Chapter 700

Before Ning Chen could say anything, the uncle cut in, "Old Zhang, don't say such things."

Old Zhang glanced at the uncle, snorted coldly, but indeed said nothing more.

The uncle turned back to look at Ning Chen, smiling apologetically, "Sorry, Old Zhang really has a somewhat volatile temper."

Ning Chen could see the uncle was sincerely protecting him; he sighed and nodded to the uncle, saying, "Thank you."

This little interlude passed quickly. The uncle was, after all, the leader of this team, so no one else dared to say much. Ning Chen was very well-behaved within the team; he barely spoke, trailing at the very back, simply looking around at the scenery. It must be said, the scenery of the Fantasy Forest was excellent. The trees here grew lush and verdant, so the vehicle was parked outside due to the terrain. It rained here year-round, and mushrooms would grow beside the trees.

There were also some flowers for decoration, but those wildflowers were so small they were invisible.

Ning Chen, immersed in such a lush green expanse, felt his mood involuntarily begin to lift. The live stream transmitted everything Ning Chen saw in real time to the audience. While watching the stream, the viewers felt as if they were also placed in such a tropical rainforest, exploring everything happening in this forest alongside Ning Chen.

The uncle led the entire team for nearly ten minutes, yet still saw nothing. Those missing person cases seemed as false as anything; they not only found no traces left by anyone here, but couldn't even see a single animal. "Strange," the uncle said, "our speed is already slow enough; why haven't those people behind caught up yet?"

The uncle deliberately slowed his steps, the purpose being to wait for more people to advance together, so they could look out for one another. But the reason he hadn't waited for the main force to enter the forest together was that they held a map, and this map could not be discovered by other teams. Yet after so long, their speed had even slowed to a stop-and-go pace, and they still hadn't seen a single person here besides themselves.

This contradicted the uncle's original intention, making everyone's hearts feel a bit panicked. Ning Chen, however, felt it didn't matter; fewer people entering the forest made it even quieter. To be honest, he didn't care whether those people went missing or not; he just wanted his mission to be completed quickly. Ning Chen advanced with the team at an extremely slow speed. He didn't care what he might encounter coming here; it felt as if he were here purely to relax his body and mind, just visiting for fun.

But even advancing at such a speed, some viewers were still dissatisfied.

"The streamer is walking way too slowly. At this speed, when will you ever get out of the forest?"

"I give up. This stream is dragging on; no point in watching."

Following behind the few people, Ning Chen felt a bit bored. He admired the scenery along the way while raising his head to watch the bullet comments in the live stream.

It seemed that during such boring moments, watching the comments and snapping back at the audience was his only pleasure.

So as he looked, he unexpectedly saw some comments that left him speechless.

Ning Chen naturally didn't indulge them; his next words were, "If you don't like it, just leave. I didn't beg you to watch my stream."

Since Ning Chen was walking at the very back of the team, that sentence went completely unheard by the people ahead. Perhaps because he deliberately lowered his voice, his expression when saying it strangely appeared somewhat fierce.

Those haters immediately became unhappy. They had never seen a streamer with such a temper, so they hammered away at their keyboards, verbally attacking him. The screen, which was already full enough to be piled high, was filled mostly with the haters' remarks.

Ning Chen saw it but wasn't annoyed; he even smiled a bit, "You guys are that idle, huh? Coming into my live stream every day. Typing isn't as fast as me speaking; just keep cursing."

Ning Chen was neither angry nor serious; it was as if he were joking. But his attitude could even be described as carefree, yet it forced those people to remain silent for a long while.

The haters could indeed only grab one keyword to snap at Ning Chen: that this streamer's attitude was too poor, giving the audience a bad experience.

But Ning Chen's live stream still had high heat and popularity; he had a huge number of fans, nothing those haters could compare to.

The more fiercely the bullet comments argued, the higher the live stream's heat became. The calmer Ning Chen felt in his heart. He didn't want to be full and have nothing to do talking to these people; after snapping back a few times, he fell silent.

After falling silent, he occasionally checked the bullet comments but said nothing. He wasn't the type to fuss over such small matters. While following the people ahead, he kept an eye on the movements of those behind.

Ning Chen extended his divine sense, searching outside this forest and locating the group he had met at the entrance. But for some reason, that group was still remaining at the forest entrance and had not entered yet.

That is to say, of the forest's only two entrances, currently only their team was known to have entered. The others were either stopped at the entrance or had turned back.

This was truly an unusual phenomenon. Ning Chen frowned; even he felt things were starting to go wrong.

So Ning Chen said, "Uncle, you don't need to wait anymore. Those people haven't entered. This forest probably only has us few people."

The uncle's expression was somewhat surprised, "Really?"

Ning Chen nodded, his expression serious.

His appearance and these words were not taken seriously by the uncle's companions. The person who had been sniping at Ning Chen everywhere before rolled his eyes at him, "Are you a thousand-li eye or a wind-following ear? We've been walking for so long; how do you know those people haven't entered?"

Ning Chen naturally couldn't tell them how he knew, so he simply crossed his arms, looking as if he didn't care whether they believed him or not.

Actually, the uncle didn't believe him either, but he looked at Ning Chen and explained, "They couldn't possibly not come in. These people's purpose is roughly the same as ours; what we are doing is the same."

"But," Ning Chen said, "since your aims are the same, they should be competing with you for credit. How could they not appear yet? And our speed has been slow enough, right?"

That was indeed correct. The uncle nodded, but his expression still showed he wasn't taking Ning Chen's words seriously.

Ning Chen sighed. Actually, whether they believed him or not was fine; after all, his impression in their eyes wasn't steady, and what he said might be taken by them as a joke.

Whether the other party believed him or not, Ning Chen had sufficient means to protect himself. It didn't matter what strange things he might encounter. He could act this way, but others might not have this capability.

The uncle held goodwill toward Ning Chen, so he fulfilled his duty to remind him. As for whether the other party would listen to his warning, Ning Chen couldn't be sure.

But looking at their attitude now, they mostly hadn't taken Ning Chen's words to heart. Ning Chen sighed, staring at the uncle's back, still shuffling forward slowly with the few people.

After shuffling for a long time, not a single person was visible. Around them there seemed to be only lushly growing trees and insects appearing from time to time.

Ning Chen felt a bit disgusted, but following the uncle and the others, with people ahead clearing the way, they encountered far fewer insects. This was one of the important reasons Ning Chen chose to follow them.

About twenty minutes passed. Ning Chen had already finished a bottle of water. He deliberately controlled his water intake, so compared to the others, the water he drank wasn't much.

This time Ning Chen originally brought a box of water, but later thought about it and only took five bottles out, leaving the rest on the helicopter. Nothing else; it was simply because he couldn't carry them all.

Compared to Ning Chen, the preparations made by the others were much more sufficient. They had sunscreen, umbrellas, and full-body protection. These preparations were thorough enough that Ning Chen couldn't help but be slightly stunned looking at them.

Even the drinking water was stocked very abundantly. Ning Chen only brought five bottles, placed in the backpack he wore close to his body. He felt it was a bit heavy, while the people ahead even pulled a small cart, presumably filled entirely with drinking water.

However, Ning Chen didn't expect to stay in the forest for too long; five bottles of water were enough for a day.

The uncle led the way ahead, the speed still very slow. By the time he stopped, forty minutes had passed since they walked from the entrance to here.

During these forty minutes, Ning Chen's soles were almost entirely touching the ground as he walked. Because the people ahead moved so slowly, Ning Chen had to patiently keep up; otherwise, he would "speed."

The viewers in the live stream didn't quite understand. They felt Ning Chen seemed to have latched onto this one team; even though the speed was so slow, he still hadn't mentioned going solo.

Someone asked in the live stream. Ning Chen saw it, only increased the distance from the people ahead, then curled a smile at the corner of his mouth and answered, "I am saving people."

"Saving people? More like dead weight!"

Ning Chen saw that bullet comment, but he still said nothing. This small matter was not enough to make him angry.

Ning Chen walked while staring at the uncle's back, slowing his pace thoughtfully.

The uncle suddenly stopped.

The uncle's companions were caught off guard by his stop. But the uncle was the leader of the entire team; after he stopped, no one continued forward. "What's wrong?" the companion beside the uncle asked, seeing him stop.

The uncle pondered for a moment and said, "I thought it over carefully. Let's not move forward for now; after all, this forest is extremely unsafe."

Hearing this, Ning Chen raised an eyebrow, "Finally able to stop?"

The uncle turned his head to look at Ning Chen, his expression somewhat complex: "You're right. Our speed has already slowed to this extent, yet we still haven't met a single person here. There is only one possibility: they never entered at all."

Ning Chen nodded, signaling the uncle to continue.

The uncle said, "To ensure your safety, let's slow down a bit first."

Ning Chen remained noncommittal about this proposal, but the others were somewhat dissatisfied with it.

The speaker was a middle-aged man with a lot of white hair standing to the uncle's right, wearing sunglasses for some unknown reason: "No, we absolutely cannot go back." "Why?" the uncle asked.

"Those people are our competitors. Don't you understand? There are many reasons they didn't enter. Why should we be frightened because of this?" the man in sunglasses replied.

Ning Chen slowly shook his head, his expression clearly showing disagreement: "It's not exactly fear. In such a strange place, keeping a few extra watchful eyes is never wrong." He finished speaking with a smile. "After all, you only have one map to navigate. Besides that, you have no ability to defend yourselves."

"You—" The man in sunglasses was choked up.

Ning Chen's expression was very calm, as if he were saying the weather was nice today: "If you want to move forward, that's fine. But besides us, there are definitely others in this forest. Guess why those tourists went missing?"

The man in sunglasses had no words. After a long pause, he stammered, "... This, this is the reason we came here to investigate."

Ning Chen crossed his arms: "Compared to investigating this, preserving yourselves is better. I can be certain there are things or people deep in the forest capable of threatening your lives. If you want to get out intact, then turn back and ask the people stopped at the entrance why they aren't going back."

"That's unnecessary," another person said. "Compared to this, you should worry about yourself. After all, without us, your situation would only become more difficult."

Ning Chen turned his head, looking at the person who spoke. As if hearing a funny joke, he chuckled lightly: "It doesn't matter. I have already warned you; I have done everything a benevolent person could. Whether you listen or not is no longer my concern."

The uncle said, "Listen to this young man. Go back."

Although the others had many grievances, the uncle spoke at this moment, and the map belonged to the uncle, so they could only listen to him at this point. Thus, the people behind followed unwillingly, walking back. Their speed increased significantly when returning. Ning Chen followed behind the group at a leisurely pace, as if entering and exiting the forest made no difference to him. Then someone in the group asked, "Aren't you here for a tour? Why are you following us?" Ning Chen said calmly, "Because I'm afraid of death too. I want to escape as well. Is that okay?" Upon hearing this, the others said nothing more, but their looks at Ning Chen carried an extra layer of contempt.

The ringing bell didn't matter; how others viewed him was irrelevant, for they were merely passing acquaintances. The reason he chose to leave the forest was indeed that he had developed some curiosity about what happened within it. He wanted to know why those people outside hadn't entered, and there must be a reason for that. The uncle increased his speed, and the group eventually turned into a jog, looking as if they were fleeing for their lives. People in the group felt there was no need to be so cautious and fell behind, walking slowly at the rear. The uncle felt as though he had walked for a long time, yet still hadn't seen the entrance. At this moment, he felt somewhat uneasy and frequently turned his head to look at Ning Chen. Ning Chen's face remained expressionless. The uncle couldn't read anything from his expression, but he subconsciously felt Ning Chen must know something. After walking another stretch, they still hadn't reached the entrance. At this point, the uncle's heart began to panic. He took out the map and compared it repeatedly, yet still couldn't figure anything out. Under these circumstances, he could only ask Ning Chen. "Young man," the uncle walked up beside Ning Chen, "how about you calculate how long until we return to the entrance?" Hearing this, Ning Chen truly thought for a moment, but finally he said, "Asking me is useless. I'm not a fortune teller. How would I know how long until we get out?" Hearing this, the uncle lowered his head and sighed.

"But," Ning Chen shifted his tone, "nothing strange has happened. Just keep moving forward." The uncle's heart suddenly calmed down.

He didn't know why, but he felt Ning Chen was absolutely no ordinary Mao Touxiaozi. On the contrary, among the group, Ning Chen was the one who gave him the most sense of security, even though the two had known each other for less than half a day. They continued forward for another five minutes and finally could see the entrance.

A heavy stone finally fell from the uncle's heart. They had finally returned to the entrance and could now inquire exactly what had happened inside. The moment they stepped out of the entrance, they saw several groups of people on the platform.

But there weren't as many as the people they had seen at the beginning, as if several groups had already left.

Ning Chen frowned. He moved ahead of the group first and walked outside. The uncle walked to the side and asked members of another group: "You... why didn't you go in?"

Seeing that they had come out of the Fantasy Forest, that person's expression was inevitably somewhat abnormal. He turned back to look at his captain, seemingly seeking his opinion. The captain also glanced at the uncle, his expression carrying a bit of scrutiny and some panic, as if he couldn't believe they had walked out safely from inside. Finally, the captain replied to the uncle: "Just now, several more people disappeared inside here."

The uncle was stunned for a moment.

"You shouldn't be the earliest to enter either. Someone just contacted me, saying a team that entered three days ago in the morning has been completely wiped out."

"Completely wiped out?" Hearing this, Ning Chen beside him immediately walked over. "What does 'completely wiped out' mean? I want to listen carefully." The captain looked at Ning Chen, perhaps mistaking him for a member of the uncle's team, and explained: "An entire team went out, and not a single one returned. The supplies they brought were far insufficient to last three days, and there are no supplies in this forest. In three days, those people are probably in grave danger." Ning Chen said, "Could they have gotten lost?" "No," the uncle answered Ning Chen, "that's impossible. Many people have gone missing in the Illusion Forest. Since I learned of it, nearly thirty people have disappeared one after another."

Thirty... That was indeed a considerable number, yet for so long, no one dared to enter and investigate. Perhaps it was because everyone who entered never came out.

"Besides you people, those who entered shouldn't exceed fifty," Ning Chen said. "In that case, there must be people who can come out from inside. Why not ask those survivors?"

The uncle's expression froze for a moment. He thought for a while and said, "Indeed."

The captain of another group nearby naturally took over the conversation: "We certainly asked, but we couldn't get any words out of them. Those people's expressions were mostly evasive, speaking in riddles. I asked a few times, so I stopped asking." Ning Chen nodded. So that was how it was.