"This is where the boss drops in!" Jessica said, her face drained of color as she looked around in despair.
She couldn't believe they had ventured so deep into Thunder Valley, right into its darkest depths!
"We're toast, totally toast!" Cain muttered, scanning the surroundings, trying to gather some last bits of information before meeting their doom. If only he could bring his phone, he'd even snap a selfie as a keepsake.
"What are you doing?" Jessica noticed Cain scribbling something on the ground with a stick and asked curiously.
"I'm writing 'Cain was here' as a memento!" Cain declared proudly.
"Hey, there's something here!" The stick hit something hard under the soft soil, hiding a secret beneath. Cain dug around with his hands and unearthed a blackened object.
"What's this?" A lump of charcoal sat in Cain's palm.
Jessica leaned in, analyzing, "Looks like it was struck by lightning?"
"It's squishy, not like wood... is this a steak?!" Cain peeled off the charred outer layer and to his surprise, found perfectly cooked beef inside.
"Smells amazing!"
The golden-brown beef emitted an enticing aroma, making Cain's Adam's apple bob as he swallowed his saliva.
Jessica frowned slightly, slightly disgusted, "You're not seriously thinking of eating that, are you?"
"I picked Chef as my life class, let me tell you, high-tier monsters are treasures all over, even a piece of meat could boost attributes!" Cain explained as he took out a silver knife and fork and cut a small piece of the meat.
After all, inside the Tower of Truth, even if you die from food poisoning, you just return to the Core City of Truth.
Cain steeled himself, closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and stuffed the meat into his mouth, chewing vigorously. "Delicious!"
"Gulp—"
The beef melted in his mouth, perfectly cooked, bursting with beefy flavor.
Cain's eyes popped open, and he exclaimed excitedly, "Holy fuck!"
Lacking a more sophisticated vocabulary, Cain could only use "Holy fuck" to express his feelings at that moment.
"What's up?"
"My Strength stat just went up by 2 points!"
Cain was beyond thrilled, his eyes burning with excitement as he looked at the beef, "This has got to be from a Battle General-level monster to have such insane effects!"
Hearing this, Jessica was initially stunned, but quickly caught on and blurted out, "This is boss meat!!"
"Who cares, let's see if there's more of this beef around!" Cain started searching around, and soon found two more steaks.
Jessica helped out, and with the assistance of her summoned beast, she also found six pieces of beef. Under the completely carbonized crust was succulent, juicy meat, and they both reaped a rich harvest.
After sweeping the battlefield, Cain divided the beef into three parts, looking at Jessica.
"This is your share."
Jessica, slightly disgusted, refused, "I'll pass, give my share to Mike."
"That's kind of awkward."
Cain put all the beef back into his backpack. He didn't want to eat things picked up from the ground, but this beef was just too incredible!
After eating it, it actually increased attributes!
After packing up the spoils, Cain finally thought of the most crucial issue, "If the boss's meat is here, where's the boss?"
"Dead!"
Jessica's face regained some color. After all, she was the granddaughter of a Battle Chief, having grown up by his side, absorbing a lot of information, her perspective far beyond Cain's.
"Look, there are a lot of broken chains in the middle of the battlefield, I guess those were all created by the rules of truth."
"Oh—"
Cain nodded slightly, making a face as if to say, "I see, I get it now!"
In fact, he didn't understand.
"Look at these marks from the lightning strike, to cause such terrifying destruction, it must have been at least a Battle Chief-level powerhouse!"
Jessica confidently stated, "The boss here was forcibly summoned, the demon god paid a huge price, but still was suppressed by the rules of truth, the boss's summoning failed, and it was annihilated by the rules of truth!"
Lightning punishment, at times, also symbolizes the power of lightning.
Battle Chief-level battle traces, definitely not something a newbie could achieve, not even Thor!
Jessica's analysis was logical and convincing.
"That makes sense, what do we do now?" Cain spread his hands.
The boss was annihilated by the rules of truth, Thunder Valley was now safe, and they hadn't found Mike.
"Let's head back the way we came, then level up."
It wasn't until this moment that Jessica finally relaxed, since the boss was dead, it also meant that Mike was no longer in danger!
"Keep the beef to yourself, don't tell anyone about it. It's hard to put a price on this stuff, just enjoy it yourself."
"Got it, got it."
Cain nodded non-stop, following Jessica back the way they came. On their way to Thunder Valley, they hadn't encountered any battles, as the monsters had fled in panic due to the boss's arrival, leaving their territories.
As they made their way out, the path remained clear. About fifteen minutes after they left, a group once again broke the silence deep within Thunder Valley. The prodigies of the Thunder Valley Squad were late to the scene.
Seeing the chaotic scene before them, murmurs of shock rippled through the crowd,
"What the heck happened here?!"
"Where did all this lava come from, and where's the boss?"
"Look, the chains of the rules of truth! Could it be..."
"..."
Among these geniuses were descendants of Battle Chiefs and Battle Lords, their backgrounds no less distinguished than Jessica's. From the various signs on the battlefield, they quickly came to the same conclusion as Jessica.
"Darn, the boss was annihilated by the rules of truth!"
"We're too late, what a pity!"
"Let's look around, see if there's anything left, even a piece of meat would be incredibly valuable!"
Filled with hope, the prodigies of the Thunder Valley Squad ended up empty-handed. Under a great sense of disappointment, they sulked around the battlefield.
"What's this?"
James bent down and noticed a line of text awkwardly written on the ground.
As he deciphered the message, his expression suddenly changed.
The ground read: [Cain was here!]
"How could Cain have been here? Wait... could it be someone with the same name?"
For a moment, countless thoughts flashed through James' mind, leaving him feeling incredibly complex.
As a prodigy, he had exerted tremendous effort, overcoming numerous barriers to finally reach the depths of Thunder Valley. Little did he know, his classmate, whom he always considered a clown, had reached the destination way earlier and even had the leisure to leave a message!
Comparing the two, was James the real clown? His emotions churned, unable to settle.
"James, what did you find?"
A call from a companion snapped James back to reality.
"Nothing, nothing at all."
Saying this, James scuffed the ground with the tip of his shoe, erasing the message Cain had left.
He rejoined the main group with a smile, showing no signs of disturbance.
Yet, in his heart, he kept repeating a name.
"Cain, Cain..."
"What secrets are you hiding, buddy?"