Jiang Fan fell into a deep thought as he looked at the diary.
Observing the identity of the diary's owner, Jiang Fan knew that this diary had been left here for more than a year.
He figured that if those people wanted to come back for it, they would have done so already.
Now, those people had either gotten out or perished within this cave.
Naturally, Jiang Fan hoped for the former.
It wasn't that Jiang Fan was particularly kind. It was just that if those people died here,
then the dangers they encountered would likely doom Jiang Fan and his companions as well.
In comparison, Jiang Fan would rather they succeed in escaping.
At least that way, they still had a chance to live.
Jiang Fan saw the diary entries for the final challenge.
However, as Jiang Fan tried to continue reading, he discovered that the diary abruptly ended, with no further entries.
It was clear that after a period of setting up camp here, they had stopped writing this diary.
Where their figures were now, Jiang Fan had no way of knowing, nor did he know what he would have to experience next.
Just then, Yao, who was beside him, sidled over and saw Jiang Fan examining the diary.
"How is it? Are there any clues?"
Jiang Fan shook his head, puzzled, and said to Yao.
"Not yet, at the moment."
"This diary only records the corridor we just passed, and then there's nothing more."
"I suspect the diary's owner forgot to take it with them and left it in the camp."
Although Jiang Fan said this, he and Yao both knew very well.
Such a statement was merely an optimistic scenario. The real situation was more likely that those people had long since died and had not successfully escaped.
However, Yao didn't say much, just nodded his head faintly, indicating he understood.
Beside them, Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei, after obtaining some supplies, wore satisfied smiles.
It seemed they didn't realize what hardships they would face next.
Jiang Fan didn't specifically tell them about the diary, and they didn't seem to care much about what had happened to the owner of this camp.
At that moment, Jiang Fan set the diary aside, as he could no longer get any help from it.
At least, that was how he saw it.
But just a few seconds after he put the diary aside, it spontaneously combusted.
Jiang Fan immediately rushed forward to extinguish the flames.
Those beside him also rushed over, wanting to see what had happened.
"What's going on? Why did it suddenly catch fire? Could it be that you're still in the camp and trying to start a fire?"
"Be more careful."
Zhou Niannian acted as if it was nothing, but Yao looked at Jiang Fan with disbelief.
His glance at Jiang Fan indicated that he himself had no idea what was happening.
After extinguishing the flames, Jiang Fan opened the diary again and found that several pages were missing, which deeply perplexed him.
However, Jiang Fan knew that telling Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei about this would be useless, and Gungun lacked the ability to think in this area.
In this case, Jiang Fan might as well discuss it with Yao.
"I think this diary might not be as simple as we imagined."
Yao's vigilance was quite high. If the diary were a normal item with no significance, it wouldn't have caught fire.
If it was merely due to some chemical factor causing it to burn,
then why didn't anything else catch fire, but only this diary?
Jiang Fan had already considered this.
But even knowing this, Jiang Fan still had no clue what was hidden within the diary.
It seemed as if someone or something was deliberately hiding the information in this diary.
Spontaneous combustion was no longer something that Jiang Fan found particularly unbelievable.
After all, in this cave, there was nothing that Jiang Fan found reasonable.
Just like those monsters earlier.
Why couldn't they touch Zhou Niannian? And why did a giant winged creature suddenly appear?
These questions were all unknowable.
And facing the diary burning up made the events of earlier seem less strange.
Instead, the content of the diary aroused Jiang Fan's suspicion.
Did it contain some mission instructions? Or was it hiding some unspeakable secret?
Or perhaps the clues within were the key to their survival.
Various questions swirled in Jiang Fan's mind.
"Indeed, I also feel there must be something in this diary, but it seems like the most crucial pages have been burned away."
"Regarding the monsters, I just took a look and didn't find anything unusual, but why did it only burn those few pages and not the others?"
Jiang Fan looked troubled but couldn't think of anything.
"Forget it, worrying about it now probably won't lead to any good results."
"Let's arrange for some rest as soon as possible, and then regroup to set off again."
Yao knew that expecting Jiang Fan to recall the contents of the diary at this moment would be somewhat unrealistic.
Jiang Fan also agreed with Yao's suggestion.
After collecting all the supplies from this camp and putting them in a designated spot,
Jiang Fan instructed Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei to rest in the camp, specifically finding them the most comfortable spot.
Gungun also seemed tired, so Jiang Fan didn't have it accompany him to explore the camp.
He simply had Gungun guard the two girls and ensure their safety.
After all, they still didn't know what might happen within this camp. Although it appeared peaceful and had decent lighting, making it seem very safe.
However, as the saying goes, preparedness is key, and Jiang Fan dared not be careless.
After arranging everything, Jiang Fan took Yao and began to explore the small area outside the camp.
He hoped to obtain some useful materials or information from this place that could bring convenience or security to their subsequent actions.
"Let's search separately. It'll be more efficient."
"Okay."