Chapter 65: The Invaded Banana Grove

"Bang!"

The moment Ye Da dashed into the cave, he heard a thunderous crash behind him.

Now back in the cave, Ye Da assumed he was temporarily safe, so he turned to glance at the situation outside...

What he saw nearly left him speechless with shock.

"Is this the power of the rules?"

In the world of the Sinkhole, monsters were forbidden from entering the Beginner’s Forest—otherwise, divine retribution would strike!

The massive graystone spider had already managed to wedge half its body into the stone cave, but the part that crossed the threshold began to dissolve!

Like a burning candle, the spider's tough outer shell started melting away, gray liquid oozing down in streams until a small gray puddle quickly formed on the ground.

No matter how desperately the spider struggled, nothing helped. Its four giant black eyes could only watch helplessly as half its body continually dissolved, dying a slow death.

Once the half of the graystone spider trapped inside the cave had fully dissolved, Ye Da could even see a cross-section of its innards—the structure of its muscles and the stony skin.

Only then did the remaining half of the spider, as if released from a seal, tumble off the cliff!

Thuds and crashes resounded in quick succession. Peering out, Ye Da saw the graystone spider had indeed been smashed into a pulp.

Yet, because the spider had died by triggering the world's rules, it left nothing behind.

Naturally, Ye Da would gain no benefit from it.

Still, he couldn't help but marvel at the immense and terrifying power of these world laws.

The crisis was over.

Ye Da finally had a moment to take out his phone and check his messages.

Da Li: "It's five o'clock, Ye Da, are you there?"

Da Li: "Why aren't you here yet? My phone only has 5% battery left, it could shut off any moment! Reply to my message, it's urgent!"

Da Li: "Where are you? Did you oversleep or something? I can't wait any longer, I have to turn off my phone or the last 3% will be gone. Take care, Ye Da! We’ll meet again one day, brother. P.S.: I’ll turn my phone back on at five tomorrow morning. If you have anything important, leave me a message!"

After reading Da Li’s messages, Ye Da quickly tried to reply.

[Send Failed!]

Ye Da frowned at the feedback and glanced at the time—it was already 5:35.

He hadn’t realized escaping would take so long.

Had he missed his chance to reply?

Ye Da sighed.

Since he couldn't respond now, he would have to wait until tonight.

Ye Da opened Ning Qingcheng’s messages and read them.

Ning: "Are you there?"

Ning: "No signal on your end? Or did something happen?"

Ning: "I’ll wait ten more minutes. If you don’t show up, I’ll have to power off to save battery. If you get this message, I’ll be online at nine tonight and five tomorrow morning."

Ning: "I’m beside a volcano. If you can see it, come find me. Signing off now."

Ye Da tried to reply, but failed again.

Nothing could be done.

Survival came first.

Since it was out of his hands, he'd have to wait for the next opportunity.

Peering down the long corridor, Ye Da first used his Analysis Glasses to check the situation inside the cave, to see if any cannibals were still present today.

If they were, Ye Da would have to consider...

Whether to take another risk and venture into the Sinkhole Forest.

But luck was on his side.

[Cannibal Cave: The cannibals have all gone out to the forest to hunt, preparing offerings for the upcoming prayer ritual—including humans, of course!]

[P.S.: Only the elderly chief and his two wives stayed behind today. There’s not much left in the cave anyway, since a certain thief cleaned it out yesterday!]

Only three cannibals left?

After reading the analysis, Ye Da stroked his chin and decided not to take any more risks. It was best to leave quickly.

After all, he’d already gotten all the valuable goods from the cave.

What remained was either too dangerous or worthless, so Ye Da decided not to be greedy; better to slip away while only three old and weak residents were inside.

With a stash of treasures on hand, it was time to head back and upgrade.

...

Meanwhile, in the Banana Grove.

A pair of strangers—a young woman with a high ponytail and a tall, lean young man with a buzz cut—arrived at the grove. The girl’s eyes lit up as she spotted the sea of banana trees. "Li Zhi, come look at this!"

"Look at what?" Li Zhi asked, pushing aside the undergrowth as he approached.

But the moment he stepped out of the brush, he was utterly stunned.

Before his eyes, countless bunches of bananas hung densely from the trees.

Though the fruits were still green, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t ripen—and once they did, they would be money! Resources!

"So many bananas, Li Zhi—do you think we’ve struck it rich?" the girl asked, her eyes sparkling.

"I remember seeing someone selling bananas yesterday—how many materials did they go for?" Li Zhi scratched his head, thinking, "Was it ten pieces of inferior wood, or twenty?"

"I don’t remember, but we’re definitely rich now!" the girl cheered, skipping into the grove to hunt for ripe bananas.

All she wanted was to gorge herself on a few bananas—since arriving here, she hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days, let alone tasted the sweet luxury of fruit.

"Damn it!" Lin Yamei stared at a snapped banana stem. "Who did this? Which bastard took all the ripe bananas?"

"It’s infuriating!"

Hearing this, Li Zhi hurried deeper into the grove to find Lin Yamei, joining her in cursing, "What a jerk! Do you think it was that banana seller from yesterday?"

Lin Yamei grew even angrier. "This banana grove doesn’t belong to just him!"

"Why does he get to take all the bananas? Why leave none for anyone else?"

"It’s infuriating!"

"If I can’t have these bananas, then neither can he!"

"I’m going to set the grove on fire! Li Zhi, help me cut down some banana trees!"