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“Can I eat it?”
They were about to pass by, but can I really eat it…
This question lingered in the mind of the pink, furry ball like an undispellable ghost. Intense curiosity finally overcame fear. It shook the soft flesh on its body, silently slid down the tree trunk, and hid among the decaying leaves, quietly following.
The earthy scent enveloped it, providing a sense of security.
The pink ball pulled its body into a short line, imitating the crawling of a snail, moving silently forward.
Snails were the quietest creatures in this forest, but their slow crawling speed was quite undesirable. The pink ball was adept at learning various survival skills from prey. It was confident it wouldn’t be discovered.
Through the gaps in the leaves, its big eyes peeked out. These two strange creatures were bigger than any insects! How could it eat them?
“Hmm?”
With a high ponytail and wearing a combat jacket, the round-faced girl suddenly turned around, looking around, her voice filled with confusion.
“What’s wrong?” Her companion’s tone was very steady.
“Master, I feel like someone is watching us.” The girl kept turning her head, surveying all the dark corners. Her skin, exposed to the outside, was covered with small black runes, tiny and densely arranged into mysterious totems.
Even the girl’s fair face was covered with totems, obscuring her features, except for a small patch of clean skin at the center of her eyebrows. This made her appear mysterious and terrifying.
An old man with white hair and a youthful face stood aside, hands behind his back, not wearing hiking boots or a combat jacket. Instead, he wore a pair of cotton shoes and a practice robe. Strolling through this perilous forest seemed like just a morning exercise for him.
“Besides us, there are no living beings here.” The old man said casually.
“But I feel like something has locked onto me.” The girl frowned, her vigilance deepening in her gaze.
“Locked onto you?” The old man chuckled, walking forward. “Don’t worry about it. Except for the Ghost King, I’ve never been afraid of anyone in my life. This is just the outskirts; we haven’t reached the heart yet. Our prey is deep in the forest. Let’s keep going.”
The girl hesitated for a few seconds, looked around again, and then followed.
As she walked, she kept turning her head, but she never managed to spot whatever was peering at her.
“Whatever demons or ghosts you are, my master is here. Coming out means seeking death!” The girl muttered under her breath, her expression fierce.
The pink ball hidden in the dry leaves: … Did it get discovered?
Remaining motionless for a while, it resumed its pursuit, moving even more cautiously than before. It had to figure out whether these two large insects were edible.
The two individuals walked slowly, constantly alert to their surroundings.
As they ventured deeper into the forest, the sky grew darker, and a foul-smelling black mist obscured their vision. Everything became viscous and blurry. The trees grew strangely, resembling grotesque demons, looming and contorted.
Thick, venomous snakes often hung from the treetops. Disturbed by the footsteps, they immediately raised their triangular heads, spitting out venomous red signals from their sharp fangs.
Twisting their vibrant bodies, they emitted hissing threats, ready to spring and bite through the prey’s neck with their poisonous fangs.
Entering here was like walking into hell, akin to stepping into the decayed abdomen of a long-dead body. The feeling of having no escape was suffocating.
The girl’s vigilance intensified; one hand tightly gripped the backpack strap, while the other reached to her lower back, clutching the gun handle.
The old man’s leisurely posture also became tense.
“Watch your step,” the old man suddenly warned, his voice tinged with alarm.
The girl immediately stopped and looked down.
The ground’s dry leaves and gravel were corroded by something, revealing streaks of charred black marks. These marks were covered with a layer of slime, emitting a nauseating, putrid smell.
The girl quickly stepped back, turning her head to inspect. There were more marks around, crisscrossing in a chaotic pattern, resembling tire tracks on a racing circuit. But considering the slime, it looked more like some toxic creature crawled through.
“Is it a mutated slug?” the girl speculated.
Judging by the size of the wet marks, a slug this big could devour a person in one bite. The secreted slime was more toxic than strong acid, deadly upon contact, reducing bones to liquid. Encountering such a monster meant no one would survive!
Seeing her boots contaminated with slime, sinking in a bit, the girl hastily retreated, beads of sweat dripping.
“Not a slug, it’s the Abyss,” the old man looked up.
The girl also raised her head, gazing towards the nearby sky. Numerous vortexes converged in a corner of the ominous sky, resembling midsummer gnats buzzing around human heads. There were fewer vortexes in the more distant sky.
Beneath those “gnats” was the Abyss.
“Those with a phobia of crowds would go insane seeing this,” the girl swallowed, her voice somewhat hoarse.
It was her first time getting so close to this place.
Legend had it that the Abyss was the origin of all terror and also the end of all terror. The vortexes in the sky were all born from the depths of the Abyss. If the Abyss could be filled, this world without hope or light would collapse completely.
When that time comes, all task-takers can return to their initial location, continuing their lives, whether they be tragic, mundane, or happy.
However, no one has ever attempted this method. Every person who tried to approach the Abyss vanished.