Fate and the Cat Cart

The departing Great Jagras grew more and more frustrated the longer it thought about it. Though this sort of thing had happened often over the past five years, today, it truly couldn't take it anymore!

And so, Great Jagras made a decision that went against—well, it decided to run away.

It had never seen a dragon as infuriating as Luo Yun. Clearly, his strength was inferior to its own, yet just because it couldn't fly, he bullied it like this.

Therefore, Great Jagras decided to leave now, immediately, at once!

It was going back to the depths of the Ancient Forest, back to the territory it once ruled!

Having made up its mind, Great Jagras got its bearings. From a hill with an open view, it located the direction of the Ancient Tree and, after five years, once again began its migratory journey.

This time, it would be the return of a king!

In the same direction, Luo Yun and Ya Ji flew steadily onward. The Winged Wyverns and other Wyvern Species in the sky veered away from them from afar, afraid that Luo Yun and Ya Ji would take them out along the way.

Wade's team had remained in the rift for a long time. Since this Great Jagras had a history of sneak attacks, even after Ruby went out and discovered that it was no longer where it had been, the team did not act rashly and continued waiting for rescue.

Suddenly, a swarm of insects resembling fireflies, their tails glowing green, flew in through the entrance. Under everyone's wary gazes, they circled Wade as they flew.

"It's here! Wade, are you inside?"

A familiar voice came from outside the rift. Wade immediately answered. Before long, a man carrying dual blades climbed in. The insects circling Wade seemed drawn to him and flew back into the Bug Cage at his waist.

"Erut, is this...?"

Wade asked uncertainly, faint excitement in his voice.

"Hehe, as you can see, these are Guide Bugs! After two years of work, we finally succeeded the day before yesterday!"

Erut proudly patted the Bug Cage at his waist. The Guide Bugs drifted out lightly, then, finding no command awaiting them, flew back into the cage.

After the Investigation Team arrived in the New World, aside from building a base, the most troublesome part of outside investigations was the lack of sufficiently effective tracking methods. The tracking methods used in the Old World did not work particularly well in the New World.

Furthermore, they were unfamiliar with the land. They could only explore bit by bit. If they went even slightly too far, they might get lost in the forest and could only use up rescue Signal Flares to determine their position.

Not only was this method inefficient, it also consumed a great deal of resources. Many investigation missions had to be abandoned once the target moved even a short distance away.

Therefore, in order to obtain better tracking methods, once the base had been initially established, the Acting Leader began searching for creatures in the New World that could be tamed.

After all these years, they had finally found two. One was the relatively docile Winged Wyvern, though they had yet to find a clear way to use Winged Wyverns efficiently.

The other was the Guide Bug. However, Guide Bug training and breeding had held them back somewhat. They had only finished taming them the day before yesterday, and now they could finally equip everyone with them.

While Wade and Erut were talking, another person crawled inside.

"By the way, how did you end up in such a miserable state? And why did you come all the way out here?"

Their current location was far too distant from Star Base and lay entirely within unexplored territory. If not for this Signal Flare, Erut would never have risked coming here.

"Don't mention it. We really had terrible luck this time."

After grumbling, Wade roughly explained their encounter with that oversized Great Rathian and the Great Jagras.

"The New World really does have quite a few unusual features. I think that Great Rathian and this Great Jagras are both worthy subjects of investigation. Perhaps we should pay special attention to them," Wade concluded.

However, Erut's expression was somewhat strange.

"Actually, aside from rescuing you, I have another mission this time: to bring everyone back. The leader and Sword Master have returned, and they've made a major discovery that requires everyone's participation."

"A major discovery? One that requires everyone, including the leader?"

Wade was deeply puzzled. The First Expedition Team operated very differently from normal groups. The leader and Sword Master were on an entirely different level from everyone else in terms of strength, while Wilderness Master and the Dragon Person Hunter possessed extremely rich wilderness survival experience.

Thus, under normal circumstances, the four of them acted alone, spending most of the year outside conducting their own investigations.

The rest formed teams and continued the Hunter's Guild management system. The Acting Leader issued missions, and teams accepted them before heading out.

Moreover, the First Expedition Team had far too few people. Manpower was needed everywhere, so there had never been a mission that required everyone to mobilize together.

"Yes. Apparently, Sword Master and the Dragon Person Hunter discovered a large creature in the Great Antlion Desert, suspected to be an Unknown Ancient Dragon. Its entire body shone brilliantly, as though it had been forged from gold. For now, they've only preliminarily confirmed the area where it is active."

"A massive Ancient Dragon forged from gold?"

Wade's eyes widened, and the next moment, he struggled to climb to his feet.

"Let's go, now! I need to return to Star Base immediately and join this mission!"

Wade was incredibly excited. If slaying the rampaging Female Fire Dragon had been an achievement worth bragging about for the rest of his life—one that had even earned him the title of legendary hunter back home—then participating in an Ancient Dragon investigation would allow his name to be recorded in books and passed down through the generations!

And it was an Ancient Dragon! Every hunter dreamed of pursuing Ancient Dragons. Even if all he got to do was throw a Flash Bomb at one from far away, he would be completely satisfied!

Erut was not surprised by Wade's reaction. Wade was hardly the first; nearly everyone who learned of this had been immensely excited. Spirits were soaring.

"Fine, fine, fine. We'll leave right away."

Erut rolled his eyes, took the initiative to support Wade, and the group walked out of the rift.

Outside the rift, three unfamiliar Felynes had already been waiting for a while with a handcart.

They belonged to a Detter Tribe that the Investigation Team had encountered by chance after arriving in the New World. Following friendly negotiations, the two sides had established a cooperative relationship.

After hunters sent out rescue signals, the Detters could freely choose whether to provide assistance depending on the situation. For each rescue, they only needed to bring the person to a nearby camp, while the rescued person had to give them one-third of the mission reward as a rescue fee.

If the rescue took place outside of a mission, then the hunter and the Detters would need to negotiate the fee privately.

Since hunters' rewards were usually quite substantial, a single rescue could earn enough supplies to sustain the tribe for a week. Therefore, these Felynes generally set out whenever there was a rescue request and rarely passed up the opportunity.

"Thanks for your hard work, Detters."

The adorable Detters replied one after another. Once they confirmed that Wade had climbed aboard, they immediately pushed the cart toward Star Base.

"Huh? What's this?"

Along the way, Nori was flashed by light reflected from a stone. He looked at the bluish-purple stone, thought for a moment, and casually picked it up.

"Hiss, it's so cold?"

It felt icy in his hand, as though it were still giving off a chill.

"Nori, hurry up and catch up!"

"Coming!" Nori answered. Suppressing his curiosity, he stuffed the stone into his backpack and jogged after the group.

Sorry, the author's hand was injured pretty badly due to a capsaicin allergy. It's been hurting for most of the day, and I could only barely type this chapter with one hand. I really can't keep writing. So I owe you one chapter today, but I'll definitely make it up tomorrow!

Also, shamelessly asking for some votes and follow-up reading. Thank you!