If the Slathrath race had managed to parasitize Fang Senyan, even if their fertilized eggs entered his body, then… there would have been no further development. The tendrils of the Solar Ladder, tracing the blood vessels, would instantly treat those eggs as a sweet dessert and devour them. For a mere fertilized egg to contend with the mighty Solar Ladder could only be described in four words: “Overestimating itself!”

While the two Main Tanks were inflicting self-harm, they had deliberately suppressed their true strength, so their injuries were actually quite severe. The two walked behind, tending to their bandaged arms, faces etched with gloom. Indeed, if the team were to flee immediately at this point, it would be one thing, but instead, they decided to remain active nearby… This meant the probability of encountering freakish creatures like the Slathrath race was quite high. As MTs, were they expected to just charge in? If every battle required this kind of “scraping the bone to cure the poison,” they would genuinely be tortured to the point of pulling their hair out.

After briefly repairing the raft, the group set off again.

Following the data provided by Ronnie, they meticulously searched the surrounding area for potential combat zones. The water flow had become turbulent, and the river channel had narrowed. The raft twisted through several bends in the gorge, where submerged reefs stood starkly in profusion. If not for Pokan’s innate ability frequently activating to swiftly dissolve a massive reef, even with Fang Senyan’s boat handling skills, they would never have managed to pass through.

After navigating a series of arduous obstacles, Fang Senyan pushed hard, anchoring against the hard, ashen-colored rock face beside them. This provided sufficient momentum to push the raft into the correct channel, allowing them to smoothly bypass the colossal cliffs, hundreds of meters high on either side, standing like grim gatekeepers.

Immediately afterward, the river ahead widened, and the current calmed. Everything suddenly opened up!

Spread before Fang Senyan and the others was a boundless swamp and wetland, dominated by vast expanses of dense aquatic grass. The area was filled with a lush, deep green, where an aquatic plant resembling reeds bore pale purple tassels, swaying gently in the wind.

Occasionally, water birds with fiery red plumage could be seen circling overhead, adding a vibrant burst of color to the blue sky, and even the air carried a fresher scent. Looking into the distance, the grassland seemed vast and endless, as if the entire world should resemble this region.

Turning back to look, they saw a plateau rising up, its edge seemingly beyond sight, the sheer cliff face reaching at least several thousand meters high. Jagged and magnificent, it pierced the clouds, inspiring an ineffable sense of awe.

It turned out that the “plain” where Mushroom Rock was situated was actually part of this plateau. And upon the plateau, there were still towering, winding mountain ranges—a testament to the wonder of creation and the vastness of the world. However, the river Fang Senyan’s group navigated was also quite peculiar: it flowed straight through the bottom of the plateau, carving a long scar across the elevated landmass.

“Look over there,” William suddenly pointed. This man was always taciturn and spoke little, but when he did, his words carried a sense of finality. Being a master sniper, his eyesight naturally surpassed that of ordinary men.

There is a saying that things closest to nature are often the most beautiful and worthy of appreciation. For instance, a woman’s hips—the closer they approach a perfect, full-moon shape, the more pleasing they are to the eye. Likewise, a maiden’s breasts, resembling the lush, undulating firmness of nature’s hills.

Everyone followed his gesture and instantly noticed a slight undulation within the distant thicket of purple reeds. It seemed slightly out of place against the backdrop of the overall natural scenery; looking at it too long felt awkward. At the spot William indicated, an immediate sense of flaw became apparent.

Upon receiving William’s guidance, the group hurried over and immediately discovered traces of recent combat. The massive footprints of the Slathrath race were very clear in the mire, alongside scorch marks from a Ray Pistol, which had burned out patches of the purple reeds several square meters wide. If this area hadn't been a wetland, it might actually have sparked a serious fire.

“There seems to be something hidden here!” Ronnie was not only fiercely capable in combat but also first-rate in reconnaissance and searching.

It was understandable, though; everyone who could join this team was undoubtedly an exceptionally formidable individual. Among the contractors Fang Senyan had encountered previously, perhaps only Zi and Aziz possessed the capabilities required to meet the entry threshold for this temporary team.

In comparison, Reef and Mogansa were significantly weaker, although Reef and the Black Brother had the immense support of powerful equipment—Hedikuri only possessed a Silver-tier story-level shield, while Aziza could only manage a highly reinforced Dark Blue shield—which seemed quite shabby next to Reef’s gear. Consequently, the actual combat strength gap between them was not immediately apparent.

By this time, Ronnie had pushed aside the area obscured by the purple-plumed reeds to reveal a wooden raft. This raft appeared far simpler than Fang Senyan’s, capable of holding only three to five people, and the equipment on board was equally crude. They didn't even have cups for drinking water, resorting instead to using battered steel helmets to scoop liquid. The few knives lying on the raft were also rudimentary, uniquely shaped, clearly having been ground down from steel plates.

“He’s not alone; there must be at least a group behind him,” Vasily exclaimed excitedly. He had spotted many items tied near the raft, such as halved gourd shells and the corpses of killed creatures. There were four steel helmets used as cups on the raft, several pairs of shoes woven from grass, and two spare gas masks.

Next, they discovered a temporary camp nearby. This camp contained high-tech items: four Imperial-manufactured field sleeping bags. These sleeping bags were far more advanced than current models; they were solar-rechargeable, capable of insulating against water and heat externally, and even resisting bullet penetration. They were impervious to beast attacks. Once zipped up, they would automatically inflate, dehumidify, and regulate temperature.

Naturally, these sleeping bags were standard issue on the exploration vessel, and every member of Fang Senyan’s group possessed one. In the camp, there were still embers of a bonfire, and beside them lay the carcasses of strange animals, some of which had already been skinned and smoked.

It was clear that this group operated as four individuals who came here for hunting. Three had gone out hunting while one remained to guard the camp. It was presumed that due to a lack of salt, they were simply cutting and smoking the game here for preservation. They had likely visited this area for the first time to hunt and had not anticipated attracting terrifying monsters like the Slathrath race.

“Hahaha!” Ronnie suddenly burst into wild laughter. Everyone thought he had gone mad, but he carefully took a stone from one of the sleeping bags and held it in his palm as if it were a priceless treasure. Though only the size of a coconut, the stone’s surface shimmered with a familiar gray luminescence. Simply by looking, one could tell this item was unquestionably a high-purity Thorium element ore!

As a side note, once extracted, high-purity Thorium element is almost gaseous, resembling cotton. It seemed the previous sample Paul and the others obtained was already highly compressed, similar to Thorium crystal, possessing high density.

Since Ronnie’s fragmentation and purification device had been regrettably taken by Fang Senyan, he had to borrow Hedikuri’s. Upon testing, the ore registered an astonishing content of 13.7%!! This rate essentially broke the record for the highest known purity of Thorium ore. Ronnie immediately initiated refinement and managed to compress a small piece of Thorium crystal, about the size of a fingernail, making him ecstatic.

This discovery immediately ignited excitement within nearly everyone, reinforcing their belief that the survivors who had entered the planet Epross before them must possess intelligence regarding immense quantities of Thorium ore. Even Fang Senyan was convinced. After all, a confluence of coincidences created seemingly irrefutable evidence that was hard to doubt. What they didn’t know was that the Thorium element inherently possesses a tranquilizing effect on the mind. This particular high-purity ore had been found by a survivor purely by chance, who felt that sleeping with the stone next to his pillow greatly helped restore fatigue…

The group deliberated and, seeing that night was approaching and unaware of where the hunters might have gone, decided to wait there for the survivors to return. However, as the sun dipped below the horizon, there was still no sign of them.

An ominous premonition surfaced in everyone’s minds. Hedikuri was the first to speak, his face grim:

“What if these guys were hunting here for the first time? Do you think something happened to them?”

Dardanyan nodded seriously:

“Highly possible.”

“Those fools…” Aziza also frowned. “No, we can’t just wait here. We have to actively track them. If those three are all dead, the trail ends here!”

“But how do we track them?” Ronnie asked helplessly. “This entire area is swamp; tracking footprints is impossible. And they left this morning, at least nine hours ago. Scent tracking is even less realistic.”