Golden City

Liu Zhi certainly didn't know he was being thought of. At this moment, he had already retraced his steps to the landing point they had initially planned.

Compared to Perkin and the others who were in a hurry, Liu Zhi wasn't too anxious.

After a good night's rest at the landing point, Liu Zhi followed his chosen route into the other side of the jungle.

Along the way, relying on his jungle survival knowledge, Liu Zhi discovered many giant snakes on the move.

Among these giant snakes were some naturally large Anacondas, pythons, and even some normally smaller venomous snakes and grass snakes.

Liu Zhi could always identify their original species from their appearance, but the smallest were as thick as water buckets and nearly fifty meters long, which completely extinguished any thought Liu Zhi had of interacting with them.

Faced with these giant snakes, Liu Zhi only planned to keep detouring.

As he walked and stopped, Liu Zhi inadvertently noticed something strange: it seemed the direction these snakes were heading was exactly opposite to where he was going.

This discovery made Liu Zhi ponder. He found a safe spot, took out his map and documents, and kept marking the locations where he had encountered the giant snakes.

As the locations and directions of travel of the giant snakes were marked down.

A new clue appeared before Liu Zhi.

He found that over eighty percent of the giant snakes were all heading from the direction of Golden City towards the bloody tree.

"Could it be that the giant snakes are out on patrol?"

A thought appeared in Liu Zhi's mind. If that were the case, this would be an excellent opportunity.

With this thought, Liu Zhi quickly stood up. He tallied the number of different types of giant snakes he had encountered during this time.

"That's right, this is an opportunity for me too. Perhaps these giant snakes are the guardians of Golden City. Golden City belongs to Kukulkan, and Kukulkan is the feathered serpent god, so it's normal for them to have effects that enlarge and control snakes. If there are no humans in Golden City, it's natural to leave giant snakes to guard it.

If I went at a normal time, I would definitely have to face the challenge of giant snakes to enter the city. But now, the giant snakes are gone."

While thinking, Liu Zhi stood up. He hastily put all the documents into his backpack and, carrying it, rushed towards Golden City.

Liu Zhi didn't know how long it would take for the giant snakes to return, but he couldn't waste any more time on the road.

To reach Golden City faster, Liu Zhi no longer cared about concealing his tracks. He even started looking for the snake paths left by the giant snakes and walked against their direction, hoping to find the way to Golden City more quickly.

Liu Zhi's guess was correct. After forcing his way for about two days and one night, apart from necessary rest, Liu Zhi sustained himself on the black, chocolate-like food from Perkin's backpack.

Liu Zhi finally found Golden City before July 15th.

It was located behind a cliff in a jungle. The entrance was not very large, and one could only enter by following a river upstream.

On both sides of the river, Liu Zhi also saw many artificially dug caves.

These caves should have been the residences of some giant snakes. The cave entrances were not large, so a normal person could walk in, but once inside, one would find that the caves were interconnected, like layers of pipes.

On the damp cave walls and the ground, many leftover bones and shed snake skins of giant snakes could be seen.

Liu Zhi explored several caves and found that the situation in each cave was similar. However, some caves showed clear signs of giant snake habitation, while others were completely empty.

This discovery made Liu Zhi feel somewhat lucky. Fortunately, he had given up on Perkin's trail early. If he had followed Perkin or been distracted by Perkin's notebook and missed this opportunity, he would have faced a swarm of giant snakes pouring out at the slightest sound upon arriving at Golden City.

Based on his current assessment of his strength, the possibility of Liu Zhi defeating a swarm of giant snakes was almost zero.

Following the river upstream, after bypassing several underground river channels, Liu Zhi's eyes lit up. After pushing aside a large amount of vegetation, a valley city in ancient Inca style was nestled within.

Perhaps due to the long period of neglect and the rainforest climate, the entire city was half-hidden by abundant bushes.

However, it was clearly evident that this city was initially densely populated, with at least thirty to fifty thousand households residing there at its peak.

The entire city was centered around an Inca-style pyramid nearly fifty meters high. Around the pyramid were vast, empty plazas. The plazas were clearly divided into four distinct areas, each with slightly different architectural styles.

The buildings near the north were not made of stone, which was common here, but likely wood with leaves. After so many years, most of the building materials had rotted, leaving only some residue.

The buildings to the east were entirely made of carefully selected obsidian and volcanic rock. They were not only hard but also large. Despite years of wind and rain, they had not suffered any damage, only being buried by various plants.

As for the south and west, the buildings were quite chaotic, indicating a lack of clear planning in the residential areas.

"Is this Golden City?"

Standing at the river exit, Liu Zhi looked at the city before him. His current angle was not ideal, being in the downstream position. Being able to see the overall layout of the city was already quite remarkable. To see it in more detail, he might have to climb a nearby mountain.

But Liu Zhi had no intention of climbing the mountain. The fifty-meter-high pyramid was right there, and it was likely the key to Golden City.

With this thought, Liu Zhi drew the Longsword he had obtained from the swordsman and prepared to head towards the pyramid.

Just as he took a step forward, a gust of mountain wind blew through the not-so-ventilated valley, stirring up a wave of trees.

Liu Zhi noticed a phantom image of a giant red feathered serpent appear above the pyramid.

The phantom image looked somewhat lifelike, and in the mountain wind, its eyes seemed to scan the valley.

Liu Zhi couldn't help but stop. He then touched the pendant he always kept close to him and took another step forward.

[Ding! Identity Forced Quest - The Curse of Golden City has officially activated. The Necromancer job selection is now open. Please find clues, materials, and resources within three days and make the corresponding choice to complete the Necromancer job selection.]