"That looks awfully suspicious."

Even after a full minute of staring at the shiny plant, team Champion still did not move an inch from their position as they just continued to look at each other. They had spent almost an hour trying to find whatever treasure this Rupture has, but now that it was presented to them in plain sight, they started hesitating.

"Jia Su, what kind of plant is it?" Yun Hao then said as he looked at Jia Su, who was already fiddling with his phone.

"It's a Glass Moringa plant, one of the main ingredients for High-quality Recovery Pills such as...

...a Phoenix Pill."

"...That can't be a coincidence, right?" Jia Ning blinked a couple of times as she looked at Yun Hao, who also had the same expression. He was asked by the Song family to participate in this Treasure Hunt as a way to repay the Phoenix Pill that was used on him, is it possible they already knew what treasure this Rupture had?

"Doesn't matter, it's right there," Sun Fang said as he squinted his eyes, "Why don't you go and grab it, Yun Hao?"

"Are you kidding? It looks like something will pop up and kill us," Yun Hao quickly waved his hand, "Jia Su, does it say somewhere there if the plant is poisonous or something? The grass around it is dead."

"Hm," Jia Su dragged his fingers at blinding speed as his eyes scanned his phone, and after a few seconds of doing this, his eyebrows started to furrow, "...Shit."

"What, what is it!?" The rest of the group could not help but lean in closer as they heard Jia Su curse.

"Shit, it grows on shit," Jia Su repeated, "The reason for the fauna around it dying is because the feces is toxic, but for the Glass Moringa, it acts as a sort of fertilizer. It's developed inside the beast's stomach, an accumulation of a unique collection of plants eaten by the beast and then... released."

"That's highly detailed," Yun Hao blinked a couple of times. It basically shits gold, doesn't it? Somehow similar to him in some aspect.

"..." Yun Hao quickly shook his head from the thoughts he was having as he focused on Jia Su, "What kind of beast are we talking about here, the grey-claw moles from earlier?"

"No," Jia Su took in a gulp as he looked Yun Hao straight in the eyes, "It's--"

"It's there! We found it!"

Before Jia Su could finish his revelation, one of the groups that joined the Treasure Hunt suddenly appeared at the other side of the clearing. But unlike team Champion, the group quickly rushed towards the Glass Moringa.

Yun Hao was going to warn them at first that there might be danger, but in the end, he chose not to do so. He only let out a long and deep breath as he watched the group continue to make their way to the shiny plant.

He had seen how the other groups died as soon as they jumped inside the Rupture-- he will make sure that he and his group will not suffer the same fate. It might be cruel, but more and more, Yun Hao was starting to learn what it means to be a cultivator in the bigger picture of the world.

Back in the Safe Zones, cultivators were treated with respect and fear. But the Danger Zone doesn't care about any of that. Out here, amongst the beasts, some of them were just normal people.

The others, who saw Yun Hao wasn't doing anything, just nodded their heads as they understood what he meant by his silence. If there truly was a beast nearby, then they were letting these people die.

"What kind of beast is it, Jia Su?" Yun Hao then whispered as he watched the other team starting to celebrate as they surrounded the Glass Moringa.

"It's... probably the apex predator in this Rupture," Jia Su let out a long and deep sigh as he shook his head, "It's an Earth Gorilla, and like the grey-claw moles, they are also categorized as Level 3."

"...Only at level 3? How is it the apex?" Jia Ning blinked a couple of times, "Even Yun Hao almost defeated the grey-claw earlier."

"Yun Hao is abnormal."

"No, I barely even damaged it," Yun Hao let out a sigh, "If it wasn't for the giant ants, I doubt I could've won in the end. But still, your sister has a point… how is it the apex when it's just at the same level as the moles earlier?"

"Because they are herbivores. They also don't attack humans, even if they are in their territory," Jia Su said.

"What!? Then we should have grabbed the stupid plant!" Sun Fang hollered. He was about to rush out of the trees they were hiding behind, but Jia Su stopped him.

"They are not territorial, but if you move something that belongs to them… that's a different story."

"...Even their shit?"

"Even more so their shit."

"...Oh shit."

Team Champion all slowly turned their heads back to the other team, who were now storing the Glass Moringa in their bag, cheering and jumping around as they cheered while covered in the Earth Gorilla's shit.

"If the Earth Gorilla and the grey-claw mole were to fight, how long would the fight last?"

"I… don't know. But it says here that Earth Gorillas specialize in--"

Before Jia Su could finish his words, a loud thundering noise quaked the ground beneath them. They did not have to look for the source, however, as the giant boulder that suddenly mowed down half the team that grabbed the shiny plant was hard not to notice.

"I take it, it throws rocks?" Yun Hao muttered monotonously.

"As the name suggests, it has the ability to control earth," Jia Su answered.

And soon, the Earth Gorilla showed itself. It landed right in front of the members of the other team that was still alive, thumping its chest while it roared, its saliva showering everywhere.

"We should go," Yun Hao said as he shook his head. At first, he thought that there would be a chance to get the plant amidst the panic. But seeing this gigantic ape towering over the cultivators, with its arms even thicker than Yun Hao, he abandoned all the ideas he had in his mind.

At least with the grey-claw moles, they were still at the same size as Yun Hao and he still had the stupidity to rumble with it, but this one? Its sheer size made Yun Hao's confidence fall down to zero.

"W… wait," but before the group could leave, Jia Ning let out a quiet holler as she pointed towards something, "That's… that's the bag."

The bag where the other team stored the plant was completely intact. And it would seem that due to the force of the giant boulder, it was thrown near team Champion's location.

"..."

"...You know that's how people die in movies, right?" Sun Fang whispered.

"But it's so near."

"Stop being stupid, let's go," Yun Hao let out a short sigh. Although he would lie if he said he wasn't tempted to just grab it, but with the distance, he reckoned the gorilla would notice them before they could even run.

"...I think I can make it."

But out of nowhere, Jia Su stood up as his eyes locked on the bag, "I am confident with the speed of my legs… I… I can make it. I just need a boost from Sun Fang's wind arts."

"What? No way, it's not worth risking your life for," Sun Fang quickly waved his hands as he stepped away, "This is stupid."

"I agree with the woman-beater, let's go," Yun Hao also stepped back, "We should just go, there might be another treasure lying randomly around somewhere."

"No," Jia Su then gently removed the camera attached to his torso, "I can make it."

"B… brother, you should listen to the others," Jia Ning let out a small stutter. If she knew his brother was going to react like this, she never would have pointed to the bag, "What's gotten into you?"

This was his chance, Jia Su thought. Since watching Yun Hao, there was this sort of passion that started to blaze inside of him. If he could become like Yun Hao, then would he also be famous?

With all of the comics he had read, he knew what his role was in the team. He was a side character, and with Yun Hao's existence, that will never change.

Out of the team, he was also the weakest one… but it doesn't mean he can't be useful. He may be a side character, but he would at least be a major one.

"Boost me, Sun Fang!"

"Fucking hell!"

Sun Fang was about to summon a gale of wind as Jia Su suddenly started to push his feet. But before Jia Su could even take 3 steps, he felt his vision suddenly turn dark. The only thing he could do while falling was look at Yun Hao, who suddenly punched him on the liver.

"W… why?"

"We still need you to get us out of here in case a rescue doesn't come," Yun Hao said before carefully lifting Jia Su on his shoulder and grabbing his camera,

"We will die without you, Jia Su. Don't do something like that ever again."-- was what Jia Su heard before he completely lost consciousness.

"Thank you, Yun Hao," Jia Ning could not help but let out a short but deep sigh as she checked on her brother, "My brother… can be difficult sometimes."

"He's a chuuni is what he is," Sun Fang shook his head.

"...A chuuni?"

"It's a… never mind, let's just go."

Sun Fang was going to explain at first, but when he realized that he was talking with Jia Ning, who was somewhat socially inept, he just shook his head, "I'll share with you the site where I watch anime illegally. Learn it yourself."

And with that, the group decided to lay low until Jia Su regained consciousness. They decided to rest a distance away from the Gorilla's vicinity, but not too far as to reach the grey-claw's territory, which could still be alive.

***

"W… what happened?"

After almost an hour, Jia Su finally woke up, only to find himself still in the Rupture. His sedated eyes traveled everywhere until it landed towards Yun Hao, who was currently digging his hands on what seemed to be the body of a grey-claw mole.

"Ah, finally, he lives."

Jia Su then felt a hard pat on his shoulder as Sun Fang sat beside him, letting out a very deep breath.

"What happened?" Jia Su repeated his question as he also saw his sister, all out of breath.

"As you can see, we killed a grey-claw mole," her sister then pointed at the corpse Yun Hao was fiddling with, before letting her body rest on the ground as she tried to catch her breath.

"You… defeated what now?"

Just what happened while he was unconscious? They defeated a grey-claw mole… without him?"

"Ah, if you're thinking what I am thinking, don't," Sun Fang once again patted Jia Su,

"Trust me… you were useful as fuck."

"..." Jia Su then looked at the sleeves of his shirt, only to see it ripped in half. Seeing this, he quickly searched for his phone to try and watch what happened while he was away.

And as soon as he watched what Yun Hao and the others did, he quickly swore to himself that he will never ever again, lose consciousness in front of them.

"You guys… I will get my revenge for this!"

"Here, there's a team here!"

And finally, after a few more minutes, members of the Confederation, as well as the cultivator in charge arrived at their location. And their eyes quickly wavered as soon as they saw the corpse of a grey-claw mole.

"You… you guys did this? How?"

"Please...

...don't ask."