Inside the hotel room, Leo sat on a chair by the window, holding the stack of documents Satotz had given him.
The afternoon sunlight spilled in through the glass, casting warm spots of light upon him; the entire room was so quiet that only the swishing sound of turning pages remained.
He read very slowly and carefully.
He did not skip a single page of text, a single illustration, or a single annotation.
Time passed minute by minute.
After a long while, Leo finally put down the documents in his hands.
He rubbed his brow, leaned back against the chair, and fell into deep thought.
The information deciphered from the animal skin map exceeded his expectations.
The Gukape civilization—the civilization that built the "Eternal Chamber" Secret Realm and suddenly vanished over two thousand years ago—their place of origin was indeed not in this world.
It was in the Dark Continent.
According to the records in the documents, the ancestral land of the Gukape civilization was located deep within the Dark Continent, a land they had guarded for generations.
However, one day, disaster struck.
A Dragon.
A Dragon twenty thousand meters tall.
Leo looked at the description in the documents; even just reading the text, he could feel that despair—what was the concept of twenty thousand meters?
A creature like that could trigger earthquakes and tsunamis just by moving, not to mention launching an active attack.
Under the invasion of that Dragon, the Gukape civilization had almost no power to fight back.
Leo suspected that perhaps the Dragon was just passing by, and the Gukape civilization had suffered an undeserved calamity.
They had no choice but to flee in panic, abandoning the ancestral land they had lived in for generations, abandoning countless accumulated wealth and Legacy, and even abandoning their most important treasure.
They crossed the ocean and finally arrived at a relatively safe place—a small island in Lake Mobius.
That small island is the current human world.
The entire Yorbian Continent, Ejin Continent, Mitene Federation, Bartochia Republic, Guganyu Kingdom... all the land where humans live is just a tiny island in the lake.
This truth is enough to overturn anyone's perception.
Although the Gukape civilization fled the Dark Continent, they did not forget their homeland.
They recorded the route to the Dark Continent in detail, carving it onto this animal skin map, hoping that one day, their descendants would be able to return to their ancestral land and retrieve the Legacy treasure they couldn't take with them in time.
But the problem is—the current animal skin map does not show the complete route.
To activate the map, one needs to return to the "Eternal Chamber" Secret Realm; the altar inside that palace possesses the power to activate the map.
Leo put down the documents and looked at the sky outside the window.
Going to the Dark Continent... He shook his head.
Now is not the time.
Chairman Netero had once secretly entered the Dark Continent with Zigg Zoldyck and Linne.
Zigg Zoldyck, that was Maha's son, Zeno's father, and Sliva's grandfather.
Linne, a two-star Gourmet Hunter, the oldest Hunter in the association.
That was back when they were young; all three were powerhouses standing at the Peak at that time, joining forces to explore that unknown world.
But what was the result?
They didn't even cross the threshold before turning back.
Netero's exact words were: "Here... it's too big!"
It wasn't the danger, nor was it that the enemies were too strong, but that it was "too big."
—The plants were unimaginably huge, the creatures were too big to handle, and the whole world was so big it made people feel powerless.
Leo could not yet handle that level of existence.
"At least need to level up to Rank 90 or above."
Leo whispered to himself.
He looked down at the tattoo on the back of his hand.
[Rank: 65 (47%)]
There was still a long way to go to reach Rank 90.
He stood up, took the stack of documents to the sink, and lit a lighter.
The flame licked the paper, devouring it bit by bit.
Black ashes fell into the white porcelain basin, and were finally washed away by the water, disappearing without a trace.
All the secrets about the Dark Continent disappeared completely along with these ashes.
Leo walked to the window and pushed it open.
Fresh air rushed in, carrying the scent of sunlight and grass.
The distant sky was blue and clear, with a few white clouds drifting leisurely by.
The weather was perfect.
He smiled, turned around, and walked out of the room.
That afternoon, Leo took an Airship and returned to the Thousand Needle Forest Valley once again.
The familiar forest, the familiar mist, the familiar roaring of beasts.
He stood at the edge of the valley, took a deep breath, and felt the rich aura of life in the air.
Hunting, continue.
Leveling up, continue.
Days passed one by one.
One month later.
Southern Ejin Continent, Wusong Town.
This was a town with distinct characteristics, named after the fog pines that covered the town and its surroundings.
A young man with a shoulder bag and two thick eyebrows stood at the entrance of the town, looking at the scenery ahead with a satisfied smile on his face.
It was Goreinu.
"Wusong Town."
He said softly.
"This is the last stop."
He walked into the town and quickly blended into the picturesque scenery.
No one noticed that deep in the fog pine forest south of Wusong Town, inside a hidden cave, the air was undergoing a strange change.
Ripples.
Just like a stone being thrown into water, visible ripples appeared in the air.
The ripples became more and more intense, and finally—a light gate slowly emerged.
From the light gate, three figures walked out one after another.
The leader was Layard, still wearing that black leather jacket, with a cold, sinister smile on his face.
Following behind him were three men.
One was shirtless, revealing a body covered in hideous scars.
His long hair was disheveled, his eyes were sinister, and he exuded a dangerous aura—Ian Horrit.
One was short in stature, wearing a grey cloak, his face hidden in the shadow of the hood, revealing only a pale chin—Zachary.
Another wore gold-rimmed glasses and a neat grey suit, looking like a refined scholar.
But in the eyes behind those lenses, a cold light that completely contradicted his appearance flickered—Killian.
The four of them walked out of the light gate and stood in the cave.
Layard looked around, confirmed that everything was normal, and turned to say to the two: "Since everything is settled, I'll be leaving first. You handle the follow-up matters yourselves."
Just as he was about to leave, Ian spoke up.
"Wait."
Layard stopped and looked back at him.
Ian leaned against the rock wall, his tone lazy but filled with dissatisfaction.
"There are too few creatures in this Secret Realm. If the higher-ups see this, they won't be satisfied."
Killian pushed up his glasses and said calmly.
"That's easy to fix."
He looked in the direction outside the cave.
"There is a Wusong Town nearby with quite a population. We just need to lure them over."
Zachary stood silently to the side, with no sense of presence.
Layard shrugged, looking indifferent.
"I'm just here to assist you. You decide the specifics of how to do it."
Ian grinned, the smile full of cruelty.
"Then that's what we'll do."
Layard said nothing more, turned, walked out of the cave, and quickly disappeared into the fog pine forest.
Ian and Killian looked at each other and also walked out of the cave.
Zachary followed silently behind the two.
The light gate slowly dissipated.
The cave returned to peace, as if nothing had ever happened.
But deep in the Secret Realm, inside an ancient ruin, a huge metal cage trembled slightly.
Inside the cage, in the darkness, something opened its eyes.