What on Earth Happened Here

The footprints were larger than human, but it was unclear what kind of creature could have made them.

The bodies were those of monkeys, resembling golden snub-nosed monkeys!

However, they were more than three times the size of a typical monkey.

They were scattered all over, in various sizes, lying haphazardly on the ground.

At least ten of them could be counted.

Blood, brain matter, and entrails were everywhere, emitting a pungent mix of blood and visceral stench.

Of course, that wasn't the focal point. The real focus was on the five people sitting near the edge of the road on the open ground.

Four of them were spaced roughly ten meters apart.

Jesse Thompson was a given, and Bruce Roberts was as familiar with him as ever.

At that moment, Bruce had his backpack beside him, using it as a makeshift pillow while he rested.

James was also known to Bruce Roberts.

They had some acquaintanceship as members of different sports teams, often engaging in casual banter and conversation.

"My God, what happened here?"

Seeing the scene on the open ground, Cynthia Sanchez couldn't help but exclaim.

If it weren't for her black mask filtering out some of the odors, she would probably have vomited at the smell.

Cedric, being more adaptable, showed surprise but didn't make too much of a fuss.

The two groups of resting people on the open ground also turned their gaze toward Bruce Roberts.

"Bruce Roberts?"

The moment Jesse Thompson saw Bruce Roberts, he froze in place!

What in the world was going on?

Bruce Roberts shouldn't be here; he should be in the third teaching building! How did he end up here??

"Damn, Bruce Roberts?"

"Boss? What are you doing here?"

James and Ignacio were equally astonished!

Because they hadn't expected anyone besides themselves to enter this hidden realm.

And the newcomer happened to be a wealthy kid they all knew?

Bruce Roberts didn't immediately respond to Ignacio's question.

Instead, he quickly scanned the people present.James had two roommates besides Ignacio.

One was named Claude, and the other was Gene.

Both of them were heavily injured at the moment, with their arms, thighs, shoulders, and abdomens all bandaged up.

Their lips were dry and pale, indicating significant blood loss.

Because of the simple hemostasis measures, Bruce Roberts could clearly see the wounds.

Some were scratched by monkeys, while others were bitten?

Ignacio and James had also sustained some injuries, but they were much lighter than those of Claude and Gene.

"Heh, quite interesting, isn't it?"

Bruce Roberts sheathed his long sword and grinned, "To encounter familiar faces in such a desolate place?"

"Boss, how did you get in here?"

"I was just about to ask you the same question."

Bruce Roberts, along with Cynthia Sanchez and Cedric, walked to a safe distance from both groups.

"Ignacio, James, how did you guys get in here?"

"Well, it's a long story!"

James, sitting on the ground, propped up his exhausted body and said, "We were taking refuge in our dormitory. Ignacio spotted a vortex formed by a silver light at the corner of the dormitory's outer wall. 

We rushed there and touched the vortex with our hands, and then we ended up here... But we came from that direction!"

James pointed to the opposite direction from where Bruce Roberts and his group came.

Bruce Roberts glanced over and saw another path at the other end of the open ground, similar to the one they entered through.

So, this hidden realm had two entrances?

"I see," Bruce Roberts chuckled, then turned his head to the side, pretending to be surprised, "Hey, isn't that Jesse Thompson from our class? What are you doing here?"

"What's it to you? Stop being nosy."

Jesse Thompson suppressed his astonishment and hostility, replying coldly.

He never imagined that his first encounter with Bruce Roberts after being reborn would be in this secret realm.

Although he wished to tear Bruce Roberts apart, it definitely wasn't the right time.

"What's your problem?"

Hearing Jesse Thompson's unfriendly tone, Cedric, displaying the demeanor of a henchman, spoke up in defense of Bruce Roberts.

"What? You want to fight me?"Jesse Thompson glanced at Cedric, a disdainful smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

He was the protagonist, and he had been reborn.

He knew Bruce Roberts and Cedric's abilities inside out, so he wasn't afraid in the slightest when faced with Cedric's provocation.

"You..."

"Cedric, don't be impulsive!"

Clearly provoked by Jesse's disdainful expression, Cedric tightened his grip on the fire axe in his hand, ready to move forward, but was stopped by Bruce Roberts reaching out his hand.

As the antagonist, Bruce Roberts was very clear-minded.

Although Cedric's strength was not weak, and even without using superpowers with equal weapons, Bruce himself was not Cedric's match.

But he definitely couldn't beat Jesse Thompson.

Rushing in recklessly would only end up giving Jesse Thompson experience points.

Bruce Roberts thought for a moment, chose to ignore Cedric for now, and instead asked James for a brief overview of the situation.

As James explained, Bruce Roberts began to grasp the situation.

It seemed that the hidden realm indeed had two entrances?

And James and his group entered through the other entrance!

They hadn't encountered any monsters along the way, but when they arrived at this open space, they were attacked by the mutant monkeys in the surrounding trees.

These mutant monkeys were all mid-tier black iron rank!

They couldn't afford to fight, so they could only retreat towards the entrance.

They happened to run into Jesse Thompson on their way out.

The monkeys attacked indiscriminately, naturally not sparing Jesse Thompson.

Jesse Thompson didn't have time to think much; he had to consume crystal nuclei to restore his strength and help them deal with these mutant monkeys.

Bruce Roberts glanced at the other entrance to the hidden realm, where there were indeed many monkey corpses.

He nodded slightly and then continued his inquiry.

The next course of action was simpler.

After dealing with the mutant monkeys, they didn't immediately engage in battle with each other for the possible treasures inside.

After some casual discussion on how to divide the spoils, they came to this open space together and worked together to deal with the remaining monkeys.

"So, the treasure is in that cave on the mountainside?"

Bruce Roberts murmured to himself, looking at the cave entrance in the distance.The paths from the two entrances of this hidden realm were symmetrical, forming a continuous line.

On the left was a massive mountain slope, steep and without any visible paths.

On the right was the open ground.

The ground was elevated by a step's height compared to the path.

At the end of the open ground was another mountain.

On the side of this mountain, there was a huge cave entrance, over two meters tall and wide.

"Not bad!" James didn't conceal anything, "But there's a powerful monster inside. We couldn't defeat it, so we decided that one person with good stamina would lure it away while the rest go inside to retrieve the treasure!"

"But no one wants to be the bait," Bruce Roberts smirked.

Recalling the conversation he had heard earlier and hearing James' explanation now, he instantly figured out the current situation.

The treasure was inside the cave, but there was a formidable monster guarding it.

Deciding who would lure the monster and who would retrieve the treasure became the issue.

If they were all trustworthy people, there wouldn't be much to discuss.

But James and Jesse Thompson clearly didn't trust each other.

And after dealing with the minor monsters, both sides had roughly the same stamina left, leading to the current stalemate.

No one wanted to go in and lure the monster, so they were all stuck outside.

By estimating the time, it had been at least an hour since both sides arrived.

"It seems I arrived just in time," Bruce Roberts hadn't expected a hidden realm to have two entrances.

And he hadn't expected that due to the distance from the entrances and the number of monsters, James and Jesse Thompson had entered before him?

But if they hadn't retrieved the treasure yet, then he wasn't too late.

He might have even saved himself the trouble of dealing with the mutant monkeys?

With this in mind, Bruce Roberts turned his gaze back to Jesse Thompson, a playful smile curling his lips.

"Need someone to distract the monster to get the treasure? Jesse Thompson, you're all alone here, why don't you just leave?"

"Boss, don't underestimate Jesse Thompson, he's quite powerful now," Ignacio reminded promptly.

Although Ignacio's awakened abilities were good now, and he no longer considered Bruce Roberts his boss in his heart, he still needed to maintain appearances.

"Is that so?" Bruce Roberts feigned surprise.