Lin Chen and his group went to the scene, but Lee Zhen did not.
Right now, the hideout is full of Monster Hunters, so Lee Zhen is not worried about their safety.
He needs to stay in the city to coordinate matters.
If they really find the hideout, he can immediately lead people there.
He went to the Monster Hunter Guild branch in Black Mountain City, where the chairman is a woman named Wu Ying.
Wu Ying also knew that one of the sacrificed people was Lee Zhen’s former teammate, and since this time Black Mountain City sought help from Jiuxing City, Wu Ying agreed to change the rules and extend the time by five days.
"...I hope you can understand, we are under great pressure now; the Monster Hunters are originally quite a loose organization." Wu Ying said as she saw Lee Zhen walk in.
"I understand." Lee Zhen naturally understood her pressure, and he was very grateful for the five-day extension.
"Actually, you also understand, the probability of finding it is low. Demon Beasts are inherently sensitive, and once they escape, finding them again is as hard as reaching the sky." Wu Ying added.
Lee Zhen recalled what Lin Chen had done in the past, thought for a moment, and said:
"Perhaps... he truly can reach the sky."
Upon reaching the entrance of the Demon Beast Secret Realm, Lin Chen glanced around. This place was remote, and the surrounding environment was rather harsh, indeed fitting the setting for an entrance to a Demon Beast Secret Realm.
Lin Chen bent down, rubbed some soil from the ground, and frowned.
This soil was somewhat loose and fragmented, obviously dried and weathered after being stained with blood long ago.
"Is there something wrong?" Xia Yu asked.
"This indicates that these Blood-Sucking Beasts are very arrogant. Generally, Demon Beasts do not feed at the entrance to their Secret Realm." Lin Chen explained, "But this is also the strange point."
Huang Xiaotian was also stunned.
He had also noticed this situation before but hadn’t delved into it.
Lin Chen wandered around the area again and found that it indeed matched the activity patterns of a large number of Blood-Sucking Beasts.
"Describe the situation at that time in detail, as detailed as possible." Lin Chen asked Huang Xiaotian.
However, it was Xia Yu who replied, because after Huang Xiaotian discovered the entrance to the Secret Realm, he had gone back to bring reinforcements.
"...After Xiaotian left, we were guarding outside and didn’t dare to go in. But who would have thought that after the first wave of reinforcements arrived, the Demon Beasts suddenly swarmed out and attacked us."
Upon hearing this, Lin Chen asked, "According to the Monster Hunter Guild’s regulations, if the evaluated combat power of the opponents is too strong, you’re not supposed to guard the Secret Realm entrance."
"Right." Xia Yu said, glancing at Huang Xiaotian, who was deeply self-reproachful.
Because the strength assessment of the Beast Tide was mostly done by information-based Beastmasters, Huang Xiaotian was one of the evaluators.
"...The Beast Tide that day was not fierce; the Demon Beast Level was not higher than those that had appeared at Black Mountain City before, their quality was average, and their strength was not strong."
"Many Monster Hunter teams went to pursue, and according to the strength evaluation at the time, their strength was sufficient to handle it."
"But the Demon Beasts that appeared later were much stronger than those that attacked the city before."
Upon hearing Xia Yu’s words, Lin Chen closed his eyes and began to digest this information.
Huang Xiaotian’s judgment was not wrong and was cautious enough, but it was clear these Demon Beasts had concealed their strength.
"Either the smaller Demon Beasts outside were skilled in launching Beast Tides and were beaten back to their old lair."
"Or it was premeditated."
Lin Chen expressed the two possibilities.
As experienced Monster Hunters, Huang Xiaotian and his team naturally understood this point, so Lin Chen directly asked, "Which one do you judge it to be?"
"Most analysts in the city judged it to be the first." Huang Xiaotian said, "The Blood-Sucking Beast’s brains aren’t smart."
"I think it’s the second. It’s a premeditated ambush." Lin Chen said.
Huang Xiaotian and his companion were stunned, then looked at Lin Chen in disbelief.
"How did you figure that out?"
"Those blood stains just now, they indicate these Demon Beasts are arrogant, seemingly not afraid of people discovering their lair. They might even want someone to discover their lair." Lin Chen explained.
Huang Xiaotian pondered this carefully, and then was terrified by the thought.
Lin Chen’s analysis seemed closer to reality, even though it was just speculation.
Arrived at the entrance of the Secret Realm and went inside.
From here, Xia Yu had fallen unconscious, so Huang Xiaotian knew some of the situation.
"When I led the reinforcements, I saw the scene of death and injury. We drove the Demon Beasts into the Secret Realm entrance but didn’t dare pursue deeply."
"I made a second judgment at that time, realizing their strength far exceeded our expectations, so I wanted to request a second reinforcement from the city."
"That’s also why Chairman Lee came over."
"The Monster Hunters from Black Mountain City arrived first. Although they retreated quite a distance, there were always information-type Beastmasters watching instead."
"During this process, no Demon Beasts were seen coming out."
"When the main force arrived, we charged in, only to find the Secret Realm empty."
As he listened, Lin Chen continued walking inside.
This Secret Realm had lush vegetation. Riding the Gale Beast, Lin Chen flew around and found the vegetation coverage was up to ninety percent.
Huang Xiaotian also noticed this anomaly, but it wasn’t much of a concern.
The Blood-Sucking Beasts were aerial-type Demon Beasts and didn’t need to touch the ground.
Lin Chen switched to walking on the ground, but here, there were almost no traces of Demon Beast activity.
This point was very strange.
"It’s kind of like a locked room murder case..."
Lin Chen felt his brain burning.
Everything here was a bit eerie.
The murderer killed someone, escaped into this locked room, then vanished.
"Is there a second exit?" Lin Chen asked.
This seemed the most likely possibility.
But it was unlikely as well.
Firstly, it’s important to understand that many Demon Beasts can’t create spaces by themselves.
Most of them find spaces left by deceased Beastmasters, then claim them as their own, using them as lairs in the Demon Beast Secret Realm.
So usually, there would only be one entrance.
"We also had this suspicion and searched everywhere, but ultimately found nothing." Huang Xiaotian said.
Lin Chen also noticed that the Monster Hunters active here were mostly searching along the edges of the Secret Realm for other exits.
In the blink of an eye, night was approaching, and these Monster Hunters, tired after a day of searching, were preparing to retreat and rest.
Lin Chen and his group also prepared to leave, even though they were anxious. The night here was truly dangerous.
At the exit, there were also professional Monster Hunters and Spirit Beasts monitoring.
Just as they were about to leave, Xiaobai suddenly shouted.
Lin Chen and the others turned to look and saw Xiaobai using its hoof to point at the grass on the ground.
Lin Chen approached and found it to be Blood Spirit Grass.
Although Xiaobai was good at farming, it only recognized Inferior Spirit Grass and Blood Spirit Grass; knowing the latter was more valuable, it instinctively asked Lin Chen if he wanted to harvest some for sale.
Lin Chen smiled wryly. If it were before, he would have done just that.
This Blood Spirit Grass was abundant and clearly wild, making it even more expensive.
But now, Lin Chen had no mood for such things due to this urgent matter.
However, Lin Chen chose not to play the role of a killjoy "guardian." Instead, he praised Xiaobai.
Otherwise, in future encounters, Niu Niu might choose to remain silent.
Upon returning to the city, Lee Zhen brought unfavorable news: due to the lack of results over consecutive days, many Monster Hunters lodged protests.
The Black Mountain City Monster Hunter Guild, left with no choice, could only revise the notice, shortening the extended exploration time from five days to three.
"That means we have two days left."
Upon hearing this, Huang Xiaotian felt as if the sky was falling.