Chapter 212
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Chapter 212: Back and Forth
The sky outside gradually darkened as the sun began its slow descent on the horizon.
As the sun disappeared bit by bit, an eerie sensation seemed to permeate the entire forest.
The white fog that had initially shrouded everyone’s heads began to descend steadily, as if influenced by local atmospheric pressure or some natural phenomenon.
The fog continued to lower, hovering close to the ground without showing any signs of slowing down.
Amid these extreme and abnormal changes, Zheng Gaoya’s abilities gradually began to wane.
The team retrieved the food and portable fire starters they had prepared earlier and skillfully set up a basic camp.
Ray, with his already crimson eyes, merely glanced at the pile of fire starters, and a scarlet laser swept over them. The materials ignited instantly, bringing warmth to the five individuals nearby and dispersing the boundless white fog.
“Everyone, my abilities are nearly useless. If this thick fog continues to descend every night, we’ll need to be cautious.”
“Captain, any suggestions?”
“Activate your personal locators.”
“Understood.”
The team responded in unison, adjusting the slightly protruding hemispherical buttons on the cuffs of their combat suits until they began to emit a steady green light, signaling safety.
It’s always better to be prepared…
Zheng Gaoya felt a quiet sense of relief. The combat suits worn by the second batch of the exploration team were the latest innovations from the research institutes’ fog development division. They incorporated numerous useful features without compromising quality.
One such feature was the ability to quickly locate teammates.
In the dense white fog, there was always the risk of a nocturnal ambush on their vulnerable camp. The locator device would automatically alert the team if any member strayed too far from the Captain.
Just then, Zheng Gaoya heard a voice tinged with confusion:
“Where’s my locator button?”
He turned to see Extract, one of the team members, speaking.
“What’s the matter?”
“Reporting, Captain. My right-side locator is missing. I’m not sure when it disappeared.”
Zheng Gaoya glanced at the now-empty locator attachment point, a slight frown creasing his brow:
“Does the left arm’s locator still function?”
“Yes.”
“Good, use the left one for now. Don’t dwell on it; what’s lost is lost.
“Does anyone else have any issues?”
Seeing everyone shake their heads, Zheng Gaoya spoke with authority:
“We’ll eat for twenty minutes and then rest to regain our strength.
“Gangfeng and I will take the first watch, while Extract and Ray will cover the second half of the night.”
“Understood!”
The team replied in unison, then set about their tasks with purpose.
A simple and modest dinner quickly concluded in silence, and Zheng Gaoya eventually stored the relic of Senior Zhang Tong in the concealed pouch on his person.
The sky had completely darkened, and unexpected elements appeared in the air—some fluorescent powder that emitted green, gray-white, or blood-red hues.
Upon first noticing the powder, Zheng Gaoya promptly advised everyone to don their masks.
Although this might make sleeping slightly more challenging, it was a minor inconvenience compared to ensuring their safety.
Extract nestled herself into her sleeping bag, turned her head away from the campfire, and prepared to drift off to sleep.
Suddenly, a peculiar bump on the ground near her sleeping bag caught her attention.
The bump didn’t resemble roots about to emerge from the soil; instead, it seemed as though some creature had deliberately gathered a small mound of dirt.
She forced her hand out of the sleeping bag and attempted to flatten the odd and intrusive dirt pile. Beneath a thin layer of soil, a small, glimmering object was revealed.
Extract delicately picked up the object and brought it closer to her eyes; it was a hemispherical locator, faintly glimmering with a green light.
In that moment, an overwhelming sense of dread washed over Extract.
Her instinct was to fling the object as far away as possible, but her extensive training helped her maintain composure.
Despite this, her heart pounded uncontrollably, and the surge of adrenaline banished all traces of sleepiness, forcing her eyes wide open—
Extract tore off her mask, sat upright in her sleeping bag, and began to inhale deeply, savoring the fresh air.
By now, the sky had brightened; though the forest remained somewhat shadowy, the glowing powder had vanished, and the fog that had nearly settled had risen back to several meters above the ground.
A few teammates, just rousing from sleep, looked at her in bewilderment,
“What’s wrong?”
Trace hurried over to examine Extract’s vital signs.
“Nothing… I think I had a strange dream.”
“Really? Trace, take a closer look.”
“I know.”
After a while, Extract’s emotions gradually steadied, and Trace completed his examination, confirming that she was unharmed.
As her mind cleared and rationality returned, the memories of Extract’s dream began to fade.
What had frightened her was no longer clear.
Suddenly, as if recalling something, she lifted her right hand to inspect her sleeve; there was a glowing green locator.
Everything appeared normal.
Extract remained silent and quietly packed her sleeping bag.
Suddenly, she noticed a small mound of dirt less than a meter away from her sleeping bag.
With the lingering fear from her fading dream, she approached and began to gently sift through the dirt, but found nothing inside.
While she felt a twinge of disappointment, she also experienced an inexplicable sense of relief. Suddenly, she inexplicably glanced at the locator on her right sleeve, pondered for a few seconds, and then forcefully removed it.
She carefully buried the locator in the dirt and meticulously rebuilt the small mound.
She didn’t mention this to anyone; she simply ate breakfast in silence and continued exploring with her companions.
For some reason, Extract felt more fatigued than usual.
Being highly attuned to life force, she didn’t need to check to know her current physical state.
The issue was, everything seemed perfectly normal, so where did her fatigue originate?
Could it truly have been caused by her nightmare?
The group pressed on, surrounded by the endlessly repeating gray-white trees.
Occasionally, Extract glanced at the circular scars left by fallen branches, feeling as though they were eyes intently watching her.
Suddenly, the group heard someone exclaim,
“What’s that?”
The team members looked in the direction Extract pointed and saw a dried-up puddle about two or three meters away, where a narrow, metallic object was embedded in the walls formed by intertwined roots and vines.
