Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 196 - 51 Guesses Outside Raccoon Valley_1

Chapter 196: Chapter 51 Guesses Outside Raccoon Valley_1

Chapter 51: Speculations outside Raccoon Valley

(263 ... 084 ... 458 ... friends who want to join our group, please do so. PS. Passing friends, please favourite and recommend, your support is my greatest motivation. Also, please give me some suggestions, thanks. PS2: The title has been changed, please refer to the relevant sections of this work).

For adventurers living in the wilderness, it is quite unusual to set up camp at noon in an open field. In the entire Yarran World, probably only in Shining Forest where this is seen as the norm.

The campsite was backed by a forest and faced a canyon. It was located on the bare ground outside the canyon where no vegetation grew, in a circle with a radius of five meters. Due to the strong winds at the mouth of the canyon, tents had to be set up within the camp, rather than sleeping in sleeping bags as is usually the case.

No fire was lit in the camp, and no food was cooked. After setting up a concealment barrier, everyone just gathered together and hastily finished the food they had brought with them. This was not because of the scene they had just witnessed in the canyon. Although they had just walked through a pile of rotting flesh, it wasn’t enough to affect the appetites of these seasoned professionals. Mostly it was because they were nearing their target location and needed to maintain maximum caution and concealment.

"Pannis, stop eating." Catherine watched Pannis reclining on his backpack, leisurely popping various wild fruits into his mouth without any intention of discussing serious matter, so she couldn’t help but say grumpily: "It’s been an hour and you haven’t stopped yet."

"Hmm, hmm..." Pannis mumbled a few unclear sounds, quickly swallowed the wild fruits in his mouth, and wiped his mouth carelessly: "Maintaining a good appetite is the key to maintaining a good mood, and maintaining a good mood is the key to a long and healthy life."

"Cut the crap." Catherine glared at him and threw her handkerchief at him, "You said earlier that you had roughly guessed their location?"

"Pretty much." Pannis took the handkerchief and wiped his hands, completely ignoring the jealous gaze of Dora in the corner: "When I saw those carcasses of magical beasts, I guessed a general idea."

"I see." Catherine, playfully twirling the black hair dangling before her chest, followed Pannis’s train of thought, after recalling for a moment, her eyes lit up and she pointed at the sky: "Over there?"

"Smart." Pannis snapped his fingers and praised: "Yes, it’s up there. Just now, I looked at the carcasses and noticed that most of the larger bones had marks of severe impact with some even having cracks. Obviously, those bones were dropped from a height, and the heavier bones left such impact marks."

Catherine turned around, raised her head under the sunlight and looked at the cliffs about a hundred meters high on both sides. Above the cliffs was a forest full of verdant trees, but not as dense as other places in the Shining Forest.

"The location up there is pretty suitable." Catherine nodded, unconsciously fiddling with the fragments of stones on the ground: "The woods there are sparse and suitable for human activities, but how can they ensure they won’t be discovered by adventurers passing by?"

"They don’t have to ensure that." Lina’s voice came from the side. In the centre of the camp, Lina laid a clean cloth on a flat ground with a stone on the cloth. She sat neatly in front of the stone, her posture was precise and impeccable, every movement was without fault. In front of her, her lunch was laid out. It was the only meal that wasn’t finished among the ten people. The simple lunch was placed in a simple dish. Although the three sets of utensils on both sides of the dish were completely useless, they were all neatly arranged. Their positions were consistent with the most traditional requirements at a noble banquet, as if measured with a ruler. At this time, Lina finally finished her long lunch. She elegantly put down her utensils and gently wiped the corner of her mouth. She spoke with a serious but rigid tone: "They don’t need to make sure they aren’t discovered, because they aren’t there at all."

"Hey, who are you this time?" Dora, who had gotten used to Lina’s strange changes these days, asked in the way the adventure team members interacted: "Why do you remind me so much of my great-grandmother who passed away many years ago?"

"Jane, Jane Mapple from the corpse in the library." Lina maintained a calm expression, nodded slighty at Dora, the curve of her jaw moving almost the same every time. Every word she spoke seemed to be carefully considered. It wouldn’t offend anyone listening, but it wouldn’t make them feel close either: "Nice to meet you, Miss Dora, you may call me Lina."

Catherine pushed away the flabbergasted Dora and asked Lina as usual: "They aren’t there? I don’t understand what you mean."

"It’s simple, dear sister." Lina’s attitude towards Catherine was clearly different than towards Dora. Her tone was still serious and old-fashioned, but the subtle aloofness was amazingly gone: "Nobody would want to see a dirty and smelly garbage dump at their doorstep. Even thieves, being normal creatures, surely wouldn’t want to live in such an environment. Therefore, their camp must be a certain distance from here. However, considering the convenience of processing prey and the portability of meat and hides after processing, their camp can’t be too far away. After all, not every cook is willing to travel a few kilometers to process ingredients. Therefore, taking the slaughterhouse as the center, and about two kilometers as the radius, searching this circular area should yield some results. According to our speculation, they shouldn’t be in a cave, because the terrain here shouldn’t have large caves. So, they are likely in a very concealed place like a valley or a basin. This area should have one or two secluded trails leading to the outside world to ensure they’re not easily discovered."

"Uh, Lina," Catherine looked at Lina with a weird gaze. Even though it made no sense, she still whispered, "Can you tell me what Miss Mapple used to do?"

"I’m a very ordinary old woman." Lina responded to Catherine’s question without any emotional fluctuation, simply saying: "My main job is a seamstress, which is, knitting and sewing."

"And your secondary job?" Catherine asked further.

Lina fell silent for a few seconds, maintaining her tone as she replied, "Occasionally, I cooperate with the security teams of nearby cities to help them investigate some vicious murder cases. Of course, it’s only theoretical assistance."

"Alright, alright, I get it." Catherine nodded wearily, "So you’re saying you specialize in this, and your conclusions are based on evidence. At least you have a certain degree of certainty, and you’re not just making wild guesses."

"Yes." Lina admitted matter-of-factly, "At least I’m eighty percent sure."

"I agree." Pannis added from the side, "This is the most likely conclusion."

"Then, Mr. Elrad." Catherine asked, "Are there similar places nearby?"

"Indeed, there are." Elrad recalled for a moment, gave a nod of appreciation to Lina, and then answered, "The terrain is almost identical to what Miss Lina described, and it is located about a kilometer and a half away from here."

"What’s the situation inside the valley?" Catherine continued, "Are there any woods? How about the distribution of magical beasts?"

"It’s a valley, about thirty to forty thousand square meters in size, which probably was a lake thousands of years ago, but it dried up for some unknown reason. However, the soil there is very peculiar; perhaps due to the underground minerals, the land is very salty and completely unsuitable for plant growth. No matter what, it cannot be changed, so it has not been swallowed by the forest." Elrad described in detail, "So it’s almost the same as this canyon, there aren’t many magical beasts there, relatively safer. The entrance to it requires passing through a very narrow mountain crevice. The crevice is very concealed, and the valley is surrounded by steep mountains on all sides. So not many people would climb up and look down, hence it is rarely discovered."

"Excellent." Catherine clapped her hands, "Then let’s get some rest quickly. Once the lights are on at night, Elrad, you can lead us over to have a look at the situation. Then we can decide whether or not to go back and assemble the team. Hopefully, we won’t need to do it."

"Heh, there’s a good chance we won’t." Pannis sighed, "Let’s rest, we can figure out the specifics once we get there."

"Wait a minute, Pannis." Elrad stopped Pannis, "When we were running away just now, you said that once this task is over, you want me to take you to another place? We have some free time now, so why don’t you tell me where it is?"

"The location is a bit difficult to find. Take a look at this." Catherine walked over, took out an extremely well-protected old map from her pocket, carefully unfurled it, and was about to open her mouth when Pannis preempted her, "Our goal is to find the warehouse of a very old country, can you help us find it?"

Elrad glanced at the map, his face suddenly changed, and after a few adjustments, he took a deep breath before his tone returned to the indifferent one he’d had when they’d first met, "A warehouse? From here, it’s another seven to ten days’ journey, almost reaching the center of the Shining Forest. It’s extremely dangerous there. Why would any nation build a warehouse there? I wonder if it’s really a warehouse."

"It is indeed a warehouse." Pannis shrugged, suppressing Catherine’s query with a glance, "As for what it stores, we can’t say at the moment. We want to find it, do you know the place?"

Huh." Elrad heaved a heavy sigh, "I don’t care, I charge for leading the way. What you’re looking for has nothing to do with me. I know the location marked on the map, but the area is vast. I can’t guarantee I’ll find your so-called warehouse."

"That’s okay." Pannis replied, "As long as we get close, we have other methods."

"That’s fine, then." Elrad replied indifferently, "I’m tired. I’m going to rest."

"Pannis, why did you..." Catherine quietly tugged at Pannis’s sleeve after Elrad left.

"Don’t ask now, we’ll talk later. Trust me." Pannis squeezed Catherine’s arm and turned to Dora, "Didn’t you say you’d receive a prompt when we get close to the target? How’s that going now?"

"Nothing at all." Dora shook her head, "Maybe it’s just as we guessed."

"Well, then." Pannis spread his hands, "We’ll talk more at night. Be on guard, haha."