A snow-white palm slammed hard onto Lin Zihao's head, making him yelp in pain.
"Your guts have really grown. You dare to follow us on an adventure?"
Lin Xue glared at her younger brother, feeling that this kid was too restless and needed to be watched closely, or he'd get into trouble.
Lin Zihao felt incredibly wronged. "But adventuring is really cool and fun..."
Mid-sentence, he saw his sister's expression change and wisely shut his mouth.
"Stay in the camp. You're not allowed to go anywhere. Grandpa and I will keep an eye on you. If you dare to run off, we'll break your legs!"
Lin Xue warned her brother, her words carrying considerable weight. At the very least, it made Lin Zihao shrink his head and not dare to wander off.
When Lin Wencheng learned that Professor Sam was going on an expedition, he wasn't surprised but looked solemn.
"Old friend, this continent is not simple. You'd best be careful and avoid any accidents," he said gravely.
As a renowned geographer, Sam naturally understood the unique nature of this new continent. He nodded.
"Don't worry, old friend. I won't put myself in danger. I'll just be doing a preliminary investigation into the situation on this continent."
His eyes sparkled. The new continent was a 'treasure trove' to him, with all sorts of new things waiting for him to discover and study.
After preparations were complete, Alice headed towards the expedition team with Sam.
Jack and the others were already ready. Seeing Alice and Sam arrive, Jack immediately said, "Everyone's here. Let's set off right away!"
The curly-haired man said no more and led the way, heading towards the Giant King Forest.
The camp was set up near the edge of the Giant King Forest, a few hundred meters away.
Their objective for today was to venture one kilometer into the Giant King Forest to understand the conditions within and search for food.
In the center of the camp, Captain Jin Wen noticed the expedition team's actions and frowned slightly.
A sailor beside him said, "These people are too reckless. Aren't they afraid of angering the beasts in the forest? Captain, should we do something?"
Jin Wen shook his head. "I've already advised them not to act rashly, but they didn't listen and insisted on taking the risk."
"Since that's the case, we don't need to concern ourselves with them. It's best if they find food, but it's not crucial if they don't. At least we'll understand the situation on the new continent."
He gazed at the enormous Giant King Forest, feeling an inexplicable unease.
The monsters at sea had kept his nerves on edge, and he worried that the forest might harbor not just beasts, but also monsters.
...
On a distant hillside.
The reconnaissance team had been monitoring the camp's every move from here.
The three of them operated on a rotation system, with each person taking turns to monitor for a period.
Chen Wu had just finished his shift and was being relieved when he saw Wang Hao, this kid, squatting in a corner, grinning foolishly while holding a letter.
He couldn't help but go over and pat Wang Hao's head. "What's with the silly grin, kid? Have you gone mad?"
Wang Hao snapped back to attention with the pat. He turned to Chen Wu, his face still beaming with a smile. He was incredibly excited.
"Brother Wu, my daughter succeeded! She made it to the final round of the imperial selection and is now one of the concubine candidates!"
The hand holding the letter trembled uncontrollably, and his face was flushed red, indicating how thrilled he was!
Chen Wu was stunned at first, then his eyes widened in surprise.
"Wait, you're saying your daughter participated in the imperial selection, was chosen by His Majesty, and became a concubine?"
"No, she's a concubine candidate, not yet a concubine. But that's enough! At least she'll get into the palace!"
Wang Hao was ecstatic, wishing he could roar to the heavens!
Reaching the final stage of the imperial selection and becoming a concubine candidate meant she could remain in the palace and become a talented lady.
Hearing Wang Hao's words, Chen Wu couldn't help but feel envious.
A former subordinate had now transformed, his status instantly elevated. All because his daughter successfully entered the palace – a case of one person achieving success and benefiting all their relatives.
But despite his envy, Chen Wu was genuinely happy for Wang Hao. He smiled and said, "You've really hit it big now, kid. Don't forget about me. Have your daughter promote me often in the future."
Wang Hao nodded solemnly. "Brother Wu, how could I possibly forget you? Besides, I'm not someone who lives off his daughter. I'll still be serving under you as a soldier!"
Chen Wu looked at him with surprise. "When did you become so eloquent, kid?"
"Heh heh, I learned it from books," Wang Hao chuckled.
Just then, the soldier on duty suddenly spoke.
"Captain, those people have sent out a small team towards the Giant King Forest."
Chen Wu's expression changed. He quickly moved to the front and used his ocular abilities to observe. He saw a team detach from the camp and approach the Giant King Forest.
He exclaimed in surprise, "Are these people about to start hunting the Iron-Winged Tiger?"
A thought flashed through his mind, realizing this was an excellent opportunity.
If these people were indeed going to hunt the Iron-Winged Tiger, they could gauge the strength of these individuals.
"Follow that group closely and see what exactly they intend to do!" Chen Wu ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
The wooden boat began to move away from the hillside, following the group and slowly approaching the Giant King Forest.
The hull emitted a faint white light, a technique to conceal their presence and prevent detection.
As the expedition team entered the Giant King Forest, they were deeply awestruck by the colossal trees within.
Each giant tree here soared hundreds of meters into the sky. Even more terrifying was the diameter of the trunks, an astonishing six to seven meters!
Even if ten people joined hands, they couldn't encircle one. One could imagine how massive these trees were.
What was most astonishing was that this entire forest consisted of trees of this magnitude, creating an overwhelming impact!
"This... this is too terrifying. These trees must be hundreds or even thousands of years old to have grown so tall!"
"Trees that are a thousand years old! If they were felled and crafted into exquisite wooden products, they would be worth a lot of money!"
Everyone marveled. Professor Sam even reached out, taking out a small knife to try and scrape off some of the giant tree's bark.
However, the sharp knife could not penetrate the giant tree, nor could it even leave a white mark.
This utterly shocked Professor Sam!
"The bark of these giant trees is harder than steel. It's incredible! What species could this be?"
Professor Sam felt his mouth go dry, staring at the giant trees as if he had discovered a new treasure.
Hearing Professor Sam's words, the others were also astonished and tried to stab their daggers into the giant trees.
Without exception, none of them could leave even a faint white mark on the bark of the giant trees.
"It really is harder than steel!"
"This is too outrageous, it's unscientific! Have these giant trees mutated?"