Chapter Sixty-One: The Ancient Divine Artifact—Hunter

Qin Fei fitted the newly crafted saddle onto Big Nose. It looked quite good, fitting perfectly. Not only was it aesthetically pleasing, but its design was akin to armor, covering almost every part of Big Nose’s body.

With the saddle securely fastened, Qin Fei mounted Big Nose and continued deeper along the underground river. If this Ark world operated like the game’s settings, then at the end of the cave, Qin Fei should be able to find an ancient artifact.

The ancient artifact was not a powerful weapon. Rather, it was an item required by players to summon the ultimate creature in the Ark. When the ultimate creature was defeated, the slayer would be rewarded with Tek energy, even unlocking certain Tek item crafting methods. Thus, obtaining the artifact hidden in this cave was crucial.

As they ventured deeper, the cave grew increasingly dim. Yet, judging by Big Nose’s reactions, the darkness did not seem to hinder him much.

After a while, the passage narrowed further, so much so that Big Nose’s bulk began to feel cramped. Ahead, Qin Fei saw a glow of green light. If his guess was correct, this would be the light emanating from the ancient artifact in the Ark.

He pressed forward. Suddenly, the cavern opened up into a chamber of about ten square meters. At its center stood a dazzling pedestal, upon which hovered a massive green crab claw.

The crab claw was nearly a meter tall. Qin Fei reached out and touched it, instantly stowing it away in his backpack.

[Artifact of the Hunter: The steadfast hunter never gives up before capturing his prey.]

It was the Hunter’s Artifact!

There was no description in the system interface explaining its purpose. Had another survivor found it, they likely wouldn’t know what it was for. But Qin Fei, well-versed in the storyline, understood its significance perfectly.

In the Ark game, once the Hunter, Steadfast, and Wisdom artifacts were all collected, one could summon the ultimate creature of this world—the Broodmother Spider.

Although Qin Fei was not yet strong enough to face the Broodmother, nor did he intend to confront this boss now, carrying the artifact in his backpack could do no harm.

Despite its large size, the Hunter’s Artifact was surprisingly light and would not be a burden.

With the artifact collected, the green glow in the chamber faded, plunging the room back into darkness.

Now that he had the artifact, it was best to leave quickly. The cave was home to all manner of venomous snakes and scorpions; lingering was unwise.

There was no other exit from the chamber but the passage he had entered. So Qin Fei mounted Big Nose, intending to retrace his steps to the cave’s mouth.

Big Nose had barely moved a few paces when he suddenly halted.

Could there be danger?

Qin Fei grew alert as Big Nose stopped.

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound seemed to come from something crawling across the ground.

Giant scorpions?

No, it didn’t sound like them. The dense, rapid footsteps suggested a high frequency—if it were scorpions, there would have to be dozens clustered together to make such noise.

Qin Fei shone his flashlight at the ground.

Nothing was there.

Where was the sound coming from?

As he puzzled over it, Big Nose, evidently frightened, began to retreat, backing them into the artifact chamber once more.

Under the flashlight’s beam, Qin Fei saw green slime dripping from the ceiling of the narrow passage. When it hit the ground, it sizzled audibly.

Clearly, the slime was highly corrosive.

Tracing the source upward, Qin Fei shone his light toward the ceiling...

There, clinging to the cave’s roof, were two ancient millipedes, each over two meters long!

The ancient millipede was a reptile resembling a centipede, but with a hard shell on its back.

Upon seeing them, Qin Fei’s muscles instinctively tensed. The creatures were repulsive, their appearance even more terrifying than the giant scorpions and spiders he had previously encountered.

He could feel his heart pounding.

Exposed to the flashlight’s beam, the two ancient millipedes immediately retreated.

Qin Fei pondered—could they be afraid of light?

No matter, he raised his shotgun and fired twice at the millipedes’ shells.

Though their exoskeletons looked tough, the lead shot pierced them instantly. Thick yellow fluid oozed from the wounds.

It seemed gunfire was especially effective against them.

Each millipede took a hit, emitting a hissing cry from their jaws, then turned and vanished into the cracks in the wall, hiding from sight.

Unable to locate them, Qin Fei dared not venture out.

From Big Nose’s behavior, Qin Fei knew that the creatures of Ark possessed considerable intelligence. The millipedes were likely lurking in the shadows, waiting to ambush him as he tried to leave.

The passage was so narrow, Qin Fei would have no room to dodge their attacks.

With no alternative, he could only clutch his shotgun and remain in the artifact chamber, locked in a stalemate with the millipedes.

To prevent them from tunneling through the walls and launching a surprise attack, Qin Fei took the Hunter’s Artifact from his backpack and placed it back on the pedestal.

Immediately, the chamber was flooded with light once again.

Earlier, the millipedes had avoided the flashlight’s beam, suggesting they feared light. Thus, by using the artifact’s illumination, he hoped to deter them from sneaking in.

Qin Fei waited in the cave for a long time.

Occasionally, hissing sounds echoed from the walls, confirming that the millipedes were still nearby, lurking.

This couldn’t go on. He took two pieces of dried meat from his backpack and tossed them out.

Qin Fei wanted to see if he could use the meat as bait to lure the millipedes out.

Big Nose, clever as ever, understood Qin Fei’s intent and did not rush to snatch the meat.

After some time, the millipedes remained hidden in the walls, refusing to emerge.

Qin Fei grew anxious.

The creatures on this island were truly intelligent. Such simple tricks were easily seen through and proved useless.

...

Outside the cave, voices drifted in.

“There’s green light in there!”

“Why did you stop?”

“You go first...”

“Why should I? You go first...”

The conversation was distant, muffled, but sounded like two men arguing.

Qin Fei thought for a moment, then led Big Nose to a corner of the artifact chamber and crouched behind him.

He moved carefully, making as little noise as possible.

Once settled, Qin Fei raised his shotgun, aiming it at the entrance to the chamber.