052 Marti Piranhas!

The Elven Rogue took a full twenty minutes to return from below. Upon emerging, drenched in sweat, he reported, "The path below is lined with traps and is extremely dangerous. I barely made it to the end."

"What is at the end?" Atlas asked quickly.

"A teleportation array. I don't know where it leads." The Elven Rogue had originally hoped to find a treasure vault, never expecting to find only a portal, which likely led to the actual treasure site. Considering how treacherous the traps outside were, he reasoned it would be even worse further in, so he simply turned back.

"Precise coordinates," the Elven Druid Gwen demanded immediately. As long as she had the coordinates, she could transport others there.

After obtaining the coordinates, Gwen opened a spatial gate, and the group rushed through. Once inside, Stan opened a portal to pull Gwen through. Thus, everyone gathered in front of the blue teleportation array, bypassing the trap-filled corridor.

"Elven Tank, go in and report the situation! I'll add ten team points to your tally." Atlas, of course, would not be the first to enter; it would be a disaster to trigger a boss or a lethal trap upon arrival.

In Atlas's team, being a second-tier member meant being cannon fodder. He used them as expendable assets, pushing them to the front whenever there was danger. The Elven Rogue earlier and the Elven Warrior now were both being sent to their potential deaths. Without real skills, one should never join his team as a second-tier member, or they wouldn't last long. As for those team points, Atlas could name any number he pleased—ten or one hundred made no difference. When a good piece of equipment dropped, if he decided it cost thousands of team points, what could you do?

Stan and Chen Feng both possessed tank talents, but they were far too clever to walk ahead and die. Atlas stopped calling on them; he knew they wouldn't budge.

The Elven Warrior, singled out by Atlas, had no choice but to bite the bullet and go, hoping nothing would happen inside. Second-tier members were meant to die, and Chen Feng couldn't be bothered to comment. Atlas had always been this way; as long as he wasn't the one dying, he was perfectly happy to have others lead the way.

"Inside is a landmass the size of a football field, surrounded by a wide river. It looks like the Matilaka River, but this small area doesn't seem visible from the outside!" the Elven Warrior reported after teleporting in.

Knowing it was safe, Atlas rushed in first, fearing someone might snatch his treasure. Before entering, Chen Feng turned to the Elven Rogue and said, "Use Stealth and Hide to keep watch here. I'm worried someone might follow us. When the time comes, I’ll tell Atlas to give you thirty team points. Anything good we find inside, you'll definitely get a share."

The Elven Rogue had originally wanted to go in, but he frowned when Chen Feng saddled him with guard duty. Still, he had no choice; the others were first-tier members, and as a newcomer, he had to be obedient. Besides, with Gwen and the others inside, he wasn't worried about missing out on the loot.

Upon teleporting onto the football-field-sized landmass, they found a river of endless width outside, its surface swathed in thick mist. It was hard to see clearly across the water—what kind of treasure could exist in such an environment?

"This is the heart of the Matilaka Forest," Gwen realized. She had been to the center before, but the mist was too dense, and the water was teeming with high-level Mati piranhas, making it impossible to traverse. She had even tried transforming into a falcon to fly in, but she could never find the path, always flying right back out.

The heart of the forest?

Atlas scanned the area and said, "Everyone, split up and see what you can find. Be careful."

Others began to walk outward to investigate, but Chen Feng, Stan, and Atlas remained where they were. In unknown territory, it was best not to act rashly; let others take the first step. The places with the most treasure were the most dangerous, and even if someone else moved first, they wouldn't easily obtain the loot.

Gwen and her sister, Wenger, noticed the three men standing still. At first, they didn't understand, but then Gwen realized all three were stalling. She understood that these men wanted the four members of her party to serve as the vanguard. Sure enough, players who could survive until now with the Magic Rings were cautious to a fault.

"Are you three not going?" Gwen knew their intent and certainly wasn't going to let them stand there sightseeing.

"Stomach ache, going offline to relieve myself..." How could they just walk around in such a dangerous place? What if they encountered a boss? A total wipe? Atlas clutched his stomach, hopping about as if he were about to defecate.

After saying this, Atlas went offline. Stan sat down and said, "I'm gathering data on the Matilaka Forest. Several friends have quests related to this area, and they might be connected."

"And you?" With both of them having excuses, the beautiful Gwen turned to Chen Feng, waiting for his justification.

Atlas had used the "nature's call" trump card, and Stan had used the "professional analysis" excuse. What else was there? Making excuses wasn't Chen Feng's specialty. He thought for a moment and smiled, "I'm staying here... to protect Stan, and also... to support the others if they get into trouble..."

Hearing such a sloppy answer, Gwen retorted, "You three are truly masters of sending others to their deaths. Are you even men?"

"Chen Feng, that excuse is too far-fetched. Get lost, don't ruin my image," Stan chided him. He knew Gwen had seen through their intentions, and Chen Feng's excuse was pathetic.

"I'm going, I'm going..." Chen Feng summoned his Dark Rhino Warrior and sent it to scout the side while he followed behind. Fearing Chen Feng would slack off, Gwen followed him.

A moment later, the Elven Priest shouted, "I found something! There seem to be treasure chests on the water..."

Hearing this, everyone gathered around. Chen Feng used the game's communication function to call Atlas: "Done with your business? Get up here. There are treasure chests, and one might be orange!"

As Chen Feng approached, he saw Atlas's avatar light up; the guy had logged back on and was heading over.

"That felt good!" Chen Feng was truly impressed by Atlas, who kept up the act even after being exposed.

Twenty meters from the land were ten oval-shaped boulders, each about two meters long, with a treasure chest sitting on top. The chests varied in color: one Dark Gold, three Silver-Flash, three Golden, two Epic, and one Orange. The more precious the chest, the further it was from the shore, with the Orange chest sitting a full forty-five meters away.

"I'll give it a try!" Gwen was excited, her eyes fixed on the distant Orange chest.

"Wait." Seeing Gwen transform into her falcon form to fly over, Atlas stopped her. "Don't be anxious. Any place with an Orange chest is exceptionally dangerous. You'll just be throwing your life away."

Gwen, in her falcon form, landed on Chen Feng's helmet. She watched as Atlas picked up a stone and threw it toward the Orange chest. Just as the stone passed a meter above the chest, a two-meter-long Mati piranha leaped from the water, snapped its bloody jaws around the stone, and fell back into the river.

Seeing such a terrifying sight, Gwen was startled. She hadn't realized the Mati piranhas were so ferocious, far stronger than the ones on the periphery. Had she flown over, she would surely have been dragged into the water and killed.

"These chests are guarded by Level 60 Mati piranhas. It's too difficult to open them." Atlas had used a scouting spell to check the boss's stats earlier. They were Level 60 Elite monsters, far beyond their current level, and they were in the water to boot.

"Gwen, open a portal and transport the Dwarf to the nearest Silver-Flash chest. Let him use his Invincibility to try opening it. If he can do it within ten seconds, we'll take them one by one. If not, we'll rethink," Chen Feng suggested.

"Doesn't that mean we can only open one chest every five minutes?" the Elven Hunter Wenger asked, finding it troublesome.

"If we can get the chests safely, I don't care if it takes five minutes or an hour!" Stan felt this was a great plan. Without Gwen's spatial abilities, it would be nearly impossible to secure the chests.

Atlas stroked his mustache and said, "Invincibility prevents damage, but the impact from the Mati piranhas might interrupt the opening process. Plus, there's a high chance I'll be knocked into the water. Who's going to save me then?"

"Dwarf, what are you afraid of? Just try it and see!" Chen Feng really wanted Atlas to test it; he wanted to know if the piranhas could actually move Atlas.

"I can't just mess around with this. What if I die?" If he died in the wild, the Magic Ring would drop. Atlas would rather skip the chests than take the risk. Since the loot had to be shared among the group, he certainly wasn't willing to take the risk alone.

"Dwarf, if you die, I'll go down and retrieve your ring! You have the Essence of the Plane, what are you afraid of?" Chen Feng was getting impatient. This damn dwarf always pushed others into danger, yet when it was his turn, he made excuses. If there were any other Paladins present, Chen Feng felt sure he would use every excuse in the book to force them to die instead.

"This method won't work, which is why I'm against it." Atlas shrugged and spread his hands. "Let's find another way! Since the chests are placed here, there must be a way to get them."

With that, Atlas threw five stones, but only three piranhas leaped out. He threw a few more, but still, only three piranhas emerged. "I think everyone knows how to open the chests now, right?"