Hours later, outside the Wild Will Tribe.
It was nearing noon, the sun was bright, and dappled light filtered through the canopy of leaves, scattering onto the Rainforest floor.
However, with the God of Burning Wind's departure, it was refreshingly cool here.
"Yes, I'm sorry, I... I clearly learned how to distinguish poisonous mushrooms from Shaman Grandmother before..."
Skadi lowered her head, her face filled with remorse, and looked at her friends with a hint of embarrassment.
Everyone's faces were still flushed from the stimulating effects of the mushrooms, which had not yet faded.
Kmar and Zumama were not among them; they had originally intended to see everyone off, but after consuming the strange pink mushroom soup, they immediately burrowed next to Goki, continuously rubbing against his cool body.
Even with an antidote, these two Chieftains would take a while to recover and had to be left in the Tribe.
"It's fine, it's not your fault, Skadi. That old hag definitely put that stuff in our breakfast on purpose, wanting us to seal the deal—I don't have time for that."
Her voice slightly shy, Gavial leaned on her light green staff, nudged Goki's sturdy chest with her elbow, and stuck out her tongue at the embarrassed Old Hunter.
She knew it must have been her Shaman Grandmother, trying to push marriage as usual, who had specifically put strange pink mushrooms in their farewell meal.
"Instead, you, this guy, did you fully enjoy the blessings of having multiple women this time? Sleeping together, tsk tsk tsk, felt good, right?"
During this time, she had been offering free consultations in the Rainforest and constantly educating residents on methods to prevent oripathy. Goki, as the "Chieftain," would also help her promote and popularize relevant knowledge—in his capacity as her boyfriend.
Since it was the Chieftain, the strongest fighter, who said it, it must be right. Several Tribes in the Rainforest unhesitatingly accepted Gavial's advice. They immediately sealed off the Originium Ore mines and demanded that the Columbia company provide professional radiation-proof mining equipment, otherwise they would refuse to work.
It was simple and crude, but effective enough—the Columbians couldn't do anything to them unless they hired Blacksteel mercenaries.
In the remaining time, Gavial would take Goki and Skadi to the beautiful places she remembered, truly experiencing the beauty of the Rainforest, living a pleasant and fulfilling life.
Gavial felt genuine happiness during her time with Goki and Skadi.
No, perhaps it had little to do with Skadi, but just... because of Goki?
However, all good things must come to an end, and it was almost time for them to leave.
"Stop teasing me, hey, my arm just healed... Haha, Inam's merchant guild is very efficient."
Goki popped an antidote into his mouth, carrying his suitcase, and looked at the familiar Liberi merchant not far away, and the two old jeeps she had prepared, speaking to the girls beside him.
Inam Tribe, a small Tribe on the outskirts of the Rainforest, whose Chieftain, Inam, enjoyed trading and was the link between the Rainforest and the outside world.
From her, Goki bought the vehicles needed for their upcoming journey.
Bang.
But then, Goki's lower back was suddenly hit hard by the Little Orca beside him, making it ache.
"Ugh... Goki, can you not leave?"
Tomimi looked up at Goki with her dark golden eyes, her expression somewhat pitiful, and her tone full of reluctance.
During this time, Tomimi, who had initially rejected Goki, had grown fond of this Brother Gao Qi who had always been kind to her.
Tomimi had even begun to hope that Gavial and Goki would truly get together—that way, both of them could stay by her side.
Children, after all, hating someone or liking someone is a very simple matter.
"A thousand-mile journey must end in separation, Tomimi, we will meet again—when you grow up, you can come find me."
Goki merely patted the Little Orca's wiggling, chubby tail and scratched her nose with his finger, comforting her.
"What are your plans next?"
Looking around, Goki asked about the others' plans.
Upon hearing this, an extremely shy voice came from the air nearby, and Manticore's large tail swayed back and forth, indicating her extreme nervousness.
"I... I definitely have to return to headquarters. I have my own means of transportation. This mission's failure will surely lead to a scolding, but Mr. Goki, please rest assured, I will definitely find you again—if you need anyone assassinated or escorted, remember to contact me!"
In the past few days, Manticore, who had been thoroughly observed, had undergone a complete transformation. Her purple eyes shone brightly, she no longer walked by crouching, and her speech was no longer stuttering, even becoming somewhat fluent.
"I'm leaving! Watch me carefully until I'm out of sight!"
Under Goki's gaze, Manticore's figure suddenly became ethereal, and she quickly ran into the distance of the Rainforest.
"...This isn't the place I was looking for, but finding this laevatein and you interesting people isn't bad either—I will continue my journey, my legs are enough, take care."
Surtr carried her greatsword, her expression still exceptionally indifferent. In the past few days, she had deliberately avoided getting too close to these people. Aside from Goki, who often chatted with her, she had barely spoken to anyone else.
As for what happened this morning... it was an accident.
"Oh, right, you said there's a place called Kazdel to the northeast, and a Sarkaz organization there called Babel, right—I'll go take a look, see you again if fate wills it."
Nodding to Goki, without any lingering attachment, Surtr walked in a different direction from the others, disappearing into the dense forest.
Goki felt certain he would meet these two Young Misses again.
"Haha... Tomimi is already a reliable Chieftain. Although Kmar and Zumama plan to leave in the future, they will still stay in the Rainforest for now. With them looking out for her, I'm at ease."
Gavial slung her staff over her shoulder, walked up to Goki, reached out, and ruffled Tomimi's little head, grinning.
This Doctor Nona also planned to leave the Rainforest.
However, she would go in a different direction from Goki, parting ways and going their separate ways—she intended to go to more places with oripathy patients. Leithanien, Kazdel, all were possibilities.
"I won't regret meeting you two—this has been my best trip home, Mr. Chieftain."
Gavial extended her arm, holding it in front of Goki's chest. A hint of reluctance appeared in her golden eyes, and her pointed ears swayed up and down, as if waiting for Goki to high-five her.
"You'll be a good Doctor, Gavial. I'm also very happy to have met you and spent time with you, I'm very plea—ugh!"
Slap.
Without hesitation, Goki reached out and clapped Gavial's hand, as if they were arm wrestling.
However, the next second, a great force came from Goki's arm, leaving him momentarily stunned as Gavial pulled him forward.
"Wow—"
"Eh, eh eh?"
Amidst Tomimi's surprised and joyful shouts, and Skadi's somewhat flustered, indescribable Orca shriek, this cheerful crocodile Nona captured Goki's lips with her mouth—of course, without starting a death roll.
Smooch~~
It was a somewhat intense kiss.
After only a brief contact, Gavial pushed the stunned Goki away.
She had to admit, she had grown somewhat fond of this man, and as for the reason... even she couldn't quite pinpoint it.
But, if it was someone Gavial liked, then it must be right.
Gavial looked at the flustered Skadi nearby and winked at her.
"Help yourself, and help me protect Goki. Don't let him be snatched away by some strange woman! I'll tentatively retain my identity as the Chieftain's girlfriend—hey, Inam, you don't know what a good man you missed."
Under the sunlight, Gavial's smile was exceptionally bright.
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An oripathy infected, a primitive person of the Rainforest, no identity could stop her from liking a man she favored.
As if she had just done something insignificant, Gavial's tail wagged rapidly, and she ran into her jeep in a few quick strides, shaking her head regretfully at the Liberi woman beside her, then quickly started the car.
"Goki, don't take what I said that night as a joke. I will become a good Doctor, and you must also become a good Hunter—by that day, I hope you can beat me in arm wrestling! Then this old lady will marry you, we've made a promise!"
Before Goki and Skadi could react, she stomped on the accelerator and disappeared down the path in the Rainforest.
"Haha... she's shy. You managed to make Gavial, that crazy woman, open up. It seems I really missed a lot of interesting things."
Beside them, Inam, the leader of the Inam's merchant guild Tribe, shrugged and smiled at the two stunned Hunters.
"Ga-Ga-Goki—is this the correct way to say goodbye? Specter did this to you before, Gavial also did this to you, why didn't Kal'tsit do this?"
Apparently, Skadi completely misunderstood the meaning of kissing, and didn't even feel any threat from Gavial. She simply sat in the passenger seat, eyes wide, looking at Goki, her expression full of curiosity.
Specter seemed to have done this to Goki before she left!
"Haha... obviously not, but it doesn't matter, we have plenty of time to learn these things, let's go."
Clicking his tongue, Goki sat back in the driver's seat, suddenly unable to stop laughing.
This trip to the Rainforest... was simply too interesting!
He would remember this promise—indeed, he still needed to increase his strength first!
"Mhm mhm, I'll study hard—and I also want to become stronger. I can't have that feeling of fear again!"
The Little Orca, completely unaware that her home had been "stolen," nodded, tightened her hat, and nodded vigorously.
Facing that strange existence before, even though Skadi was strong enough, she didn't want to experience that instinctive tremor in her heart again.
"Where are we going next, Goki?"
For the Little Orca, the most exciting thing was always the next destination.
"Yes, we will all become stronger, and I will always be by your side. As for the destination..."
Skillfully shifting gears, Goki stomped on the accelerator.
He was going to the nation with the most knowledge and advanced technology in this world, to further understand this world.
Of course, he also had to continue retrieving what he had lost.
"We're going to... Columbia! We're off, Tomimi!"
"I'll come find you, Brother Gao Qi, when I grow up!"
Amidst Tomimi's tearful cries, the jeep sped out of the Rainforest.
The Hunters' hunting journey set off again towards new prey.
——————
"Nona Olivia, please wait, stop for a moment. Rhine Lab's Sargon expedition team has sent back an urgent message from the Sargon border."
In a somewhat deserted laboratory, predominantly white, filled with various instruments and test tubes.
A hurried researcher called out to a woman with short brown hair.
"What is it? Please speak. I still need to check on Eve—the experimental subject's condition."
Turning her head, this petite Liberi Operator adjusted her glasses on her nose and quickly spoke.
"No, it's a big deal, Nona Olivia—Director Parvis died during the expedition!"
Hearing her colleague's words, the woman called Olivia had the two feathers on her forehead suddenly stand upright.
"Haha... I understand."
Silence knew that Rhine Lab was about to experience another major upheaval.
———————
Underground, in the heavy tomb, with the dissipation of the God of Burning Wind's power, it was no longer scorching hot.
Soon, a withered hand gripped the edge of a heavy sarcophagus, and a figure climbed out.
The female mummy Goki had seen, in a completely unscientific phenomenon, opened her cloudy eyes and directly awoke.
"Immortals, Immortals, loyal in life, faithful in death, our army, eternal and unceasing."
The mummy stood up from the sarcophagus, emanating a faint golden glow, and her withered limbs visibly plumped up.
In less than a minute, a beautiful and valiant Kuranta warrior with black and red hair returned to her original appearance.
Her blood-red eyes were incredibly deep, indicating that she possessed Nightmare bloodline, a descendant of the iron hooves that ravaged Terra with the Great Khan a thousand years ago.
"Rise, warriors of the Emperor, we still have battles to fight, territories to expand, our great enemy has fallen into weakness, endless new worlds await us—we must prepare before the Age of Great Strife descends."
With a wave of her slender hand, the mummies in the room, lying prostrate towards the sarcophagus, also began to revive one by one, their withered bodies gradually filling out.
Subconsciously, this former Pasha reached for her waist, but found no horsewhip—she had given that item to someone else, summoning that lazy god.
"Haha... I wonder if he treated my whip well, but this time, Sargon owes you a favor."
Stepping out of the sarcophagus, this former Conqueror King, surrounded by her subordinates, walked towards the broken passage.
The Immortals, this was Sargon's greatest secret, and its final trump card.
———————
"Wow, we almost got discovered, so scary, so scary. If we were discovered, we'd definitely be killed."
"No, no, he said he wouldn't kill pretty girls. We're so pretty, as long as we beg for mercy obediently and act cute, he definitely won't kill us!"
"But that Abyssal Hunter will kill us, absolutely, I learned this word—jealousy!"
"Alright, alright, they're gone. Look, there's a super cute little girl over there. She must be very familiar with him. If we approach her, we can find more traces and learn more!"
"Yay!"
Hidden far away in the bushes, avoiding looking at that dazzling presence, trying hard to pretend to be dead, only after he left did four figures emerge.
From afar, four girls with different hair colors waved at the sobbing Tomimi.
"Hello there, little one—oh, don't cry. Salt wind is very precious and easily causes dehydration."
"Good, good, don't cry. Your brother left? It's okay, you'll definitely see him again."
"Oh right, let us sing you a song. We're best at singing—"
"We're a wandering band, touring everywhere. We're called—Sunset Fades! A cool name, right? I think so too!"
And so, following in the footsteps of that great existence, four unique and cool girls were slowly walking on the path to becoming superstars.
And the entire world was gradually deviating from its predetermined trajectory, heading in a different direction.
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