Jiang Heng walked over to Shen Zhuonian’s side. He tore a strip of cloth and hastily bandaged the injured teammate, but his gaze kept drifting toward the direction where Lu Yun and Li Yingxue had disappeared.
“Captain, those two… they’re too strange.”
The white-haired beauty was fragile to the point of not looking like someone who could survive the apocalypse, and as for the black-haired man… Jiang Heng couldn’t quite put his finger on what felt off.
Shen Zhuonian did not answer immediately.
He walked to the off-road vehicle that had been nearly reduced to scrap metal by the mutated birds. His fingers brushed over the deep claw marks etched into the body of the car before he looked toward the depths of the forest, where Lu Yun was already gone.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
“That man… is strong.” Far beyond what he appeared to be.
Jiang Heng scratched his red hair, still confused. “Strong? But I clearly saw him using only a basic Water-type Supernatural Ability—no offensive power at all. Even that final water shield was so thin it looked like paper…”
Shen Zhuonian shook his head and did not elaborate further.
Some things could only be faintly perceived by those who had repeatedly walked the edge between life and death. Only true strength allowed someone to restrain and conceal themselves so effortlessly.
He shifted the topic and began checking his teammates’ injuries and remaining supplies, temporarily suppressing his doubts.
……
Deep within the forest, the light gradually dimmed. Twisted branches clawed at the sky like ghostly hands, blocking out all illumination.
Lu Yun chased the rapidly moving vine cocoon, his figure weaving through the trees like a dark afterimage.
Night fell completely. Darkness, which would have been fatal to ordinary people, meant nothing to him.
The cocoon remained within the range of his spiritual perception.
However, when he reached a region of the forest that was unusually dense and eerily silent—so quiet that even insect sounds had vanished—Lu Yun was forced to stop.
Ahead of him stood a massive mutated plant beyond imagination.
Its trunk was thick enough that several people would be needed to encircle it. Its surface was dark green, and countless thick vines hung from its branches, slowly writhing.
Its roots were mostly exposed above ground, tangled together like countless twisted giant serpents, firmly occupying the entire area.
Lu Yun raised his right hand slightly and clenched his palm in the air. In an instant, a long blade wreathed in blazing flames appeared in his grasp.
The flickering firelight cut through the darkness, illuminating his cold, handsome profile—and the blood-red glow of his right eye. Killing intent radiated outward like a physical force.
“Move,” he said coldly.
The mutated giant tree seemed to understand the provocation. Several thick roots suddenly shot up from the ground, lashing toward him.
Lu Yun sidestepped and swung his blade. Flames tore through the air in a scorching arc…
……
At the same time, inside the vine cocoon.
Li Yingxue had already woken from the excruciating headache and relentless ringing in his mind. That mysterious voice that had tormented him for so long had vanished.
He found himself in a narrow but not cramped space, moving steadily forward.
Carefully, he reached out to feel his surroundings. The surface was smooth and cold, with uneven textures—like plant bark.
The space was larger than he had expected; he could even sit up slightly.
What happened? Where were those terrifying mutated birds? And where was Lu Yun?
The endless darkness stripped him of his most important sense. Only touch and hearing remained, struggling uselessly to gather information.
Uncertainty and isolation slowly seeped into his heart.
Perhaps it was night now—the temperature dropped noticeably. The interior of the cocoon grew cold as well.
Li Yingxue curled his legs up and hugged himself tightly. His slender fingers quickly became numb and painful from the cold, and he began to tremble.
Then, suddenly, the cocoon stopped moving.
He instinctively lifted his head. Though he could see nothing, he sensed something had changed outside.
The dead silence of the forest was broken.
A black shadow leapt out from the side and landed firmly in front of the massive vine cocoon, blocking its path.
As the clouds parted, pale moonlight revealed the figure.
It was neither fully human nor purely beast.
He had the upright physique of a man, but below the elbows were thick silver-gray fur-covered limbs ending in sharp wolf claws.
His face was sharply defined yet wild and feral, his eyes an icy blue—cold, sharp, devoid of human emotion. He stared unblinkingly at the writhing cocoon, his nostrils flaring slightly as if confirming something.
The vines tensed instantly, as if sensing a great threat. They tightened and began to hiss softly, countless tendrils pointing toward the intruder like weapons.
The wolf-clawed Mutant Species let out a low, guttural growl.
The next moment.
Countless pairs of greedy, violent eyes lit up in the darkness.
Mutated giant wolves, steel-furred panthers… various mutated beasts emerged from the shadows in all directions, silently surrounding the vine cocoon and forming a second encirclement.
They bared their teeth and growled lowly, not at each other, but entirely under the command of the wolf-clawed Mutant Species.
The cocoon of vines trembled violently. It seemed enraged, yet also wary of something.
It instinctively wanted to burrow underground and flee, but some stronger restraint—or perhaps its protective instinct toward what it contained—made it hesitate. It only coiled and writhed anxiously in place like a giant serpent guarding treasure.
The Werewolf Mutant Species’ icy-blue eyes flashed with impatience and desire. He growled again, and the surrounding beasts pressed forward slightly, increasing the pressure.
Slowly, he raised his wolf claw. A faint blue flame ignited along its edge.
He swept his claw through the air toward a nearby dead bush.
Where his claw passed, blue fire bloomed—unnatural and alive—instantly igniting the dry wood and spreading rapidly, forming a small wall of flame that separated the beasts from the vines.
The vines recoiled in visible disgust. In doing so, more of the cocoon was exposed.
Seizing the moment, the Werewolf Mutant Species struck again. His other claw, now wrapped in the same eerie blue flame, thrust forward without hesitation into the gap exposed by the retreating vines.
The burning flames suppressed the vines’ movement. Reluctantly, they loosened their hold and peeled away from the core, withdrawing rapidly.
Layer by layer, the green cocoon unfurled…
Finally revealing the curled figure inside.
White hair. Snow-white skin.
Li Yingxue felt the tight enclosure suddenly loosen. The cold covering vanished, and the night wind struck him directly, making him shiver violently.
He lifted his head in confusion, empty eyes “looking” forward. Fine frost-like droplets seemed to cling to his lashes.
He had no idea what kind of gaze he was exposed to.
Under the eerie blue flame, his fragile beauty was shockingly pure—so pure it felt almost unreal—contrasting sharply with the surrounding mutated horrors and strange firelight.
The vines, under pressure, slowly and completely released him. They withdrew into the ground and disappeared without a trace, leaving only faint disturbances in the soil.
Li Yingxue sat alone on the cold ground, hugging himself as he trembled from the cold and uncertainty.
He could sense many “things” around him—many wild, dangerous presences—but he could not see them and had no idea what was happening.
All he could do was curl up helplessly.
And the pair of icy-blue wolf eyes remained fixed on him without blinking.