The night passed with Jacob and Bryan talking and drinking, but Bryan was the one who talked mostly and told Jacob about all the exciting events of the epic plains in the past.
Jacob has to admit; the guy was a chatterbox, but he also acquired quite an information from him. On the other hand, Bryan brought out the topic of the treasure Jacob was after in the Vile Witch Valley several times. But Jacob brushed it off with some excuses.
No matter how much friendly Bryan was or how he tried to get him drunk, Jacob never let his guard down, even for a second. He just played along while enjoying the free alcohol.
In the end, Bryan didn't get anything out of him and instead ended up giving away, which made Bryan silently flustered, but he wasn't in the position to complain.
At dawn, everyone was at their peak state, and they started to travel again, led by Aven.
In a few hours, they passed the canyon and appeared outside a valley filled with large thick tree veins.
Bryan's eyes narrowed as he asked Aven, "Captain Snow, is this the insect valley?"
Aven impassively replied, "I don't know the name, but you seemed to know this place."
"Of course, this is one of the few areas of the Vile Witch Valley region that are declared no-return zones. There are many poisonous insects in this place that even peak epic tiers dread. Do you perhaps have a way to bypass this place as well?" Bryan questions with uncertainty.
"What if I don't?" Aven questioned instated.
"Then, I'm afraid my team and I can only escort you to this point." Bryan coldly replied without even thinking twice.
Aven's lips curled up behind her mask as she chuckled, "You are indeed responsible, aren't you? Don't worry. I indeed know a safe passage through this place."
"We'll have to see," Bryan replied coldly, as he clearly didn't believe her words.
But he didn't say anything about backing down anymore, as he wanted to see if Aven was telling the truth. Since she knows a way around the Spider Leg Bats Colony, she might also know the way to avoid the insect valley as well.
"Oh, you'll see, alright." Aven scoffed before she said, "Before we move forward, I need to have a little chat with Leader Viper alone."
Jacob was a little surprised but still followed her into a seclusive corner.
"What is it?" Jacob asked with uncertainty.
Aven replied with a stern tone, "I think we need to get rid of that monkey (Bryan)."
Astonished by her words, he asked with narrowed eyes, "Your reason?"
"Simple, he's mapping our route with his star watch. If I'm not wrong, he might plan to send it to someone so they could follow us later." Aven revealed.
'How did she know?' Jacob thought with a hidden surprise, and despite wanting to say it, he couldn't because she might be using some black technology unique to the Star Hackers.
It would spell trouble for him if he didn't know about it, and his 'superior' persona would be blown if that happened.
So, he played it cool and replied, "It seems you have learned your lesson from before. But you don't need to worry about him. I noticed it long ago, and he was trying to fish information from me as well.
"He might be after the treasure we had told him about. If I'm not wrong, he's still contemplating whether it's worth backstabbing us or not. But it's meaningless whether he calls someone or not. It's nothing we can't handle."
Aven's squinted her eyes with a hint of surprise, "So, that's what he was doing last night?"
"You just focus on leading the way. But now that you know his motives, I want you to keep an eye on him and report your findings to me. It's a good opportunity to have experience." Jacob stated without any hint of discomfort.
Aven looked at Jacob with scrutiny before she nodded, "As your command."
someone was doing with their star watches.
Afterward, they headed back, and despite Jacob's calm posture, he was getting restless after knowing what Bryan was doing. Furthermore, the star hackers really appeared to be the bane of the star network since they could even have a way to monitor what someone was doing with their star watches.
'Can she also hack into my star watch? No, if she has, they won't be traveling with me. I think my star privilege is still out of her league, and captain free sword also said they couldn't hack into star ID with star privileges.
'But just in case, I should stow away my bound Star Watch and change it with an unbound one…'
The Star Watch on his wrist instantly vanished before a new one appeared. From now on, Jacob was going to do this even if there wasn't the danger of star hackers.
Still, Bryan's problem remains, and he has to deal with it now. But if he acts, the rest of the One Fist team will instantly turn hostile.
'Since that bastard is mapping our routes, whoever comes after will follow our footsteps. If that's the case, then maybe…' Ruthlessness shimmered in Jacob's eyes as he made his counterplan.
After returning, Aven again began to lead them throw a particular passage which was filled with purple tree veins and a strange smell.
Bryan and his team were all on high alert and ready to retreat the moment things turned south. But to their surprise, even after 4 hours, not a single insect attacked them. Now they really started to believe in Aven's words.
Night descended, and the atmosphere of the insect valley turned eerie as the sounds of insects started to buzz.
"Don't use lights. Some insects are very sensitive towards it." Bryan gravely commanded.
No one has any objection as they continue to move without any intention of camping there for the night.
In the depth of night, Frugal suddenly stopped and whispered in a voice that everyone could hear, and the One Fist team's expression paled after hearing what he said,
"Stop! Something is moving towards us and fast!"