T0 Gaming Guild Saves the World.

Chapter 138, Section 137: The assessment is that it is inferior to the ninth level of the underground temple.
Jiang Heyi and the others struggled to dig themselves out of the snow. Not far away, a snow fox tilted its head and looked at them, its big eyes sparkling with great confusion.

Using magic to sense the surroundings, there was no suspicious aura.

No further incidents occurred until the group returned to Saion, suggesting that the person who triggered the avalanche, as mentioned by Orange Tea, had already left.

After regrouping, Mint eagerly checked everyone's bodies. No one was missing an arm or a leg, and no one was injured from being hit in the face by the avalanche.

hiss~~~
Are all my kids so physically strong and capable?
Finding a quiet corner on the street, Mint expressed her worries.

Judging from the fact that it triggered an avalanche, the other party obviously had concerns, so they did not get involved themselves, but instead used an "accident" to resolve the problem.

It just doesn't make sense.

The caravan has been missing for so long, what are these people waiting for in the Screamer Snow Mountain?
Is it difficult to clean up the site and remove the goods?
Mint stroked her chin: "Even if it's an eighth-tier being, leaving behind enough magical information that needs careful cleaning, nearly half a month of natural decay and manual cleaning should be more than enough."

The plain fries muttered, "If it's not a cleaning up issue, then it must be a problem with the goods."

The jailer asked, puzzled, "What problems could there be with the goods? They'll just transport them the same way Narum does."

Mint squatted on the ground, her hands supporting her chin, staring intently at the ants in the cracks of the floor tiles, completely absorbed in her thoughts.

No one disturbed them; instead, they continued their conversation in hushed tones.

Jiang Heyi rubbed his temples, a guess coming to mind.

"If it weren't for the difficulty of transportation, wouldn't this kind of cargo be very conspicuous?"

"How conspicuous?" the jailer asked. "Does it flash wildly, or does it smell so good you can tell what it is from miles away?"

“He’s right.” Mint’s furrowed brows relaxed, and she stood up, speaking confidently, “This kind of cargo is very conspicuous.”

Throughout the day, the adventurer group hired by Narum searched the area where the caravan was suspected of disappearing. Many adventurers ventured deep into the snowy mountains with skepticism.

Only a small number of people share Jiang Heyi's view that the incident occurred outside the border.

“1, 2, 3, 4, ... 4 teams, about 30 people. These guys are getting a bit annoying.” The Primal Body glanced back at the adventurer group trailing far behind them. “Why are they following us?”

Jiang Heyi speculated: "Two possibilities."

"The first type is following the trend. They initially just wanted to check things out abroad, but then they found that we were going further and further away, so they decided to try and catch up."

"The second possibility is... we were moving too fast, without stopping at all along the way, which made them guess that we had found some important clues."

By evening, they had left Annam's territory and reached a place rarely visited by people.

As night approached, the group at the boundary between the real and the virtual stopped in their tracks.

This hunter's outpost, located on a mountain ridge, consists of two large and two small wooden cabins and is a relatively large rest stop along the trade route.

Zhong Zemo took out the ingredients he had prepared beforehand, started a campfire, and began to cook, providing dinner for the hungry crowd.

"They're really patient. None of the four teams over there have fallen behind." Wowo climbed onto the wooden hut at the outpost and looked into the distance. "Looks like they're all coming closer."

The four adventure groups maintained a certain distance from each other, and it was clear that they were all on high alert.

After entering the stronghold, they each found a place to start a fire.

Jiang Heyi could feel the subtle gazes from this group of people, but she didn't care.

Potato stew with meat, served with a mutton and radish soup, made up everyone's dinner.

Potato stew with meat is a standard, filling meal.

The mutton and radish soup provides a "cold-dispelling" effect, which can reduce the impact of ambient temperature on players.

This recipe was obtained by Zhong Zemo from his previous exchange with others in the group.

Of all the things in the boundary between reality and illusion, his backpack contained the most items, crammed full of all kinds of seasonings.

"Oh ho, all four squads have sent people over. They can't hold back anymore?" The jailer whistled.

Upon seeing the representatives of the four teams arrive, Mint quickly filled her bowl and spoon with stewed meat, and then picked out a few pieces of mutton, displaying a fiercely protective attitude towards her food.

"I know what you want to ask, but I can only answer one thing," Jiang Heyi said, taking a sip of soup. "We're also trying our luck."

The four people, who had already prepared their words, narrowed their eyes slightly.

The cat-eared woman said, "Are we just trying our luck, without stopping at all along the way?"

Seeing that Jiang Heyi did not answer, she continued to ask, "There are areas worth searching along this ridge. Why are you so sure that the clues are not here?"

Jiang Heyi glanced at the orange tea.

There was credit to the unknown revelations, but there was also another layer of calculation.

Since those people who were still on guard along the way in the snowy mountains would incite an avalanche to kill people in order to prevent any potential problems, the closer they got to the scene of the incident, the more nervous the mastermind behind it would become.

Once you leave the border, the area is sparsely populated, making it an ideal place to disappear silently.

Therefore, when he said he was just trying his luck, he wasn't just being perfunctory.

Jiang Heyi was betting that the person behind the incident would treat them, the adventurers attracted by the bounty, in the same way they treated caravans.

Seeing that the four people weren't shamelessly begging for food, Mint kindly reminded them, "You should leave as soon as possible. This job isn't as simple as you think."

"Tsk."

Jiang Heyi was helpless. Bohe's words only made these people more certain that they knew something.
Now they're even less likely to leave.

“We can cooperate,” the elf suggested. “There is plenty of Star Sand. Even if each of our five teams gets two portions, it will be enough for us to live comfortably for a long time.”

First, you have to be alive to take it.

The person on the boundary between reality and illusion continued eating without saying another word. The four people who had made a fool of themselves retreated, but this also strengthened their resolve to continue following!

After setting off again, the four teams followed even more closely, indicating that they had reached some kind of agreement and formed a temporary alliance.

After a long, gentle slope, the boundary between reality and illusion twists and turns, leading into a snow-covered valley. It looked as if a blizzard had just passed, with the snow almost reaching everyone's knees.

Mint faced a difficult journey. She declined Zhong Zemo's offer to help her and instead chose the spirit of Orange Tea.

The woman, still lurking in the snow, suddenly bumped into something. She brushed aside the snow and saw a broken tree stump.

"This is……"

The boundary between the real and the virtual was enclosed.

The fracture surface is torn, clearly caused by an external impact.

Jiang Heyi immediately looked around.

The valley is located between two mountain peaks, right in the V-shaped valley area, so it's normal for there to be a lot of snow, but this amount is just too much.

After sweeping away the surrounding snow, tree stumps broken by external forces came into view.

The four teams that followed suit quickly swept up even more tree stumps.

This place should have been a dense coniferous forest!
"Found it! Found it! This is the closest place to the scene of the incident!"

Jiang Heyi turned to look at the group of jubilant people, wishing he could slap them twice. Did they even realize what it meant to be so close to the scene of the incident?

"retreat."

The moment the orange tea tugged at the corner of the original-flavor fries, Jiang Heyi had already given the order.

Everyone quickly retreated from the valley, and in the next instant, snow fell from the sky like a tsunami.

Although they were a bunch of dim-witted fools, their long experience of living on the edge saved the lives of many of them.

In the instant the "tsunami" engulfed the valley, the vast majority of people retreated.

The entire group at the boundary between the virtual and real worlds slowly distanced themselves from this group.

"Can you sense their exact location?"

Orange Tea shook her head: "Unknown revelation, no response this time."

An adventurer, struggling to get up from the snow, hadn't even had time to climb out when a beam of white light descended from above and entered his body.

He desperately reached out, trying to struggle, and the line of blood on his forehead had already bloomed.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, he turned into a cloud of blood mist and exploded in two.

Mint was startled.

She took out a dark, unremarkable bead that she always carried with her, and shuddered as she looked at the red, fluffy substance floating inside like rain and mist.

"Eighth... eighth rank."

Covered by a green snake-patterned mask, his flamboyant emerald green robe fluttered in the wind as he gracefully descended, hovering in mid-air, with faint magic array patterns visible behind him.

Just as Mint was about to tell the others, dozens of ghostly figures silently appeared around them.

According to their magical perception, they seemed to have arrived at this place in an instant.

"Mint, hurry up." Jiang Heyi began to take out the precious jade.

"That floating guy is an eighth-tier being!"

"Let me go! You can't handle an eighth-tier opponent! Run!"

"Wow~~"

Mint was forced to return home by Jiang Heyi.

Back at the guild, Mint rummaged through her belongings and took out a scroll that she had hidden in the guild before, ready to send it to the scene.

A group of puppets held her down.

"Garlic sprouts, red and white vegetables, cilantro, let me go! Your owner is in big trouble!"

"If I don't go, they'll all die!"

"I'm sorry, Lord Mint, but our master has instructed us that you are strictly forbidden from teleporting again in case of any unforeseen circumstances," Garlic Sprout comforted her. "Don't worry, our master will be fine."

"You soulless creatures, how could you know the meaning of life and death? Let go!"

Garlic Sprouts replied earnestly, "We know the owner will be fine, and we certainly don't want anything to happen to you."

Guarded by seven puppets, Mint had no choice but to lie on the ground and wail.

This is a massacre.

The number of adventurers was already inferior to those who suddenly appeared. As soon as the enemies wearing green snake-patterned masks engaged, several of them had their limbs severed and were rendered unable to fight.

Their attacks were fierce, and their teamwork was excellent. A single coordinated strike would take down one person, and their efficiency was astonishing.

Despite the seemingly small difference in rank, the adventurers were forced into retreat, unable to mount a resistance.

Is it that strong? It seems to be a formidable opponent comparable to the underground temple.

French Fries, fueled by a frenzy of bloodlust, charged forward with high spirits, slicing through a fireball that came crashing down from the sky, enjoying the elemental shields of the four primal beings and the blessing of the wind spirits as they rode through the flames.

The two green snake-patterned masks used [Magic Shaping] to condense blades.

"Oh!"

One person's arm was severed, another's mask shattered, blood splattered, and they were sent flying backward.

"Ok?"

Plain fries tilt their heads.

This seems... not as difficult as I thought.

They are far inferior to the puppets on the ninth floor of the underground temple.

　There's more later, Zhang said, "Modo Modo."
　　
　
(End of this chapter)