After the two of them walked down the path, Jian Xingyi spotted flickering lights in the distance.

After all, the Dodo Beast was a living creature—the first living creature he had ever seen—so it could be harvested for Essence Points, and might even drop items from the Livestock Zone.

Because of this, Jian Xingyi could even lead the way; all they had to do was follow the flickering light.

The Dodo Beast moved very quickly; most people would soon lose track of it, especially since the cave paths were intricate and winding. That was why few people came to fight the Dodo Beast boss here—the rewards were meager, and the effort was troublesome. Just getting there took time, and if you weren’t careful, you’d end up with nothing.

Shanhai came here because he was fast and confident, with hearing and reflexes sharper than average. And now, with Jian Xingyi by his side, it was even easier.

After chasing the Dodo Beast in circles for a while, the two finally caught up. Once they did, Jian Xingyi, relieved to stop running, was so exhausted he sat down right there to catch his breath.

“Man, it felt like I just ran an 800-meter race.”

Jian Xingyi casually handed the task over to Shanhai, who immediately fired his gun and engaged the Dodo Beast in combat.

The Dodo Beasts in Peace Mountain aren’t very large, especially the ones in the caves, but they make up for it with agility and speed.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Shanhai fired three shots in quick succession, but the Dodo Beast managed to dodge one, limping away with low health into the depths of the cave.

Jian Xingyi scrambled to his feet, and the two of them began chasing after it again.

“Over here!” Jian Xingyi led the way, panting heavily. He refused to believe they couldn’t catch up!

Whoosh—

As they chased, they passed through a transparent barrier. The moment they crossed it, all sound and traces vanished instantly.

Shanhai paused.

This area… hadn’t they been here before?

Jian Xingyi was also taken aback.

Why did it feel like they’d entered a new area?

This area felt stifling; the air didn’t circulate well, sounds didn’t carry clearly, and the surroundings were even a bit hazy.

Shanhai frowned. “I can’t pick up the Duoduo Beast’s trail anymore.”

Jian Xingyi looked around, spotted a glimmer of light, and asked, “I actually know where it is… but should we keep chasing?”

“Chase.”

They’d traveled all this way just to kill the boss and boost their affinity points, and now the boss was down to its last hit.

“Ooh!” Jian Xingyi immediately set off, “Charge!!”

After chasing through the gloomy cave for a while, the two heard movement again.

But strangely, it wasn’t the Dodo Beast—it was… a much deeper, more muffled sound?

Thud, thud, thud…!

It seemed there was a massive creature ahead.

The creature’s breathing was even clearly audible; it felt like a gigantic beast.

Jian Xingyi paused and instinctively turned to look at Shanhai.

A hint of curious combat readiness flashed in Shanhai’s eyes; after all, they had never been here before. He drew his gun, stepped in front of Jian Xingyi to shield him, and they pressed forward together.

Upon entering the next cavern, the true nature of that sound was finally revealed.

—It was a massive, infected wolf.

And Dodo the Beast was lingering by the wolf’s side, looking exactly like a fox borrowing the tiger’s might.

The massive wolf’s body was covered in sharp blue stones; infected, it looked filthy and terrifying, its gaze even more ferocious.

Upon seeing the intruders, the wolf paced back and forth as if patrolling its territory, eyeing them with a scrutinizing gaze.

Behind the wolf was a door; no one knew where it led, but the wolf seemed to be guarding whatever lay within, as it circled warily in front of it.

There must be something valuable behind that door.

Shanhai furrowed his brow slightly.

Strange—he sensed no hostility from the wolf, yet… it radiated pure fighting spirit.

The wolf seemed to be issuing a challenge, but it was a friendly one.

Shanhai raised his pistol, only to see the wolf growl furiously, its front paws scraping the ground impatiently.

Shanhai raised an eyebrow.

He understood.

He holstered his gun, pulled out a new pair of thicker gloves, and put them on, then drew his dagger and assumed a fighting stance.

Jian Xingyi, standing nearby, had figured it out too.

This wolf seemed to possess a certain intelligence; it was issuing them a challenge.

This was its territory. All the monsters here—including that Dodo Beast that was bullying others under the guise of a tiger—and all the treasure chests, such as the door behind him, belonged to it.

So if they wanted to take anything from here or harm any of the creatures here, they would have to defeat him first.

And they would have to do so in a “fair” manner, winning through genuine combat.

Jian Xingyi watched as Shanhai charged forward, engaging the wolf in close combat with nothing but a short, worn-out knife. He swallowed hard, feeling a bit nervous for himself.

This wolf looked like a tough opponent.

Although this was Peace Mountain, and in theory, there shouldn’t be any high-difficulty creatures here, the unknown depths of the cave were another matter.

“Thud!”

The wolf’s strength was incredible; it managed to seize an opening, biting down on Shanhai’s shoulder and flinging him away in its jaws.

“Shuixi…!”

Shanhai’s tone was unusually fierce. “Don’t come over here!”

If Jian Xingyi came over, he’d get caught in the crossfire in a heartbeat!

Jian Xingyi instinctively stopped in his tracks.

Shanhai slammed into the nearby cliff face, took a deep breath, and, before the wolf could pounce, quickly adjusted his stance and pinned it down.

Shanhai wrapped his arm around the wolf’s neck in a chokehold, while his other hand plunged a short knife into its vital spot.

The wolf let out a long, piercing howl to the sky, then lost the strength to struggle, collapsing and fading away.

The Dodo Beast, panicked, tried to flee but was swiftly shot dead by Shanhai.

Calm returned to the surroundings.

Jian Xingyi rushed over to Shanhai’s side to check on him.

The fall had been so violent that the entire mountainside had trembled; he had no idea how Shanhai was faring.

“I’m fine,” Shanhai said as he stood up, furrowing his brow. “That wolf… it wasn’t low-level.”

Strange. How could there be such a high-level monster on Peace Mountain?

Jian Xingyi administered medicine to Shanhai.

Although he said he was fine, he had still broken two ribs in his back. Fortunately, one of the game’s perks was that he recovered completely as soon as the medicine took effect.

【Player 【Shanhai】 and Player 【Xinghe】 joined forces to defeat 【Peace Mountain Cave Boss – B-Rank Dodo Beast】, Reward: Dawn Coins x666, Battle Exchange Vouchers x2】

【Player 【Shanhai】 and Player 【Xinghe】 joined forces to defeat 【Peace Mountain Cave Boss – S-Rank Gravekeeper Wolf】. Reward: Dawn Coins x66,666, Battle Exchange Vouchers x5, Item 【Wolf Fang】】

……It really was S-Rank!

It’s on par with monsters from the molten lava volcano’s core, and this was just a single wolf!

Jian Xingyi opened the terminal to check the details: their Dodo Beast had brought in 10 Bond Points, while the Gravekeeper Wolf… 60 points!

Perhaps because the Gravekeeper Wolf was so high-level, the Bond Points reward was equivalent to clearing an S-rank dungeon, like Snow Country’s Holy Son II.

Jian Xingyi was speechless.

In the guild chat at that moment—

Kele: 【70 points in an instant?? Holy shit, what did you two do!! Did you go *do it*??! @Shanhai @Xinghe】

Firelight: 【Squatting】

Heiye: 【Awesome! So awesome! Our group spent ages running the dungeon and only got 30 points…】

Jian Xingyi’s face turned beet red.

What the hell…!

Xinghe: 【No, it’s because we killed an S-rank creature, so the Bond Points are the same as for an S-rank dungeon!】

Nana: 【Wait… clearing an S-rank dungeon gives 30 Bond Points. Did you guys have sex in the S-rank dungeon?】

Firelight: 【I don’t think so. If we’d had sex in an S-rank dungeon, it would’ve been more than 60 points! 30 Bond Points plus sex points wouldn’t just add up to 60.】

Xinghe: 【……】

Xinghe: 【We’re just regular friends……】

Kele: 【……I forgot! Sorry, sorry! / Claps hands together 】

Firelight: 【Weird…… Could it be that our relationship actually affects dungeon loot?】

Jian Xingyi and Shanhai exchanged glances.

Could it really be true?

Shanhai said, “There’s another possibility.”

“Hm?”

Shanhai: “That is, this monster’s value far exceeds that of an S-rank dungeon.”

Shanhai sent this possibility, along with the monster and the oddities in the cave, to the strategy team.

“This place is special.”

Shanhai looked around.

Before entering that door, Jian Xingyi first checked the kill rewards.

S-rank dungeons usually take a long time to complete—almost a full day—but the rewards are very generous.

Killing this wolf, however, was a matter of an instant, though that might be because Shanhai’s combat power was off the charts.

So Jian Xingyi figured the rewards might not be as good as those from a dungeon, but there would surely be something special, right?

Jian Xingyi opened his mailbox.

After defeating the two bosses, they received a total of Dawn Coins, 7 Battle Exchange Vouchers, and the item Wolf Fang.

Shanhai no longer needed the Battle Exchange Vouchers, so he gave them all to Jian Xingyi.

Jian Xingyi decisively fed them to his rifle.

6400/10000

His experience points rose from 5700 to 6400 after gaining 700 points, bringing him a little closer to S-rank!

As for the Wolf Fang…

Jian Xingyi looked at the curved blade made of bone and curiously opened its description.

【Recognition of the Wolf King】

【Function: Not yet available】

Huh?

Shanhai said, “It might come in handy someday. Just keep it for now.”

“Oh…”

It’s a good item, after all.

Just like the Green Vine, Vines, Hardening Potion, Snow Lotus, and others before—all items he didn’t understand at first, but proved useful when he needed them.

Then, the two received another message.

【Detected that players 【Shanhai】 and 【Xinghe】 are the second team in the entire server to defeat the 【Peace Mountain Cave Boss—S-Rank Gravekeeper Wolf】. Reward: 666 Dawn Coins, Item 【Wolf King’s Reward】】

The two opened the item—a tuft of wolf hair—and discovered it was actually a wish-granting item.

Just like every high-level dungeon, the system granted them three wishes based on their current desires, and they each chose what they wanted.

【One: 50 Bond Points; Two: 50 million; Three: 2 buckets of cement.】

After discussing it with Shanhai, Jian Xingyi chose the Bond Points.

Bai Jie: 【Wait, now I’m curious too. They added another 100 points, making it 170 total. Where did such a sweet deal come from? We could go farm it together, too.】

Nana: 【Sis Bai… just forget it. This is XQL’s business.】

Haihai: 【I’m curious too… Is it really not that “S” thing?!】

Heiye: 【Awesome, I can only say awesome…】

Jian Xingyi also received another email.

【Detected player 【Xinghe】 possesses the Savior System. Extra reward item 【Tombstone Key】!】

Tombstone…

Jian Xingyi recalled what the system had called that wolf—the Gravekeeper Wolf.

He glanced at the spot where the wolf had been standing.

BOSS spawning 00:02:59

The five-minute countdown was almost over; they didn’t have much time left!

Jian Xingyi said, sounding both anxious and excited, “Is what’s behind this door guarded by the Grave Keeper Wolf the 02 or 01 we’ve been looking for all this time?!”

Shanhai paused. “It’s possible.”

“Then let’s go in!”