The night fell, and the weather turned slightly cool.
Li Fan had no money for a portable tent, let alone to set up a proper camp.
According to his previous conversation with Dilu, there were public hunting camps in the wild.
Of course, they weren't free to use. Fees were required, and since there were guards at night, the price was several times more expensive than inns in villages and towns.
The advantage was safety, eliminating worries about monsters crawling into one's sleeping bag at night.
Li Fan helplessly rubbed his forehead in thought. He hadn't expected that the seemingly ordinary aspects of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation in hunting would occupy such an important position.
Recalling the hunting parties he encountered that morning, a thought suddenly struck him.
"Dilu, can I ask you something?"
"I'm here! Meow."
"Do those hunting parties that frequently go out on missions have their own exclusive wild camps?"
"Yes, meow, but these camps are usually very small. If they are left unattended for a long time, they will become abandoned."
Li Fan confirmed his suspicion.
Public hunting camps were maintained by a large number of professional staff, ensuring the highest comfort and safety.
However, from an economic perspective, hunting parties building their own temporary wild camps was the most rational choice.
When a hunting mission was completed, they would either dismantle the camp and take it with them, or mark it and return to use it again after some repairs when they next hunted in the vicinity.
During the intervening period, the camp would be unoccupied.
"Even if a constructed hunting camp is abandoned, its location must have been carefully considered, and its safety would be guaranteed to some extent. If there are any leftover supplies..."
Li Fan muttered, and Dilu suddenly said, "I know a deserted camp! Meow!"
"Let's go!"
Li Fan hung his backpack around Maru Bird's neck. He didn't choose to ride it.
After all, he didn't have a riding saddle yet, so it wouldn't be stable, and Maru Bird was still injured.
Half an hour later, a man and a cat stood before a giant rock face.
"Just climb up along the vines, meow!"
Dilu said, jumping onto a hanging vine and climbing with all four paws. It quickly reached the rocky platform and then launched itself towards a higher rock face.
Li Fan, who was fine, remembered Dilu saying that very few people died from falling in this world.
He encouraged himself silently.
Li Fan retrieved his backpack, put Maru Bird into its Poké Ball, and grabbed the vine, which had tiny thorns on its surface, and began to climb upwards.
After climbing to a rocky platform tens of meters high, he looked down.
He thought that at this height, in the wizarding world, it would probably be enough to kill twenty demon hunters.
Climb, climb... climb, climb...
Just as Li Fan felt he was about to faint from exhaustion, he finally reached the third rocky platform at the very top.
A deserted camp, built within a naturally formed cave, appeared before him.
The cave was very shallow, extending less than 10 meters into the mountain.
Inside were several large boxes covered in fine spiderwebs. Because of this, the tent had to be set up half inside the cave and half outside.
To prevent rain and for concealment, a simple awning was erected to cover the exposed half of the tent.
To prevent certain materials from being damaged by rain and spoiling, the storage area for snow was specifically placed inside the cave.
Li Fan observed for a moment and quickly understood the true purpose of this peculiar structural arrangement.
Dilu saw a sharp corner peeking out from the dirt and ran over to dig. It found a wooden signpost.
Wiping the dirt off with its cat claws, a line of text carved onto the surface of the signpost became visible.
"It's the Phoenix Hunting Group's base, meow!"
Dilu informed him.
"How did you find this place before?"
"Because... there were dried salted fish hanging here, meow."
"Where is it? I want to eat some too."
Li Fan's spirits lifted.
"Sorry, it was all eaten half a year ago, meow."
"Alright, so this place hasn't been visited for at least half a year."
Li Fan glanced at the time on his handheld device. It was past 10 PM.
He then released the Lightning Bug's light bulb to illuminate the area, intending to tidy up briefly and get some rest.
There were still 5 more locations marked on Dilu's hand-drawn map for blue mushrooms that he hadn't visited. Tomorrow was bound to be a busy day, so he needed to ensure he got enough sleep.
Inside the tent, there was a sleeping mat filled with dry grass, a small bamboo pillow, a small oil lamp that had run out of oil, and a few books about ancient dragons piled on the ground. There was nothing else.
He plucked a few long hairs from Maru Bird and tied them to a thin branch with vines, creating a small broom.
After sweeping the dust out of the tent, Li Fan walked out of the camp and observed the surrounding terrain.
When he returned, he made a simple carrying strap from thin branches and vines and put it on Maru Bird's back.
"Tai Mei, I've put all my belongings on you. If we are attacked by wild beasts tonight, don't worry about laying eggs first. Shout out immediately, and I'll rush out of the tent with Dilu to meet you. Then I'll ride on your back and gallop down the mountain path to the right of the camp."
Tai Mei was the name Li Fan gave to Maru Bird.
"You only have 8 intelligence points. I don't know if you can understand such complex orders."
After Li Fan muttered this, he even conducted a drill with Dilu.
Tai Mei, apart from being a bit slow in reaction and retaining its timid trait, ultimately followed the plan perfectly.
He glanced at the time on his handheld device. It was already past 11 PM. Exhausted, Li Fan felt he could finally rest peacefully.
However, less than half an hour after falling asleep, he was awakened by a bear roar that echoed through the mountains.
Li Fan sat up from his sleeping mat, pulled off his eye mask, and looked resentful.
"Damn Great Jagras, tomorrow when I'm collecting mushrooms, I'll poke every beehive I see."
As he was plotting his revenge, Li Fan vaguely heard a woman's shouts.
"Hya!"
"Hah!"
"Agh!"
...
The shouts were short and sharp, accompanied by low rumbling sounds.
And the increasingly fierce roars of the Great Jagras. Li Fan quickly came to a conclusion.
Someone nearby was hunting a Great Jagras!
"Should we go help? Meow?"
"Ah! When did you get up? You're already geared up."
Li Fan was startled.
When he sat up, Dilu was clearly lying on the ground, sleeping like a log. He hadn't expected that in the blink of an eye, it would be fully prepared to fight.
"A qualified hunting cat is always ready for battle, meow."
Dilu puffed out its chest.
"Let's assess the situation first. Tai Mei, light bulb, and you, none of you can fight. If something really happens, I'll have to step in."
Ever since experiencing Maru Bird's tough skin and flesh.
Li Fan understood why weapon sharpness was so important in the Monster Hunter game.
With the material of a hunter's knife, even if the blade was sharpened to its keenest, as long as it didn't attack a vital point, it would be difficult to inflict damage on the thick-skinned Great Jagras.