At the edge of the plains, beside a patch of woods, stood the ruins of an ancient building, completely out of place with its surroundings.
Qin Ziwen had the Beaked Eagle land.
The Beaked Eagle flapped its wings, scaring away a small snake from the nearby grass.
Up close, Qin Ziwen saw that the cluster of buildings was quite orderly and perfectly square, like a neatly sliced cake.
The taller of the remaining structures still had walls standing three or four stories high, while the shorter ones had devolved into weed-choked ruins, their original forms almost completely obscured.
The walls were also covered in vines.
Qin Ziwen went inside and searched around, but he found nothing of value.
Decades, at the very least, had passed here.
Many items had rotted away and been picked over by countless animals. In a few more decades, this place would likely be completely swallowed by nature.
This place was likely a relic left behind by those who ca before him.
Climbing back onto the Beaked Eagle’s back, Qin Ziwen said, "Let’s go."
Waves of grass rolled like a sea of jade.
Herds of wild horses, zebras, prides of lions, and packs of hyenas road the grasslands and stalked the riverbanks.
The river flowing from the valley stretched on across the plains, finally converging into a massive lake dozens of miles away.
On both banks of the lake, in the sparse woods, massive beasts of various shapes were gnawing on trees or plants.
The land around this lakeside grassland was extrely fertile and lush with vegetation, giving rise to a rich and diverse ecosystem.
By the lake, a saw-toothed elephant was strolling along the bank, sucking up water with its long trunk, then raising it high and spraying it out.
The saw-toothed elephant let out an excited trumpet.
’Open spaces really are more suitable for large animals,’ Qin Ziwen thought. He had spotted many massive beasts here, ones that were extinct on Earth.
For example, giant rhinos, deinotheres, giant ground sloths, saber-toothed tigers, and giant hyenas...
But what drew his eye most was a black "plank" in the center of the lake, lying in the water like the board of a ship.
A closer look revealed it was no plank at all.
It was clearly a colossal crocodile, over sixteen ters long.
Compared to it, the crocodiles he’d encountered near the Gated Community seed like a clutch of hatchlings.
It floated lazily on the lake’s surface, basking in the sun. Its dark scales reflected a faint Glow in the light.
’A creature of this size could be an apex predator even on the Island map,’ Qin Ziwen thought with a flash of amazent.
He used Insight.
[Normal Sarcosuchus: ☆☆☆☆☆]
Seemingly sensing the Beaked Eagle flying overhead, the Sarcosuchus’s head lifted slightly. Then, with a flick of its tail, it subrged into the lake’s depths and swam slowly toward the shore.
Qin Ziwen looked over and saw a giant rhino slowly drinking water at the lake’s edge not far away.
It was completely unaware that beneath the surface, a thick, inky shadow was silently approaching.
The water churned violently!
The Sarcosuchus burst from the water, bit down on the giant rhino’s thigh, and began dragging it into the lake.
The giant rhino’s nearly seven-ter-long, stout body struggled ceaselessly, carving a long trench into the lakeshore.
Finally, it was dragged into the water, and the surface erupted with a mass of bubbles...
’It’s a good thing our Gated Community didn’t land in these plains.’ Qin Ziwen averted his gaze. "Keep going forward."
The Beaked Eagle continued to fly forward.
The surrounding scenery receded behind them. The plains were vast; the only landmarks were the extrely distant mountain ranges.
’Maybe it’s ti to go back,’ Qin Ziwen mused. ’It’s all grasslands out here. We’ve flown for over a hundred miles, and though the scenery has changed a little, it’s all been the sa.’
’Once we get back, I can try exploring in other directions, like upstream.’
’After flying for so long, I can be sure of one thing,’ Qin Ziwen thought. ’These ’maps’ aren’t small, separate instances. They’re part of a real world.’
’What’s that over there?’ Qin Ziwen’s gaze suddenly sharpened. He stopped the Beaked Eagle.
On the plains ahead, there was a black mass.
That black mass was completely out of place with its surroundings.
As they drew closer, Qin Ziwen’s heart leaped in surprise.
’It’s actually a small city!’
A massive walled city stood on the plains.
Inside the city, tall, straight trees grew in abundance.
Looking down from the sky, the city’s outline resembled so kind of petri dish, and in Qin Ziwen’s eyes, the large trees looked like "bean sprouts" growing inside it.
They had a strange appearance; their trunks were whitish, straight, and tall, like birch trees.
Just as Qin Ziwen was about to get closer, the sound of sothing whistling through the air ca from below.
The Beaked Eagle shot upward.
High in the air, Qin Ziwen saw several black Arrows fly out from the city, grazing past the Beaked Eagle’s body.
’There are guards.’ Qin Ziwen grew wary. He looked at the city again, examining it closely. He realized that although the city was overgrown with trees, the buildings were largely intact and didn’t look abandoned.
After thinking for a mont, Qin Ziwen patted the Beaked Eagle’s head. "Let’s go. We’ll head back for now."
’There’s sothing wrong with this place. It might not be as simple as it looks. We can’t handle this right now.’
Inside the city, behind the window of a house, two humanoid figures watched the distant Beaked Eagle and conversed in low voices.
"Moves fast."
"From another Tuiyuan?"
"Probably. A pity. If he’d gotten any closer, we would’ve been able to take him down."
"Don’t waste our shots. Cultivating the Tree Heart is our mission. But discovering a new Tuiyuan is a welco surprise. We’ll report it when the next handover team arrives."
...
On the way back, the Beaked Eagle didn’t fly directly toward the anchor point where they had arrived, but took a detour.
The round trip took half a day, bringing them back to their arrival point.
After the Beaked Eagle had recovered its stamina and rested, Qin Ziwen rode it again to investigate the northern mountain range and the river’s upper reaches.
Beyond the northern mountain range was an endless chain of mountains.
Dozens of miles upstream to the west, Qin Ziwen spotted the silhouette of a snow-capped mountain.
But it was just a glimpse; the snow-capped mountain was over thirty miles away.
The mountain was so high it pierced the sky, with the sea of clouds stopping short of its waist.
At the Beaked Eagle’s speed, a round trip would take nearly two more hours.
After so thought, Qin Ziwen decided against it and had the Beaked Eagle return to their starting point.
"How was the harvest from the altar?" Qin Ziwen asked.
"We got sothing good." Qin Ziwu handed over the haul. There were five Cards in total.
Two [Expansion Cards] Blank Expansion Card (Small), one [Building Card] Level 1 Rice Storage, one [Enhancent Card] Human Physique Enhancent Card (One Star), and one [Advanced Building Card] Level 1 Hundred Schools Book Tower.
’A new Advanced Building Card.’
Qin Ziwen took the Cards and examined them for a mont, then decided to return to his Ho first to check the effect of this new Card.
Returning to his Ho, he chose to use it.
The Hundred Schools Book Tower building had a footprint of 20x20.
’Judging by the footprint alone, this has to be the Advanced Building with the smallest area requirent I’ve ever seen.’
Without hesitation, he chose to use it.
The Card shattered, and a vast expanse of light enveloped the area before him.
When the light faded, a simple, gray-blue tower stood in its place. The tower had three stories and six sides, with eaves as straight as a ruler.
After entering, Qin Ziwen discovered that in addition to the three floors above ground, there were also three basent levels, making six floors in total.
[Level 1 Hundred Schools Book Tower: Level 2 Learning Amplification, Level 1 Inspiration Amplification, Level 1 Calming Heart and Spirit] (Special Effect: Inside the tower, you can record your mastered knowledge and skills into books.)
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