Chapter 50: The Cave of Hidden Treasures

"Found it!"

Ye Da felt fortunate to have his analytical glasses. Otherwise, this cave hidden halfway up the mountain, its entrance covered by a massive rock, would have been almost impossible to locate. It was practically a blind spot from every angle. How did those cannibals even come and go from such a secretive place?

As Ye Da drew closer and prepared to climb up, he discovered a narrow, well-concealed crack along the edge of the boulder. Perhaps, after years of being trampled by the cannibals, the stone had not only been swept clean of dust but had also been polished smooth.

Just as Ye Da was about to scramble up, hands and feet working in tandem—

"Woof! Woof!"

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

The two wolf pups suddenly started barking. Judging by their expressions, Ye Da guessed they were afraid he would leave them behind and climb up on his own. After all, wolves belong to the canine family, not the feline—they aren't skilled climbers. These two were still young, their legs short, so scaling such a steep rock face was impossible for them.

With no other option, Ye Da picked up Little White and, supporting its rump, pushed it up onto the smoother, flatter part above the boulder. He did the same with Little Grey. Only after both pups were safely atop did he climb up himself.

"Why do I suddenly feel so light?"

As Ye Da began his ascent, his body felt noticeably lighter. True, he'd already sensed this change when he absorbed the beast core and became a Black Iron Warrior, but he'd never experienced such a clear, direct transformation.

He now felt a bit like Spider-Man—scaling the rock face with ease and even feeling he could keep going higher. He imagined that even if he tried to free-climb the famous El Capitan, it might not be a challenge anymore.

A pity there were no horizontal bars here. Otherwise, he might have tried some pull-ups to see how many he could do now. Normally, twenty-five consecutive pull-ups would be his limit. If he could easily surpass that, it would mean he'd truly grown stronger—without going bald.

With both wolf pups, Ye Da climbed over three meters up the rock wall before the hidden entrance finally revealed itself. The opening was small, only about one and a half meters high and just as wide, forming a half-circle. A damp, sunless chill wafted out, carrying with it a cool breeze that brushed the noses of the wolf pups and made them sneeze.

Ye Da had to stoop to enter. Was the entire cave this low?

Once inside, he immediately regretted not bringing a torch—the darkness was suffocating. How did the cannibals move about in here? Did they grow so accustomed to the gloom that they could see at night?

As he pondered this, Ye Da reached up to touch the cave ceiling. He activated his light screen, and in its faint glow, he saw his fingertips were blackened with soot.

Luckily, these primitives needed torches, just like him, to move through the darkness. The soot on the ceiling was proof—remnants from countless torches, the smoke leaving its mark. The main component was charcoal, and the resin in the burning wood produced tar, which stuck to the stone.

Relieved to confirm that the cannibals' vision was ordinary, Ye Da continued onward, stooped under the faint blue glow of his light screen. He was grateful not to encounter the sort of monsters from horror films—creatures resembling humans, who, after generations underground, had become blind and hunted by scent alone. In such narrow, dark confines, he doubted he would stand a chance. Although his analytical glasses showed no cannibals currently in the cave, they couldn't predict when they'd return, so caution was necessary.

Having ascertained that these creatures were ordinary in eyesight, Ye Da pressed on through the cave, guided by the dim blue light.

After dozens of steps, the passage suddenly opened up into a broad chamber, faintly lit. The cave was filled with heaps of dry branches and leaves, and several clusters of half-green, half-yellow bananas. In the center was a fire pit, long since burned out, filled with carbon ash.

This must be the cannibals' main base. Yet, aside from the withered branches, there was little of value. Crafting good timber from these would require ten thousand pieces—too much hassle to collect, and too bulky to carry. So Ye Da simply moved on; such paltry resources no longer interested him.

He pressed deeper into the cave, which grew wetter the further he went. With one hand on the wall for support, Ye Da felt moisture slick under his palm, and his sleeves grew cold and damp—an uncomfortable sensation.

A fork in the path?

After nearly a hundred meters, the cave split—not into two or three branches, but into over a dozen! The rock wall was riddled with entrances, clustered and overlapping like a honeycomb, an unbelievable sight.

Ye Da was stunned. There were so many passageways that he had to use his analytical glasses, scanning each one to pick out the best route. What else could he do? Unless he wanted to crawl through every tunnel, he had no choice but to analyze them one by one—a bit like scratching off lottery tickets. If this one yielded nothing, there was always the next!

The first cave, analyzing—

"The Cannibals' Den: Inside are some dried grass, the owner's trophies—various skulls and a few beast fangs, plus some nearly rotten bananas."

No luck. On to the next!

The second cave—

"This is a passage filled with poor-quality animal hides, the spoils of cannibal hunts. Unfortunately, their lack of skill in treating the hides has left them somewhat rotted."

Animal hides? That was a decent find. Even if they were poor quality, they were still hides! To Ye Da, this was like winning five bucks on a scratch card—enough to be pleased.

Still, he didn't collect the hides right away. He planned to finish checking all the passages before deciding what to take, since his backpack was limited and he couldn't carry everything. Choosing only the most valuable items was the wisest course.

The third cave—

"This passage leads to a hidden treasure, but inside lurks a small stone gargoyle, capable of merging with the cave itself. If you're not careful, it will bite you!"

"Note: Don't assume being bitten by a stone gargoyle is a minor matter. Its venomous fangs carry a petrifying toxin that can turn a person to stone!"