Mercenary Harem in Murim Novel

They returned to the Humvee and set off toward the destination. Jack and Shui introduced themselves to Zhen as they drove to the exit gate while Chiaki seemed to be indifferent.

The location marked in the map given by Nabi was pretty far away from Chengdu. Not to mention, the map was hard to read. It was all over the place with the distance and the terrain not marked.

So, they had to stop by a small village near the destination to gather information.

"There is no such place as the one in the map, sir. That place is a wasteland and not even a single trace of any life can be found there. You should go around the Green Peak mountain to reach the next village."

"I see. Then, can you show me where the Green Peak mountain is located?"

"Here, sir. The Green Peak mountain is a tall peak and can be seen from afar. It's around a day's walk from here."

"Got it. Thank you."

With the information, they left the small village and headed toward the Green Peak mountain.

The trip was quiet. Jack and Shui were talking with Zhen while Chiaki drove the Humvee this time. Leo had to map the area so he was moved to the passenger seat.

From his smart lenses scan, he realized the difference between what the villager said and the map. He looked at the map once again and raised his hand.

"Stop, Chiaki."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

A screeching sound filled the air as the Humvee came to a stop. Leo and the others felt the impact, but the vehicle didn't budge at all.

"What is it, Leader?"

"There is an inconsistency with the map and the villager's word."

When he put the scanned map and the drawn map together, there were parts that didn't match. This meant the map was either an error or intentionally misleading.

"Hmm? I didn't expect that." He muttered, sharing his findings with Chiaki. "What do you think?"

"There are many possibilities, but we can't ignore the fact that someone is trying to trick us. Either the villager or..."

Her eyes sharpened like a blade as she glanced at the backseat. Suddenly, the atmosphere inside the Humvee changed.

Noticing the change of the atmosphere, even the two people beside him, Zhen immediately waved his hands. He could feel their suspicion on him and his heart sank.

"W-Wait! What is this about?"

"Please, calm down. We understand that making a map in this world is difficult." Leo immediately diffused the situation with a calm word.

It was never his intention to put a blame on the Hao Sect who provided the map. Rather, he just mentioned that the map had inconsistency.

'Based on the map, we should turn left here. But based on what the villager said, that place is a wasteland that we can't cross and we should turn right. Then, based on the scan, we can go straight ahead and find the next village. I can't see another settlement other than that, but... What is this?'

With the different information, the only logical explanation was that the map was either inaccurate or intentional. The only similarities of the two maps compared to his scanned map was they avoid the settlement located around 5 KM in front of them.

'This can't be a coincidence.'

Leo had a bad feeling about this. He had the feeling he was being tricked.

"Leader, look over there. There's smoke coming from a distance. Maybe that's the next village written on the map?" Chiaki said, pointing toward the smoke in the distance.

He noticed it as well now that she mentioned it.

Once again, the map's scale was a little bit different from the real place. One part of the map had 1:1000 scale while the other had 1:1500. So, they couldn't exactly judge the distance and size of the place.

'Maybe we reached the second village faster than expected.'

Still, he wasn't sure. So he turned to Zhen.

"What do you think, Mr. Zhen? From what I read in the map, there should still be around 50 to 60 KM before we reach the next settlement. However, there is clearly human settlement right in front of us. Is it the second village we plan to reach or something else?"

Zhen was not a stupid man. Also, as a member of Hao Sect, his information bank was vast. He knew the Sichuan and Shaanxi area like the back of his palm.

That was why he was confused right now.

"I... am not sure." He admitted. "From what I know, the next village should be the one located 50 KM ahead as you said."

"Then, how about the one over there?" Leo asked, pointing at the smoke.

"No. That's definitely not the next village. There are no more settlements around the area, as far as I remember."

"Hmm..."

Suspicious. The smoke he saw and everything around him smelt like a trap. But Leo couldn't figure out the reason.

"Leader, should I scout outside?" Jack suddenly asked.

His eyes were sharp, and his body was ready for action. He was always the most eager one for a chance to use his favorite PhoSni.

"Will you? Limit yourself to the top of Humvee only. We can't take any risk before reaching the determined location."

"Yes, sir!"

Jack jumped out of the vehicle and climbed to the top. With a pair of binoculars, he started to look around the area.

With him scouting the area, Leo could rest easy and signaled for Chiaki to go again. They chose the left path, believing in Hao Sect's information.

Seeing this, Zhen felt relieved.

"If there is any inconsistency again, please just tell me. I remember this area like my own backyard. And from what I remember, there is no wasteland in front of us. My information is pretty recent, so I am sure."

"Thank you, Mr. Zhen. We will be relying on your guidance then."

"No problem."

Zhen gave him a thumbs up and laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

The road was pretty uneven in the area so Chiaki couldn't drive as fast as before. There were plenty of rocks and bumps that made the Humvee shake a lot.

"Ouch, that hurt!" Jack yelled from the top.