Chapter 40: Disappearance (4k Two-in-One)

Buzz—

In that moment, I felt as if I had returned to the night before my transmigration.

Under the immense force, my toes left the ground, my body flung upward like a child’s toy;

the searing pain from my back, exceeding the limits of human endurance, vanished from my senses, replaced by a gradually blurring consciousness;stars burst before my eyes, my organs felt as if they’d shifted places, and the lush, verdant forest before me seemed to morph into that blaring truck and the flushed, drunken face of its driver.

“Pfft!”

My lips parted, spitting out vivid blood, the metallic scent filling my nose, snapping me back to reality.

My body, covered in grass and leaf fragments, tumbled across the ground like a ragdoll.

After a momentary pause, excruciating pain flooded my body and mind like a tidal wave.

I couldn’t assess the extent of my injuries, but the unbearable agony—dizziness, stinging, burning, and numbness combined—had completely robbed me of my ability to fight.

“Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!”

The sudden turn of events made me curse instinctively in my mind.

Thinking of the healing potion in the pouch at my waist, my arm, limp on the meadow, couldn’t muster any strength.

The pale gray petrification at my fingertips spread visibly as my condition deteriorated.

In a breath, it had reached the first knuckle.

Bang—

Heavy footsteps echoed from the unseen forest.

The shadow cast by the petrifying lizard’s massive body gradually enveloped me on the ground.

“Am I going to die?”

In that instant, after panic and resentment, my heart grew strangely calm.

Flashing before my eyes were the rusty nail embedded in the dwarf Erji’s skull, Gagu’s ankle hoisted by the bear goblin, and the broken wooden bow in Maji’s arms.

Though I had never seriously contemplated the end of my “transmigrator” journey, having witnessed the fates of the Rotten Fish and Shrimp Team, I seemed to have subconsciously prepared for all possibilities.

“Screech!”

A piercing wail, as if the air itself was torn apart, erupted from the treetops nearby.

A sharp arrowhead gleamed coldly, the mist swirling violently.

The half-elf’s signature white-feathered arrow spun rapidly, a mere blur to the naked eye, shooting straight toward the petrifying lizard.

“Ding!”

Its aim was off.

Whether intentional or not, the wooden arrow didn’t target the lizard’s eyes but landed on the rock-like, gray-green scales on its side.

Sparks flew, the rugged scales, as tough as steel, effortlessly blocked the arrowhead from piercing flesh.

It left only a faint white scratch.

But because of this, the petrifying lizard’s attention shifted momentarily from me.

Its muscular, stone-armored neck turned slowly, its gaze locking onto the direction of the arrow, its eerie green eyes flickering as it unleashed “Petrifying Gaze” invisibly.

At that moment, in a blind spot beyond the lizard’s line of sight, a shadow twisted, and a palm-sized brown clay jar was suddenly hurled.

“Boom!”

It struck the lizard’s snout dead-on.

Inky, viscous oil and murky dust ignited with a single spark, exploding like a small bomb.

Roar—

Flames instantly engulfed the petrifying lizard’s head.

A pained bellow echoed through the forest.

I wouldn’t waste the chance my teammates risked their lives to give me.

Though my body was critically injured from the lizard’s attack,

the sudden calm in the face of death restored my ability to think and react.

Almost the moment the sound of the half-elf’s arrow cutting through the air reached my ears,

I gritted my teeth, summoning immense willpower to endure the boundless pain coursing through my body, forcing my twisted arm to move.

Trembling, I retrieved the glowing healing potion from my waist pouch.

I bit off the cork with my teeth.

And drank.

Half the bottle was gone in one gulp.

The liquid was cool, slightly sweet, and fragrant.

As it flowed down my throat into my stomach, it turned into waves of warmth, urging my blood to circulate throughout my body.

As if bathing in a hot spring, the pain across my body eased within a few breaths.

I regained control of my body.

The gray-green figure wreathed in flames flashed in the corner of my eye.

I had no time to wait for the potion to take further effect.

The moment I regained mobility, I pushed myself up from the ground with both hands.

And ran toward the forest depths without looking back.

The wooden arrow, the incendiary bomb, and the half-elf duo disappearing after their attack told me instinctively this wasn’t a counterattack led by Hai’an and Wood.

It was merely a delaying tactic to save me from the lizard’s claws.

I had to seize the chance to put as much distance as possible between us.

And indeed, it was so.

The sudden flames and the searing pain at its sensitive snout made the petrifying lizard thrash its head like a wild bull.

Though its facial scales were relatively weaker, they were still tough and resilient, playing a significant role.

Ten seconds? Or twenty?

The flames, which had burned fiercely, were extinguished as the surrounding trees and grass were crushed and broken.

Its large nostrils snorted hot air.

The two presences in the treetops had vanished, leaving only the stumbling yet steadily retreating figure in the distance.

As if mocked by weak prey, the beast’s ferocious rage flared in the brutal creature’s heart.

“Roar—”

It let out a fierce bellow toward the sky.

Then, like a tank, it charged recklessly toward the direction I fled.

…

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The drum-like heavy footsteps echoed again from the forest behind.

I felt the ground tremble, the violent sounds of trees collapsing.

I wanted to speed up, but my body had reached its limit.

My pace slowed, the soft meadow beneath my feet feeling like a muddy swamp, each step harder than the last.

Half a bottle of healing potion allowed me to recover temporarily from critical injuries and regain some mobility.

But to fully recover in such a short time was clearly beyond what a small sip of potion could do.

After all, its name didn’t carry prefixes like “potent” or “ultimate.”

I could only keep running forward as best I could.

Even as the mist in the air grew thicker, visibility dropping rapidly, and the trees in my sight grew denser.

It was clear I had left the “outskirts” of the Mist Forest.

Moreover, I noticed something else.

The direction I chose in the heat of the moment seemed to be exactly where the strange objects I hesitated over before deciding to return originated.

The frequency of those oddly styled buildings, intertwined with bushes and branches, increased.

Not just the towering wooden inn, but also a dilapidated temple with half a bronze bell, a grand palace mostly collapsed…

It felt like I was approaching the epicenter of it all.

My heightened focus seemed to accelerate the flow of time.

I didn’t know how long had passed.

Until the warmth from the healing potion faded completely, no longer felt.

Under the strain of my exhausted stamina, I slowed my steps.

“Huff… huff… huff…”

Panting heavily, consciousness and clarity returned to my mind with each breath.

“Did I… escape?”

I wondered in astonishment.

I had clearly felt, during my escape, the petrifying lizard’s pursuit, fueled by rage, growing even fiercer than before.

At one point, I thought all my efforts were futile.

But…

“When?”

When did the lizard’s footsteps suddenly stop?

It wasn’t a case of me escaping its perception range, causing it to slow down to search for me.

It was an abrupt halt, like slamming on the brakes, its footsteps vanishing in an instant.

Gasping for air, my face dazed from the intense exertion, I looked around.

The mist in the air had thickened considerably, dimming even the sunlight above.

Suddenly, I sensed something off.

“Where are those buildings?”

The ruins that had been everywhere moments ago had vanished, not a single brick or tile in sight.

Dim, silent.

I suddenly felt an illusion.

At this moment, I was like someone standing at the calm yet most dangerous center of a catastrophic cyclone raging across the earth—

The eye of the storm.

Instinctively, I turned, taking a tentative step forward.

Buzz—

Without any warning, utterly abrupt,

the space around me twisted and blurred for an instant.

The next second, my body vanished into the mist.

…

“Xia Nan? Xia Nan?”

In the dark, silent depths of the forest, a hushed call suddenly rang out.

Hai’an crouched low, cautiously weaving between the trees.

Beside him, as always, was his shadow-like guard, Wood.

Unlike their pristine appearance at our first meeting, the two now looked rather disheveled.

Not only were they covered in grass seeds and leaf fragments, but their hair was matted with sweat.

Hai’an’s silver-gray eyes glowed faintly in the dark, carefully searching for his companion.

His elven darkvision allowed him to see as clearly as day within sixty feet, even in dim light.

Nothing.

Wood remained silent but was equally diligent.

While staying vigilant, he used his extensive experience to meticulously examine the details of the surrounding forest floor.

One had ranger-related combat skills and the elven bloodline, a “child of nature”;

the other was a rogue, adept at concealment and thriving in shadows.

Once out of the petrifying lizard’s sight, they easily slipped from its perception.

This allowed them to launch a surprise attack from the side, saving me from the lizard’s clutches.

Afterward, they took a long detour, following the commotion to this point.

“Young master, here!”

Wood, noticing something, crouched and alerted the half-elf beside him.

On the soft, damp meadow before him was a trail of footprints.

As if chased by something and running out of stamina, the prints were short and dense, with broken plant stems nearby.

But strangely, the trail’s owner seemed to have vanished abruptly, the continuous footprints stopping suddenly on a patch of ground.

Hai’an looked up sharply, his gaze scanning the dense treetops.

“Young master, we’re already deep in the Mist Forest…”

Wood hesitated, cautioning from the side.

Hai’an’s expression didn’t change.

He glanced at the faintly darkening sky above, then down at the abruptly ending footprints.

Slowly but firmly, he said:

“Two more hours. If we still find nothing… we’ll retreat to the outskirts for now.”

“Alright.”

…

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

“Boom!”

Rough, grayish-green scales slammed into a tree trunk.

The thick bark, capable of withstanding blades and axes, was instantly pierced, the wood fibers snapping, revealing the tender core inside.

The petrifying lizard “Basilisk” vented its pent-up rage on this innocent oak.

Mud splattered.

The massive root system, deeply embedded in the soil, was wrenched up under the creature’s steel-crushing force, along with half a broken trunk.

It roared furiously, the ghostly green light in its eyes flickering incessantly.

Some of the scales on its snout and the surrounding brown crystal bone spikes bore faint scorch marks from the earlier flames.

The petrifying lizard could sense the human presence fading in the distant forest.

It knew clearly that these weak creatures were no match for it.

Even if they survived its “Petrifying Gaze,” a single swipe of its claw or a casual bite would turn these cunning prey into its dinner.

Yet, despite this, the lizard showed no intention of pursuing further.

It lingered at the edge of the increasingly dense buildings, futilely wrecking the surrounding bushes and trees.

As if an invisible boundary line existed between it and the ruins,

it dared not take a single step beyond.

In the end, after toppling dozens of towering trees and turning countless startled creatures into cold stone statues,

the petrifying lizard, with a mix of hesitation and wariness, cast a final glance in the direction I had disappeared.

It turned.

Dragging its bloated body, it vanished into the mist and forest depths.

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