CHAPTER 93: CHAPTER 93: TREASURE OF THE RUINS

Alka unfolded the map, looking at their current location. Based on the landing spot and some landmarks spread over the Island, there were two white dots on the ruins where they were currently situated. Alka clicked to take a closer look.

[Ordinary Treasure]

[Difficulty: Fearless Warrior]

[Fame: 0]

[Treasure Information: None]

The information for the two white dots was identical, and they were extremely close, almost side by side.

BANG!

Another muffled gunshot rang out.

Alka didn’t even wait for the skeleton lying by the rubble ahead to stand up before he directly shot and shattered its skull.

"You should let him get up and move around. It’s not easy after lying there for so long," Jason teased.

Listening to Jason’s teasing words, Alka rolled his eyes. "Alright, next time I’ll leave it for you."

Hearing this, Jason quickly waved his hand, forcing a smile. "No, that’s not necessary."

Using his leg to push aside the waist-high grass, Alka controlled the Mirror to reflect light, illuminating the partly collapsed building. However, the plants within the ruins still affected the lighting. The interior was similarly engulfed by plants; any remaining furniture had long since decayed and fallen to the ground. In the darkness, a strong, moldy smell of rotting wood permeated the air. Only some traces remained in the entire building, recording its story.

"There’s a book here," Gami said, using his tentacles to flip through the books on the decayed wooden table in front of him. However, before he could even turn a page, it crumbled directly into pieces. Seeing this, he could only lament, "Completely rotted away."

"Why are all the cabinet drawers around here open?" Jason asked, puzzled.

Hearing this, Alka turned to look and, after a moment’s thought, said, "We’re not the first ones on the Island. Since there’s even a map, it means someone has definitely been here before."

In that case, it was perfectly normal for these cabinets and drawers to have been searched, Alka thought.

"Makes sense," Jason conceded.

At this moment, Alka couldn’t help but ponder. Following this logic, the Treasures hidden at these white dots should be in locations not easily found. Wealth that was easy to locate and harvest should have already been taken by others.

Thinking of this, Alka observed the collapsed building closely, wondering where valuable things might be hidden. Hidden pits? Wall cavities? In such places, these were the only ways things could be hidden. After all, the deaths of these people were entirely accidental; there was no time for any intentional effort to hide things. These Treasures were very likely the wealth stored in their homes by the residents of that time. Where would an ordinary family normally hide their wealth?

With this thought, Alka stomped around on the floor where the plants were less dense. He was trying to check for hidden pits while also examining the uncollapsed walls for anything peculiar. Judging by the size of the building, it was just average, likely not the residence of a particularly wealthy family.

After circling around, Alka came to a bookshelf that was almost completely collapsed and directly overturned it. With just a light push, the bookshelf crumbled, sending dust rising into the air.

"What’s going on?"

The other two quickly walked over from another room to inquire.

Alka shook his head. "Nothing, the bookshelf just collapsed."

Alka waved away the dust and smoke, using the Mirror to reflect light across the area. Sure enough, a hollow appeared on the wall. A number of weeds had even grown there, filling half the space. A rectangular object, wrapped in something, lay within, already covered with dust and plant roots. The weeds concealed it, yet the white luminous outline of its exterior was clearly visible through the gaps in the vegetation.

He reached out to pick it up. The white light vanished as he forcefully ripped the wrapping off. Inside, a hefty object was revealed: an entire palm-sized metal bar, covered in grime. He firmly wiped away some grime with his thumb, revealing a golden luster.

"A whole chunk of gold?" Jason walked over, looking at what Alka held in his hands, his face filled with bewilderment. What is this? Finding a whole chunk of gold just like that... It’s somewhat unbelievable, he thought.

Gami looked at the collapsed bookshelf, then looked up at Alka and said, "You’re really perceptive. No wonder you’re a professional Treasure Hunter."

Beside them, Jason opened his mouth, thought for a moment, and then shut it again. He had originally wanted to say that Alka had only just joined this line of work, but then he thought of Alka’s achievements since joining. He’s far more skilled than I am, and I’m supposed to be a professional in the field. Saying it out loud would feel like self-inflicted humiliation.

"A small gain, not bad," Alka said with a smile. Subsequently, a metallic card appeared in his hand. Faint Magic Power adhered to it as he sliced off a small portion of the gold bar. He then divided it into smaller pieces and handed them to the other two.

Seeing their surprised expressions, Alka winked at them and said with a smile, "Finders keepers, right?"

"Thanks."

The two thanked him and, without refusing, put the small gold pieces into their pockets.

After exploring the room a bit more to confirm there was nothing else valuable or significant, they left. They spread out, searching through the ruins individually. After all, these were the ruins of a town; the three of them sticking together was too inefficient. They needed to see if there was anything left behind, or any information that might help their subsequent actions.

Taking this opportunity, Alka arrived at another white dot. Looking at the large area of completely collapsed ruins around him—weeds, soil, and various rubble covering everything—it was impossible to know exactly where the white dot was hidden below. Alka couldn’t help but scratch his head.

Forget it. He decisively gave up, turned around, and left. This wasn’t an absolutely safe place; it wasn’t worth exerting so much effort to excavate for one white dot. With such vast ruins, it was unclear exactly where the white dot was located. Furthermore, clearing the massive rocks pressing down on it would require considerable effort. Judging by the size of this rubble and its location, the family that owned this building probably wasn’t very wealthy. It feels somewhat unworthy, especially since the known minimum value for a white dot is twelve Silver Snakes.

After meeting up with the other two, Jason said, "There’s no church building here, so it must not be in these ruins. Let’s check elsewhere." He then headed into the depths of the Island, followed closely by the other two.

Their main mission this time was to obtain the Holy Artifact. The Church of the Holy Mother had existed for a very long time. Even before the two nations mutually perished, Holy Mother Churches had already been established in both countries. That Holy Artifact was an object used by the Church in this region for prayers and listening to holy words back then. The sudden aftershocks of their mutual destruction caused all Church members in the surrounding area to perish; none survived. Coupled with the ensuing darkness and the vast number of deaths, much information was buried. Therefore, it was unknown where the Holy Artifact had been left at that time. Over the years, the Church had occasionally sent teams to search for and collect these lost Holy Artifacts. After investigation, it had been confirmed that the last known location of the Holy Artifact was likely somewhere among these few islands. That was why they had become the team assigned to recover the Holy Artifact.

On the way, Alka passed another white dot, but its location was within a dense forest. Closely packed trees and ground covered with vegetation made it impossible to know where this white dot was buried. Thus, Alka had no intention of stopping to search; he directly bypassed it.

Following the overgrown stone path, they arrived at the outskirts of the town ruins deep within the Island. These ruins were one or two times larger than those of the port town, and many buildings were relatively well-preserved, at least when compared to the port town ruins. Perhaps the surrounding trees and slopes blocked the wind from the sea.

Here lay the first blue dot, and another white dot almost overlapping with it. Utilizing the glow from the Mirror, Alka kicked at a pile of bones at his feet; its skull had been smashed into fragments with some heavy object. It wasn’t just this skeleton. After walking a little further, they found many skeletons lying scattered about, their bones all fragmented. Especially the skulls; none were intact.

"It must have been done by the last group to come. They really were violent," Jason remarked, observing the surroundings.

In these vast town ruins, not a single skeleton was standing. It showed that the previous group had cleared the area thoroughly. This also indicated that any valuable items in the town had most likely been collected completely.

Using the concentrated beam of light from the Mirror, Alka looked into the distance and nudged Jason beside him with his elbow. "Look there. Isn’t that a church building?" He wasn’t very familiar with the architectural style of a Holy Mother Church.

Jason immediately turned his head, looking into the distance with the aid of the light beam. "Yes, that’s the church building."

After saying this, the three of them quickly walked over and soon arrived at the church building’s entrance. This church building must have been extremely sturdily built. Except for some rubble that had fallen from the walls, its overall structure remained undamaged.

They walked in to find the wooden benches damaged, though the Holy Mother statue at the front was perfectly preserved, enveloped in various vines. It exuded a peculiar sense of sanctity.

After wandering around inside the church building, Jason said, "The last group of people here definitely weren’t from the Church."

"If they were Church people, wouldn’t this Island have been ruled out already?" Alka couldn’t help but quip.

Upon hearing that, Jason slapped his forehead. "Right."

Finally, he silently approached the statue and began cleaning off the dirt and vines covering it. Gami also maneuvered his vehicle over, using its tentacles to do the same thing. Although Alka’s faith in the Holy Mother wasn’t deep, seeing their actions left him no choice but to join in.

After cleaning, Gami said, "Since the last people here weren’t Church members, then they probably didn’t go to the Silence Room." He then went to the back of the statue, where a donation box had been smashed open and emptied. Extending a tentacle, he felt behind the lower part of the donation box and pressed something.

CLICK!

The sound of a mechanism being triggered echoed. Vibrations emanated from behind the statue, and dust flew up. Had something opened?

Jason, who had been waiting there, bent down, reached out, and forcefully pulled upwards. A stone slab was lifted, revealing a dark passage below. The area below must be the Silence Room Gami just mentioned, Alka thought.

"Let’s go down; no one should have been here yet," Jason said after observing for a while. Then he tossed his Lighting Stone down and started climbing.

Watching this scene, one could only think: truly worthy of being Church insiders, huh? They easily knew about secret chambers that outsiders would find difficult to discover, Alka mused. With this thought, he also jumped down through the opening.

Gami controlled his vehicle to follow closely behind.