Chapter 16: Seeing Through

As Chen Chong suddenly stood up, the several snapped roots, like startled earthworms, quickly burrowed back underground.

Chen Chong stared intently at the ground beneath his feet, his expression shifting between dark and uncertain, his heart filled with the dazed feeling of having narrowly escaped death and been reborn.

It was obvious that after entering the Mist Zone, at some unknown point in time, all the strange situations he had experienced were merely illusions generated within his mind.

Not only the bloody sea that nearly drowned his consciousness in complete ignorance and desolation, but even the sudden appearance of Johnson giving chase earlier, and the strange ghostly maze, were probably all hallucinations produced by his brain!

“The problem should lie with this mist.”

As his breathing quickened, wisps of mist were uncontrollably inhaled into his lungs, yet Chen Chong’s mind was now exceptionally clear, illuminating his entire body:

“These mists likely contain some kind of strong hallucinogenic factor. As time passes and more mist is inhaled, the longer one stays within it, the stronger the hallucinations the brain is deceived into producing become, until one sinks forever into the illusion, then is captured and used as fertilizer by these underground roots without any power to resist!”

The unknown was dangerous, but once the mysterious veil of the unknown was torn away, Chen Chong had already vaguely deduced the true danger of this Mist Zone, and he feared it no more.

The Main God Light Sphere in his mind had radiated a brilliant, unparalleled spiritual light at the critical moment, dispelling all Illusion Realms, leaving Chen Chong’s mind exceptionally clear. He finally clearly sensed that the strange, attracting feeling the Mist Zone gave him was not an illusion, but some kind of hint from the Main God Light Sphere in his mind!

Chen Chong closed his eyes and sensed the Main God Light Sphere resting motionless in his spiritual world, yet faintly revealing a certain instinctive desire, pointing towards a specific direction within the mist.

“What could it be?”

Chen Chong opened his eyes, his gaze flickering uncertainly.

Although the Main God Light Sphere had temporarily dispelled the hallucination assault for him, he could not be certain if there were other dangers within the mist, or whether he would fall into that ignorant state again. Reason told him that what he should do most right now was, while his consciousness was still clear, immediately find a way to escape this Mist Zone.

“Roar… ah!”

Just then, several faint, indistinct roars drifted over, but Chen Chong’s sharp senses immediately detected them:

“It’s Johnson! Not far from here!”

A thought flashed through Chen Chong’s mind, but his actions showed no hesitation. He immediately lifted his foot and dashed towards the direction of the sound.

He already had some kind of plan in mind, and although he had roughly deduced what the true danger within the thick mist was, he still needed some evidence.

Chen Chong followed the faint, barely audible sounds, sprinted dozens of meters through the mist, and then stopped, tilting his head to listen and confirm the direction.

“Huff… huff…”

Within the thick mist, where nothing could be seen beyond three meters, heavy breaths, almost imperceptible, mixed with a chilling sucking sound, flickered past not far from Chen Chong.

“There!”

Chen Chong instantly locked onto the direction to his right. Without any fear, he tore through the thick mist and charged straight ahead!

Then, as Chen Chong reached the source of the sound, the whistling wind briefly dispersed the thick mist, and his vision began to clear.

He witnessed an unforgettable scene.

On the ground two meters away, Johnson lay on his back. From the ground beneath him, seven or eight long roots, as thick as fingers, had emerged, tightly binding him like demonic tentacles. He was convulsing violently now; his nose, eyes, and mouth were nothing but horrifying bloody holes. It was clear these root tentacles seemed to understand that the surface of Johnson’s skin was too tough to penetrate, and had instead burrowed in through his eye sockets, mouth, ears, and other orifices!

This gruesome sight appeared vividly before Chen Chong’s eyes. A strong, fierce Awakener, being devoured just like an insect captured by a plant. Even with Chen Chong’s now fearless and resilient nerves, seeing this terrifying scene suddenly felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over him from head to toe, sending a chill through his entire body!

Unaware, allowing these terrifying root tentacles to suck his flesh and internal organs, Johnson’s originally giant-like, strong body had already shriveled considerably, as if a great deal of his flesh and blood essence had been drained. And although his very flesh and life were being consumed, he seemed completely oblivious, offering almost no resistance, only convulsing and occasionally letting out muffled, unclear roars by instinct.

“As expected… so it is like this.”

Staring at the shocking scene before him, a surge of violent fury rose in Chen Chong’s heart. His eyes swept around, and he immediately spotted a gleaming tactical dagger lying quietly not far from Johnson’s side.

Chen Chong pushed off the ground, like a fierce hunting leopard, swooping past Johnson’s side, and in the blink of an eye, he scooped the tactical dagger into his hand.

This tactical dagger was coldly sharp and viciously shaped. Although called a dagger, it was as long as an adult’s forearm, more like a tactical knife. Once Chen Chong grabbed it, he did not hesitate to slash at the root tentacles on Johnson’s body!

Slice, slice, slice!

As the blade flashed, a strange pale red liquid instantly sprayed from the severed ends of the cut roots, as if mixed with human blood. Having been suddenly attacked, a large number of roots began to snap. The remaining root tentacles on Johnson’s body convulsed madly for a moment, then, as if following some instinct, quickly withdrew from Johnson’s body, shrinking back towards the ground.

“No intelligence, only hunting instinct?”

He did not exterminate all the roots, but instead coldly observed the reactions of the remaining ones, quickly reaching a conclusion:

“This is dozens of meters from where I was just now, yet the same roots appeared, and their reaction was exactly the same. That means it’s possible the entire Mist Zone is the Territory of this strange plant!”

“The hallucination-inducing mist that makes creatures hallucinate is the method to ensure prey won’t resist. It seems the formation of the mist is also related to these plants. But as long as one has a way to resist the hallucinogenic effect of the mist, then these roots are nothing to fear!”

Standing beside Johnson’s mangled body, believing he had seen through the secrets of this strange Mist Zone, Chen Chong held the tactical knife and stared down at Johnson.

Even until now, Johnson’s nerves and brain were still deceived, and he had not regained consciousness.

Recalling how aggressive Johnson had been earlier, determined to kill him without fail, yet now lying here miserably without even catching his shadow, only able to meet death in false illusions—all of this deeply reminded Chen Chong to be vigilant.

In terms of pure strength, Johnson was undoubtedly much stronger than him. However, a single misstep caused a powerful Awakener with strong life force to be reduced to food for another species. This bloody example fully demonstrated the cruelty and mystery of the world he was now in.

“Thankfully, I won again… and I have to keep winning.”

Chen Chong licked his lips, sensing the vague restlessness emanating from the Main God Light Sphere in his mind, and looked towards a certain direction in the mist:

“Then… what exactly is it inside here that attracts the Main God?”

Having experienced the Ultra Divine Water’s reality-defying materialization and its miraculous effects, Chen Chong now tacitly accepted that this consciousness-less light sphere in his mind was an incomplete or bootleg version of the Main God Great Light Sphere. But he truly could not determine whether the unknown thing in the mist that attracted the Main God was a blessing or a curse for him.

“I’ll go explore!”

Chen Chong considered for only a moment before making a decision.

In truth, if the Main God in his mind hadn’t suddenly freed him from the hallucinations earlier, his fate would probably have been exactly the same as Johnson’s before his eyes, becoming nothing but fertilizer for these terrifying plants. But now that he had seen through the secret of the Mist Zone, without the hallucinogenic effect of the mist, and with a weapon in hand, these root plants could no longer pose much threat to him!

“Gurgle… gurgle…”

At his feet, Johnson, his face now only a few bloody holes, made unconscious sounds from his throat.

Looking at the giant man who had been so powerful and fierce earlier but was now so miserably helpless, Chen Chong’s face was expressionless. He murmured to himself in a low voice:

“Johnson, you’re lucky.”

With a ‘squelch’, a cold gleam flashed, and the tactical knife in Chen Chong’s hand had already plunged into Johnson’s brain, ending his suffering on the spot!