a grand mood, Victor hummed a little tune as he led the team on their return journey.
However.
Just as they reached the midway point of the mountain...
Whoosh—
A strange, eerie wind kicked up without warning.
The surrounding temperature plummeted. The forest, which had been relatively clear, was instantaneously shrouded in a thick, grayish-white fog that refused to dissipate.
Visibility dropped to less than three meters.
"Strange, it was just sunny a moment ago."
Elizabeth knit her beautiful brows. As a high vampire, she was extremely sensitive to mist that contained the aura of death.
"This fog... something is wrong with it."
"Yeah, the mana concentration is very high, and it has a hallucinogenic effect."
Victor also stopped in his tracks. Although his 【True Sight Eye】 could see through the mist, his field of vision was still greatly restricted.
"Everyone, stay close. Don’t get separated."
No sooner had he spoken.
"Wu?"
Mia, who was walking at the very front, suddenly stopped. Her fluffy wolf ears stood up alertly, and her nose twitched as she sniffed the air forcefully.
"Director... the smell... it’s wrong."
"What is it?"
"There... is no scent of monsters here."
Mia’s expression was one of confusion.
"Not even one."
Victor paused.
That was impossible.
The reason the Eternal Night Peninsula was called a "human forbidden zone" was because it was crawling with monsters.
A place where not even the lowest-level ghoul or goblin existed...
That in itself was the greatest anomaly.
"It seems we’ve... gotten lost."
Victor opened the system map.
The light dot representing their position was currently hovering over a gray, "unknown" area that had never been illuminated.
Meanwhile, the clear route leading back to the clinic had been completely cut off by the thick fog.
"Interesting."
Far from being panicked, Victor actually felt a spark of interest.
"It looks like we’ve triggered some hidden map."
With the boldness that came from great skill, he directly ordered the team:
"Continue forward. I want to see exactly what mystery is hidden in this fog."
The team continued to trek through the dense mist.
The further they went, the more bizarre the surroundings became.
The withered trees with their grasping branches disappeared, replaced by low-lying shrubs that had been charred black.
The ground was no longer soft with decaying leaves and soil, but had turned into hard, black rock riddled with cracks.
The stench of monsters in the air vanished completely, replaced by a faint scent of woodsmoke, like the lingering remains of a fire.
"Director, look!"
Alice suddenly pointed toward a dark shape not far ahead.
As the group approached, they realized it was a section of ruined wall.
It was a stone wall built with human craftsmanship. Although most of it had long since collapsed and the structure was covered in moss and cracks, one could still see the exquisite workmanship of the past.
Beside the stone wall lay several rusted iron pots and a few broken farming tools.
"People... used to live here?"
Elizabeth looked at these objects that clearly belonged to human civilization, a flash of surprise crossing her red eyes.
Victor knelt down, pinched a bit of black powder from the ashes on the ground, and sniffed it.
"It's charcoal."
His gaze turned solemn.
"And based on the degree of weathering, the time since this campfire was extinguished... wouldn't exceed ten years."
Ten years.
For a place like the Eternal Night Peninsula, that was practically yesterday.
【Ding!】
【Special geographical coordinates detected!】
【You have entered the hidden map—the Forgotten Exile Camp.】
The system’s notification confirmed Victor’s suspicion.
"Exile camp?"
Victor stood up and surveyed the surroundings.
This place was actually an abandoned human outpost!
They continued forward and found more traces of human activity.
A well that had long since dried up.
Several wooden houses burned down to their frames.
Victor even found something beneath a collapsed stone tablet—it was rusted through, but the shape was still recognizable...
A holy emblem.
It was the symbol of the Holy Light Church: a flaming sword.
"It seems that before us, quite a few 'predecessors' were exiled to this godforsaken place."
Victor picked up the emblem, his expression complex.
"I just don't know if they died at the hands of monsters, or..."
He glanced at the scorched houses around them and didn't finish his sentence.
"I have a very bad feeling about this place."
Elizabeth pulled her leather coat tighter, her voice cold.
"It’s too quiet. Quiet as a tomb."
"Not just no monsters—there isn't even a single insect."
"It's as if... all life here was 'cleared out' by something even more terrifying."
Victor remained silent.
He simply tucked the holy emblem into his pocket.
Just then.
Bobo, the slime girl who had been following at his feet and looking around like a curious toddler, suddenly stopped.
Her pure green eyes stared intently at the ground not far ahead.
"Bo... Bo?"
She reached out a jelly-like finger and pointed, her mouth making indistinct, warning sounds.
The group looked in the direction she was pointing.
There, in a patch of seemingly ordinary grass, something seemed to be reflecting a metallic glint.
Victor stepped forward and used his foot to push the grass aside.
A bear trap made of refined steel, lined with sharp, jagged teeth, appeared before everyone’s eyes.
The craftsmanship of the trap was extremely fine, and it was coated with a type of grease to prevent rust. It had clearly been meticulously placed and maintained.
If someone had accidentally stepped on it just now, their leg bone would have been snapped instantly.
"Interesting."
Victor looked at the trap, a playful arc curling at the corner of his mouth.
"It seems this 'forgotten' camp isn't as... empty as we thought."
He didn't touch the trap, instead signaling the team to go around it.
However.
They hadn't walked more than a couple of steps.
"Wait."
Mia, who had been trailing at the back of the group sniffing the ground, suddenly stopped.
Her fluffy wolf ears perked up alertly, and her silver pupils constricted slightly as she stared fixedly at a patch of shadow not far ahead.
"What is it, Mia?" Victor asked.
Mia didn't answer immediately.
She took another deep breath through her nose, and a low, threatening growl rumbled in her throat.
After a few seconds.
She finally looked up, her usually dorky face showing a "serious" expression for the first time.
She looked at Victor and said, word by word:
"Director."
"Ahead... there is the scent of a living person."
She paused, seemingly distinguishing the extremely faint odor.
Finally, she delivered a conclusion that surprised everyone.
"It’s... a man."
"And..."
"He is... a very, very old man."
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