Chapter 13: The Detection Faction

Li Rui gazed steadily at the pure white city across the grassland, his brows slowly knitting together.

The strip of grassland no more than a hundred meters wide between the forest and the pristine city did little to block sound. If there were people living within the city, he should be able to hear some of the inevitable noises of daily life.

The dirt path cutting through the grass was clearly well-trodden and compacted, showing signs of frequent passage in recent months. This meant the city had seen activity not long ago; otherwise, wild grass would have long since swallowed the trail.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Li Rui’s mind.

“Could it be... that the city is currently plagued by an epidemic?!”

A sprawling city that had been recently inhabited—evidenced by the maintained paths outside—falling into a deathly silence was a bizarre phenomenon only explainable by a terrible contagion.

The moment the thought arose, Li Rui instinctively took a few steps back, increasing the distance between himself and the white city.

Had it not been necessary to detour south and cross this hundred-meter-wide grassland, he might have already turned tail and fled deep into the forest.

As he pondered staying as far away from the city as possible for the night, avoiding even lighting a fire to not attract attention, a deep voice suddenly called from behind him.

“Hey! Friend over there!”

Startled, Li Rui whipped his head around to see a small party of four adventurers standing just a dozen meters away.

With a swift motion, he drew his rusty sword and quickly tossed the skull lantern that had been hanging in front of him onto the ground, hiding it beneath the dense bushes.

Although eager to return to a town and the safety of crowds, Li Rui could not afford to relax upon seeing these strangers—instead, his guard tightened to the utmost.

In such a remote place, encountering adventurers was not necessarily a blessing; desperate adventurers could easily turn into bandits at a moment’s notice.

Fortunately, these four gave no sign of ill intent. They halted several meters away, maintaining a respectful distance from the thin veil of mist surrounding Li Rui.

“Relax, relax, friend,” one of them said, stepping forward with a wooden staff in hand. “We’re here on an investigation. Do you know anything about this suddenly appeared city?”

He gestured at the white city beside them as he spoke.

Li Rui, wary of the city, shook his head. “I haven’t been inside, but look at these dirt paths on the grassland outside the city. Someone has definitely been here in the last few months, yet it’s eerily silent within. So I suspect there’s an epidemic inside.”

His accent was strange. Though he had learned the common tongue’s vocabulary through his memory skill, this was the first time he had spoken such a long sentence in it.

The four adventurers clearly noticed he was not a local, but they paid no mind.

“An epidemic!” They exchanged looks, all nodding in agreement. “Yeah, that sounds exactly like an epidemic.”

The man with the staff smiled at Li Rui. “Thanks for the information. We caught a bunch of rabbits this morning; here, one’s for you.”

He pulled a dead rabbit from behind his waist and tossed it toward Li Rui.

Li Rui stepped back as the rabbit arced through the air.

With a soft thud, the rabbit hit the ground, shattering the moment’s brief harmony like a sharp blade.

A muscular man wielding a double-handed axe gave the staff-bearer a teasing smile. “Looks like someone didn’t want your kindness, Paul.”

Paul shrugged and turned away. “We’re a group. It’s normal for him to be cautious.”

Li Rui knelt down and used the tip of his rusty sword to flip the rabbit onto its other side. He cautiously approached and inspected it for several seconds. Finding nothing wrong, he picked it up, fanned it gently, and sniffed the air to confirm the rabbit was safe.

“Hey!” he suddenly called to the adventurers’ backs.

They turned around, looking at him with curiosity. “What is it?”

“Are you planning to leave the forest soon, or stay here longer?”

Unexpectedly, the four visibly tensed at his question.

One of them, an archer, immediately drew his bow slightly, aiming the arrow at the ground between Li Rui and himself at a forty-five-degree angle.

From this stance, he could shoot Li Rui’s head in a blink—there was nothing in the thin mist to obscure his sight.

“Wait, Kate,” Paul said, placing his hand on the archer’s bow. “Let’s hear what he has to say first.”

Seeing their reaction, Li Rui’s heart sank.

Though he had the memory of the common tongue, he had no experience as an adventurer in this world.

In his haste to speak, he had overlooked an unspoken rule among adventurers: “Don’t appear overly friendly to strangers in the wild, and definitely don’t ask too many questions or talk at length.”

It was easy to understand why—when encountering an overly friendly stranger in the wilderness, suspicion naturally arises. Even in towns, people are wary of those who pry and ask too much.

Quickly, Li Rui explained, “I’m lost, and I have no companions. If you’re leaving the forest soon, could I come along? Don’t worry, I’ll keep my distance.”

Before he finished, the archer Kate firmly rejected, “No.”

The other two, a sword-and-shield bearer and the muscular axe-wielder, looked to Paul silently.

Apparently, Paul was the leader.

Seeing their response, Kate frowned in displeasure and glared at Li Rui with sharp disdain.

To her, Li Rui was worthless—a burden who would only distract her and cost her gold in the long run.

Paul studied Li Rui carefully, thinking for a moment before speaking. “We are indeed planning to leave the forest soon. It’s not impossible for you to come with us... but first, I need to use ‘Detect Alignment’ on you. Do you consent?”