Chapter 473 - 470: Invisible Fear

Chapter 473: Chapter 470: Invisible Fear

"Run! We can’t stay here for long!"

Although Zhou Dynasty didn’t understand what was chasing the animated creature, he knew this place was dangerous.

’This forest is a bit strange...’

He led Li Luo around the strange, living mist, rushing deeper into the forest.

However, just as Zhou Dynasty was about to put some distance between them and the living mist, he suddenly stopped dead, standing motionless.

"What’s wrong? Let’s go," Li Luo said, leaping to his side and urging him on. But Zhou Dynasty didn’t react at all.

Li Luo instantly realized that Zhou Dynasty had also been affected by the invisible attack.

She quickly drew the Holy Sword, letting its light shine upon them both.

As the light washed over him, the stiffness in Zhou Dynasty’s body seemed to ease slightly.

"Let’s go," he said to Li Luo, his voice trembling. He then started running off to the side, seemingly not in control of his own body.

’Wrong way!’

Li Luo quickly blocked his path, stopping him from running wild.

Zhou Dynasty panted heavily, offering no response as his entire body began to tremble violently.

"Run! Run!"

He shouted frantically, his legs giving out. Moments later, he could no longer stand and collapsed in a heap.

Seeing this, Li Luo could only grip her Holy Sword tighter, letting its light envelop Zhou Dynasty’s entire body.

Zhou Dynasty’s trembling subsided slightly, but he continued to mutter unconsciously:

"Run... Li Luo, run! I’ll cover our retreat. I’m not a deserter..."

Li Luo held the Holy Sword close to Zhou Dynasty and shook him.

"Wake up! Zhou Dynasty!"

But all Zhou Dynasty could hear was a buzzing sound.

Everything... seemed to be fading to black...

...

"Wake up, Zhou Dynasty!" A harsh shout drilled into his mind.

The next thing he knew, he felt a slap across his forehead.

"Zhou Dynasty! What are you spacing out for?"

The shock snapped Zhou Dynasty back to his senses.

"Huh? Captain?" He saw his captain standing before him, glaring angrily.

"What do you think you’re doing? Still half-asleep?" the captain demanded sharply.

"No... Captain..." Zhou Dynasty patted his head, looking dazed. "I had a nightmare, Captain."

"I dreamed I was abandoned on this Sky Island, and no one came to rescue me. Then, a Young Lady carrying a Block showed up, and I started helping her look for a beacon, but the living contamination on the island was getting worse and worse..."

At this point, Zhou Dynasty trailed off, his confusion returning.

’Living contamination? What is that?’

He patted his head again, but he couldn’t recall a thing.

The captain looked at him with pity and reached out to pat his head.

"I’ve been putting too much pressure on you all. You need to get your head on straight."

After a few more words of comfort, the captain pulled Zhou Dynasty to his feet.

"Rest time’s over. Prepare to move out! And look sharp!"

Hearing this, Zhou Dynasty dazedly got to his feet and looked himself over.

A brand-new combat suit, ample supplies, a slightly worn backpack...

’How strange...’ Zhou Dynasty felt a strong sense of déjà vu.

As Zhou Dynasty stood there in a daze, the captain up ahead spoke again.

"This Sky Island is extremely dangerous. It’s full of unknown creatures, so don’t let your guard down! I have a strong feeling this place isn’t as simple as it seems. Those creatures might all share a single source."

’A single source? Isn’t that the living contamination?’ Zhou Dynasty subconsciously started to speak up, but the words caught in his throat. It felt wrong.

’Why does that term stick in my mind so much? If the captain asks, am I supposed to tell him I dreamed it up?’

After a moment’s hesitation, Zhou Dynasty decided against mentioning the term to his captain.

"Let’s move out!"

After a short time getting their gear in order, the Sky Island Investigation Team set out once more.

But they hadn’t gone far before Zhou Dynasty stopped dead in his tracks.

The forest ahead stirred something in Zhou Dynasty’s memory...

In this patch of woods, not a single leaf remained. All the trees were completely bare, as if they’d been hit by some rare plague of insects.

Moreover, there were no fallen leaves on the ground, a stark contrast to the lush green forest they had just left.

"Zhou Dynasty, keep up," a teammate beside him urged.

"No, we can’t go in. It’s dangerous..." Zhou Dynasty replied instinctively. He had a very bad feeling about this leafless forest.

"Why not?" his teammate asked, confused. "There’s no cover in there, so it should be safer, right? Creatures can’t ambush us. Relax, you’re just too tense."

The teammate patted Zhou Dynasty’s shoulder, trying to get him to relax.

He wanted to say more, but he saw that the front of the column had already entered the forest.

The bare branches looked like the sharp claws of a beast, poised to swipe down at the people below at any moment.

Zhou Dynasty subconsciously raised the Holy Sword, then lowered it again in confusion.

’What am I doing? I’ve been in a total fog ever since I woke up.’

Zhou Dynasty knew something was off with him, but he couldn’t pinpoint the source of this strange feeling.

’Let’s just go.’ He dazedly followed the team into the leafless wood.

The harsh sunlight beat down. With no leaves for cover, everyone was completely exposed. Inevitably, beads of sweat began to roll down Zhou Dynasty’s face.

The thin cloud cover above the Sky Island did nothing to block the sun, and the scorching heat made the entire investigation team irritable.

"Keep moving, don’t let your guard down!"

The captain’s sharp command snapped everyone to attention again.

And so, the investigation team walked on through the leafless forest for a long time, yet they never seemed to reach its end.

The temperature climbed higher and higher, and wisps of white vapor began to rise from the ground beneath their feet.

"Two hours..." a teammate muttered, glancing at his electronic display with frustration.

’Two hours? We’ve been walking this long and we’re still not out?’ The strange sense of crisis in Zhou Dynasty’s heart grew stronger.

’This forest is definitely wrong!’ He looked up at the sun, and its terrifying halo made him dizzy.

"You should drink some water, don’t want to get heatstroke," his teammate said kindly, noticing Zhou Dynasty’s unsteady gait.

"Right." Zhou Dynasty quickly pulled out his canteen and took several large gulps.

The bare earth shimmered and distorted in the rising heat. The dry tree trunks were hot to the touch. As the temperature continued to climb, so did the agitation in Zhou Dynasty’s heart.

"Four hours..." the teammate beside him said weakly.

’Something’s wrong! This is all wrong!’ The sense of crisis in Zhou Dynasty’s heart was about to burst. He felt as if his surroundings were about to devour him. He looked ahead at the team, and saw white vapor starting to rise from their bodies as well.

As if suddenly struck by a thought, Zhou Dynasty looked up at the sky.

’The sun!’

The instant he saw the sun, he knew what was wrong. He immediately charged toward the front of the column, pushing past his teammates and shouting to the captain:

"Captain! The sun hasn’t moved! The sun hasn’t moved!"