Chapter 62

Near the Amazon River basin lies vast expanses of forest, so dense and lush that humans have hailed it as the heart of the Earth, symbolizing it as the planet’s source of vitality.

Although this claim is somewhat exaggerated, bluntly speaking, if all the forests around the Amazon River were destroyed, the entire world would plunge into an unprecedented oxygen shortage, leading to Earth’s apocalypse.

The Amazon River basin is simply too vast—it covers forty percent of the entire American continent, several times larger than the combined lengths of the Nile, the Yangtze, and the Mississippi.

Within these primeval forests dwell numerous cannibalistic tribes and indigenous groups who, relying on the forest’s natural barriers, have resisted external assimilation and naturally severed all contact with outside civilization.

But now, in this quiet primeval forest, many unwelcome guests have arrived.

Sixty-two men clad in black special operations suits fanned out, constantly monitoring their surroundings; their clothing, made of high-density fiber fabric, perfectly repelled venomous insects, and their heads were covered by helmets.

Among them, several men and women in ordinary T-shirts walked cautiously, constantly watching their surroundings and inspecting themselves, terrified that venomous insects might crawl onto them unnoticed.

“Jack, I regret this,” Shan softly tugged at Jack’s sleeve and whispered.

Returning to the jungle and sensing the tense atmosphere, all her earlier excitement had crumbled; fear had returned to her body.

Jack pressed closer to Shan and whispered reassurance: “Don’t worry—we’ve got plenty of firepower. Look behind us, those guys are carrying shoulder-fired rocket launchers and grenade launchers.”

Shan turned back and saw several men lagging behind, each carrying a black cylindrical weapon; beside them, others carried cases—clearly ammunition.

Ye Nan wore the expedition suit he had ordered custom-made, and the more he looked at it, the more he felt it was a failure—all that nonsense about “fiber-thin alloys” was bullshit, inferior to the black special ops suits and Ed’s field vest.

But at this moment, he couldn’t suggest switching gear; fortunately, he didn’t need to engage in combat himself, so he gradually adapted to his suit, though he vowed inwardly: next time, he’d consult experts—no more impulsive decisions.

“Ahead is the Shur tribe’s settlement. Of course, don’t worry—though we Shur are called headhunters, we haven’t taken a head in a century.” Paul turned back and smiled at the group. “So there’s no need to fear—we can spend the night in their village.”

“Spend the night in a headhunter village? I think we’ve all gone mad,” Kerr groaned, clutching his head, clearly reluctant.

“You don’t need to worry—we Shur are very friendly.”

“Wait…”

Ed suddenly spoke, and the entire team halted. Everyone turned to look at him; Kerr asked, “Hey, big guy, what’s wrong?”

Ye Nan watched Ed and quietly extended his perception, expanding its range several times—immediately sensing the surroundings.

“How could this be,” Ye Nan murmured under his breath, his body tensing instantly, ready for combat.

Ed stepped forward, drew a knife from his black special ops boot, and slashed violently—cutting through vines as a human-shaped mass of flesh tumbled down.

“Ahh….” “Ahh….” “Oh God…”

Several women in the team screamed in terror, covering their faces, unable to look.

There lay a corpse entirely coated in some fluid—its skin gone, flesh digested—none other than the deceased Evanston.

“What is this…” Gail forced herself to look at the corpse, gritting her teeth against nausea.

“Evanston,” Paul stared at the body, reached out without hesitation, and confirmed it.

“God, what happened to him? How did he turn into this?” Kerr’s voice trembled with tears.

“A giant python—the same one we encountered before, but larger,” Paul said calmly. “Since his body is here, the python is nearby—and so is the Blood Orchid.”

“Typically, when a giant python swallows prey, it’s extremely weak. When threatened, it regurgitates its meal—but what could possibly threaten a giant python?”

“Gorillas,” Ed cleared away the branches ahead, revealing a footprint on the ground—uneven in depth, but the deepest part was nearly half a man’s body deep, enough for a child to jump into and play.

“What kind of gorilla leaves a footprint this big?” Alice stepped forward, tracing the edge. “Definitely some terrifying creature—but jungle soil, though soft, shouldn’t sink this deep unless….” Alice gestured wildly, then exclaimed excitedly, “Unless this gorilla is as big as Godzilla! If it’s truly that size, it’d be a discovery of the century!”

“Shit, if it’s that big, we’re screwed,” Ed muttered.

Alice jumped at Ed’s insult. “How dare you curse me? Who are you calling shit? I’m a Ph.D. in archaeology—I know biology inside out! My words aren’t shit, you brute!”

Alice grew more animated, more delighted as she ranted: “Listen, according to geology, the deeper the ground collapse, the greater the force required—meaning this creature is enormous!”

“Nonsense,” Ed growled, rolling up his sleeve; his right arm bulged with a sequence of muscles, as if energy flowed within them.

“You want to show off your strength in front of a woman? You crude brute!” Alice feared his sudden aggression but held her ground, refusing to back down.

Ye Nan watched Ed and suddenly unleashed his spiritual perception, sensing Ed’s power—then, in an instant, his vision blurred, and he entered a strange world: a world of explosions, everywhere detonations, each one unleashing immense energy.

“What is this world?” Ye Nan wanted to investigate, but he knew now wasn’t the time; he shifted his focus and slowly withdrew—before him, the world returned to normal.

Ed said nothing—only slammed a fist into the ground. A deafening roar exploded, shaking the earth.

When everyone recovered, they saw a large area of earth collapsed around Ed—especially the arm-thick hole directly before him, its depth nearly matching the giant footprint.

“Impossible,” Alice froze in place.