Translator: Ashish
Translation Checker: Silavin
As the cold night approached, Misty Mountains once again fell into its initial silence. Unlike other deep forests, the ‘silence’ of Misty Mountains were quite distinctive. Even the search teams that had been conducting various investigations for months were at a loss when they entered Misty Mountains.
Midnight was the prime time for Mutant Beast to hunt for food. However, on the Misty Mountains, it became eerily quiet at night. And the occasional eerie howls would send shivers down the spine, giving everyone goosebumps.
“Either Misty Mountains is home to some powerful Mutant Beast, or there are hardly any Mutant Beasts here,” speculated a very veteran soldier.
However, both situations were anything but good. Behind both scenarios lurked greater dangers.
One possibility was that Misty Mountains were the territory of a powerful Mutant Beast, while the other was that there was a threat in Misty Mountains that even Mutant Beast dared not approach.
*Ha…* Sighing, the recon soldier paid extra attention, and even when he looked toward the depth of Misty Mountains, he seemed to be extremely cautious.
If he remembered correctly, the Captain had just mentioned that there was a Prehistoric Crocodile in the Misty Mountains, and also about some strange Mist Lifeforms.
“Wait, Mist Lifeform!?”
Doubtfully, another recon soldier looked at the surrounding dense white mist, carefully observing for a while. However, at this moment, whether it was an illusion or not, he felt as if the mist had come alive.
“Uh…” In a daze, the other recon soldier took a few steps forward.
“Old Third!” A cry of alarm resounded as several other figures rushed over.
Unbelievably, the soldier called ‘Old Third’ seemed to be completely oblivious to their presence and continued walking ahead. However, if one looked closely at ‘Old Third’, they would see a confused look on his face.
“Old Third, come back!”
“What are you doing?”
Continuous alarmed cries followed as the other soldiers noticed the unusual behavior of ‘Old Third.’
However, at this moment, Old Third actually stepped into the heart of the dense mist.
*Boom!*
Suddenly, the dense fog accelerated, surging like a storm. The next moment, in the horrified gazes of the other soldiers, Old Third’s figure disappeared without a trace.
“Old Third.”
“Where are you?”
“Don’t scare me.”
…
Anxious cries echoed in the darkness of the night, as the entire reconnaissance team fell into chaos.
However, for some reason, everyone’s heart became unbearably heavy.
Especially an observant soldier who caught sight of a hint of red and a piece of clothing on the ground not far away. As if struck by lightning, he stood there, looking dazed.
*Grooar!* Suddenly, a resonant roar seemingly coming from ancient times came from behind. The observant soldier stiffly turned his head and saw the fog slowly swirl.
The next moment, a ferocious mouth slowly opened within that swirling vortex of mist.
*Crunch* Amidst the bewildered gazes of the other soldiers, followed by a crisp sound of biting, another soldier was swallowed by the dense mist.
For a moment, the entire reconnaissance team fell into an eerie silence, while their hands and feet turned cold.
…
“These guys seem really frightened.” A wisp of red smoke swirled as Qing Er appeared on a treetop like a ghost, her soft and tender feet slightly in the air. Her figure was in a red veil, appearing and disappearing amidst the dense mist, looking ethereal and ghastly.
“Do we need to intervene?” A cold and hoarse voice resonated on Qing Er’s shoulder.
Looking up, she discovered a rather handsome Ant standing quietly on her shoulder.
At this moment, this Ant, seemingly wearing a golden armor, had his four legs crossed around his chest, and happened to be glancing toward the nearby soldiers with a tinge of coldness in his eyes.
The Golden Ant – the fifth beast under Yu Zi Yu’s command.
He was one of the few individuals who knew about Qing Er’s existence. According to him, Qing Er had rescued him from a Human laboratory. He could not forget such kindness, nor did he dare to forget.
“Are you really so eager to kill!?” teased Qing Er, covering her mouth, giggling.
“I…” Unable to give an answer, the Golden Ant turned his head slightly, avoiding Qing Er’s playful gaze.
Meanwhile, seemingly sensing the complexity deep in the Golden Ant’s heart, Qing Er helplessly shook her head and then pointed at one soldier.
“The guy over there seems to have gone insane. Let him go, and as for the others, you can do as you wish.” Having said that, the wisp of red smoke swirled, and Qing Er disappeared into the dense mist.
“Elder…Sister…Elder…”
Taking a long and deep look in the direction where Qing Er had left, the Golden Ant remained silent.
Then, he slowly raised his legs…
With a thunderous ‘bam’, the Golden Ant’s footstep caused a tree trunk as thick as an arm to bend violently, as if it was unable to bear the Golden Ant’s weight.
At the same time, leveraging the elasticity of the trunk, the Golden Ant turned into a streak of golden light, and vanished into the depths of the dense mist in the blink of an eye.
However, a short while later, blood stained the ground crimson.
Yet, the most chilling thing was that not a single scream was heard.
The swirling mist had concealed all the slaughter.
However, there was one soldier still alive. He stood there like a fool, his gaze dull, motionless. Occasionally, a muffled groan would come from the thick mist, causing him to shudder.
“I never thought he’d really go insane,” taking a deep look at the last remaining soldier of the reconnaissance team standing in a daze, the Golden Ant could not help but murmur.
Then, after wiping off the blood on his four legs, the Golden Ant silently turned and headed toward the depths of the thick mist.
Madmen were the most honest, and a madman who had come out of Misty Mountains alive would add even more credibility to certain rumors.
Presumably, it would not be long before the surrounding cities would hear a rumor circulating, ‘Do not venture in Misty Mountains. Anyone who managed to come out of Misty Mountains has either gone mad, or had lost his mind, falling into a trance…’
And this was exactly what Yu Zi Yu, and even the entire North Canyon was eagerly anticipating for.
The power of rumors was fearsome. With more and more tales circulating, coupled with some real incidents, Misty Mountains would be painted as both eerie and terrifying.
Of course, there was no denying that Misty Mountains already appeared quite eerie to outsiders. It was perpetually shrouded in dense mist. It made people feel like they were going in circles. And now, with the uncertain existence of ‘Mist Lifeforms’, and the fearsome Prehistoric Crocodile…
Unknowingly, Misty Mountains, which was not far from a city, had shown signs of becoming a Forbidden Zone.