"Where is this?" Qin Yan rubbed his throbbing head, opened his eyes, sat up from the ground, and began to ponder slowly.
He remembered being blown off the ice island by the Feathered Serpent not long ago, then swept away by a strong airstream. He felt like he had been carried far, far away by the airstream, and during this time, he felt somewhat disoriented, almost as if he were drunk, with his consciousness not quite clear. He felt like he was continuously falling downward, but out of concern for Dream Butterfly's safety, Qin Yan had been holding onto her tightly, using his body refining ability to slow down their descent. In the end, they landed safely. Once he relaxed, a wave of fatigue washed over him like a tide, and he fell asleep directly on the ground until now when he woke up.
"It seems like a forest here. Am I on an island now?" Qin Yan stood up from the ground, surveyed the surroundings, and apart from feeling a slight haziness in his brain, his body seemed fine. Dream Butterfly was lying on the forest floor next to him.
"Dream Butterfly, wake up!" Qin Yan shook Dream Butterfly's body, helping her up from her unconscious state. Dream Butterfly made a sound of acknowledgment and opened her eyes.
"It's you, Qin Yan." Dream Butterfly recognized Qin Yan, showing a relieved smile on her face. She stood up from the ground, looked around, and said, "I remember we were blown far by the wind. Where are we? What about the giant snake, the members of the Chiyu organization, and Shiqi sister?"
"I'm not sure either. I passed out earlier, just woke up. It seems like a forest here, but it doesn't feel like the forest on the previous island."
"It does seem like that. Let's take a walk around here and see if we can find the others."
"Okay."
The two began to shuttle through the forest.
"I don't know why, but this place gives me a strange feeling." Qin Yan walked on, feeling something was amiss but unable to pinpoint what it was.
"Yeah, this place is indeed strange." After pondering for a moment, Dream Butterfly said, "There seems to be radiation present in this forest. It's neither too strong nor too weak, just right for us superhumans. We can fully adapt to the environment here."
Upon hearing Dream Butterfly's words, Qin Yan also noticed the radiation in the forest. It didn't cause any discomfort to his body; instead, it made him feel energetic. He said, "Could there be a secret laboratory in this forest where some radioactive substance leaked, causing radiation to exist here?"
"That's a possibility... Wait, what's that?!" Suddenly, Dream Butterfly stopped in her tracks, looking amazed at the trunk of a large tree in the forest.
"What's wrong?" Qin Yan saw the unusual expression on Dream Butterfly's face, also stopping in his tracks. He looked in the direction Dream Butterfly was staring at and was stunned because on the trunk of a nearby large tree stood a strange bird that he had never seen before.
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"What...what is this thing?" Qin Yan's hair stood on end. The bird, resembling an owl, had a dry, skeletal human face like a zombie. On that eerie human face were four eyes. At that moment, this bird-like creature was carefully examining Qin Yan and Dream Butterfly with its strange eyes.
Thinking he had encountered a monster, Qin Yan instinctively raised his trident spear, ready to attack the strange bird. However, Dream Butterfly beside him said, "Let's not act rashly. Although this bird looks strange, I sense no hostility from it. Let's ignore it and keep moving."
"Mmm..." Qin Yan knew that Dream Butterfly's psychic abilities were different from ordinary people, so if she said so, it was most likely correct. He put away his trident spear, no longer paying attention to the strange bird with a human face and four eyes on the tree trunk. The bird remained quietly perched on the tree trunk, and as Qin Yan and Dream Butterfly walked further away, it stopped watching them.
As they continued to navigate through the forest, the further they went, the more shocked they became. Along the way, they encountered many bizarre creatures they had never seen before. They saw a fox with one eye and three tails, a beast with a deer's body but a snake's tail, and a strange white horse with horns on its head. These exotic beasts left Qin Yan and Dream Butterfly in a state of inexplicable horror, making them feel like they were dreaming. Finally, Dream Butterfly speculated that the radiation in the forest might have caused genetic mutations in the local wildlife, resulting in the emergence of these strange monsters.
The forest was vast and deep, and despite walking for a while, they hadn't reached the edge of the forest or encountered any humans. This made Qin Yan and Dream Butterfly increasingly anxious. As night fell, if they didn't manage to leave the forest by nightfall, they would have to spend the night in a forest full of strange creatures.
"Help, help!" Suddenly, a voice that sounded like a young girl's came from a distance. The voice sounded very familiar, and Qin Yan and Dream Butterfly immediately recognized it.
"Did you hear that, Dream Butterfly? It sounds like Shiqi calling for help," Qin Yan said.
"I heard it. Let's go check it out!"
"Is that you, Shiqi?" Qin Yan shouted as he rushed towards the direction where the distress call came from.
"Is it Qin Yan? I'm here, quick, come save me!" A hurried voice echoed from the forest, and Qin Yan could confirm that the person calling for help was indeed Lin Shiqi. He quickened his pace, using his body refining ability to change the direction of gravity and swiftly headed towards the source of the voice.
Suddenly, the bushes ahead rustled, and a slender figure emerged from the undergrowth. As Qin Yan gazed at the person, he realized it wasn't anyone else but Lin Shiqi.
"Qin Yan!" Lin Shiqi exclaimed with joy, throwing herself into Qin Yan's arms, holding him tightly. Seeing her so emotional, Qin Yan patted her back gently and asked softly, "What's wrong? What happened? Why were you calling for help earlier?"
Lin Shiqi seemed to remember something and immediately let go of Qin Yan, a look of panic on her face. She urgently said, "Quick, run, there are monsters...monsters here!"
Qin Yan naturally knew that the forest was home to various strange creatures. Although these creatures looked odd, they were generally non-threatening. He comforted Lin Shiqi, saying, "It's okay. The wildlife here mutated due to radiation, which is why they look strange. But they are not generally aggressive and pose no threat to us."
"But, but that monster is really fierce! Let's hurry and leave, it's about to catch up!" Lin Shiqi grabbed Qin Yan's hand, wanting to escape.
"What does the monster look like?" Dream Butterfly, who had arrived by then, inquired. When Lin Shiqi saw Dream Butterfly, she was delighted and said, "Oh, Sister Butterfly, you're here too! That monster is fierce, it's like..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the bushes nearby rustled, and a large, tan-colored tiger emerged. Qin Yan focused on the tiger and saw it had a tiger's body but a cow's tail, long, wild boar-like tusks, and was slightly larger than a typical tiger—a strange and formidable creature.