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Shadows devour the bamboo forest.

What's being swallowed up here isn't just light, but perhaps sound as well.

At least for now, the only sound he can hear is his own heartbeat.

There wasn't a single blade of grass on the ground here...

There was only a layer of black, ash-like soil.

He had a misconception—

Every bamboo stalk seemed to be "watching" him.

[It was just "Animal World" a moment ago, now it's like a midnight "Into Science" program...]

[This atmosphere... anyone with a weak heart or who watches a lot of horror movies would be ready to start eating right now.]

[This reminds me of a TV series called "Young Bao Heitan"... there's a case involving a dried corpse that's similar to this!]

After confirming the success of the bait plan,

He wandered into the bamboo forest all by himself.

He completely ignored the seemingly omnipresent sense of being watched and casually touched the cold bamboo stalk of a bamboo tree next to him.

Shadow-Eating Bamboo

[Review: Once the shadow is completely devoured, the body stiffens and transforms into a new Shadow-Eating Bamboo seedling. It lets you experience what true "inseparable" means. PS: What's wrong with that? It just wants every living thing to have an eternal home.]

Perhaps we don't need to go home...

He had no interest in being a bamboo stalk.

However, this Shadow-Eating Bamboo is exactly like the bamboo's survival strategy of strangulation, expansion, and elimination of competitors, making it easy to imagine how this bamboo forest was formed.

The original mimicry plants were gradually devoured by the ever-approaching shadows in the darkness, eventually becoming part of the bamboo forest and accomplices.

He walked for about five more minutes before stopping.

This should be deep enough into the bamboo forest.

He retrieved the oil he had taken from the Naga tribe from the system's warehouse, carefully avoiding the bamboo, and poured the viscous liquid onto the black soil in the middle of the bamboo forest.

They then retreated a bit further away.

He took out a match donated by Mayor Willie of Golden Anchor Town and struck it—

"call......!!!"

The small, orange flames instantly leaped up, forming streaks of fire that dispelled the darkness deep within the bamboo forest.

It darted out of the bamboo forest, leaking oil all the way.

His goal was not to burn down the bamboo forest, since once the materials were burned, there would be nothing left. What he wanted was simply a bright enough lamp.

......

On the other side, on the grassland nearly a kilometer away from the bamboo forest...

Ivan is playing a game of escape on the grasslands.

He ran while muttering curses:

"That shitty rock-paper-scissors! What the hell invented this game! Those two heartless bastards, Hans the Cat and Sunset the Sun... It's all rigged, there's definitely something fishy going on!"

Let's rewind to fifteen minutes ago.

Ivan was actually somewhat disdainful when he arbitrarily brought up that ancient and sacred ritual.

This kind of children's game...it's not interesting at all!

But the captain has spoken, so we have to give him face.

Klaus, Nathan, and Ivan formed a circle and simultaneously extended their fists.

"Scissors, rock...paper!"

Ivan didn't even hesitate before pulling out the cloth.

Then he saw that both Klaus and Nathan had simultaneously drawn scissors.

Ivan: "..."

"Ivan, you lost the first round," the captain announced.

"Again!" Ivan shouted, "It must be a coincidence."

This time, he decided to make a prediction.

After most people's first reaction is to choose paper, they will subconsciously choose scissors, which counters paper, in the second round.

Therefore... he should play the stone!

Yes, that's it!

"Scissors, rock...paper!"

Just as he was about to throw his punch, he saw Klaus and Nathan exchange a subtle and sinister glance.

Ivan's heart skipped a beat—

They'll definitely anticipate my prediction and play cloth to counter my stone...

Then I should use scissors!

So he resolutely changed his gesture on the spot and extended two fingers.

Surprisingly, Klaus and Nathan both threw out stones again!

Ivan: "..."

The air was quiet for a second.

"Ah—!!" The burly man from the Russian bear country roared in grief and anger, "You two bastards tricked me!"

"A bet's a bet, so hurry up."

"Oh, my dear warrior, it seems that tonight, you are the brightest star."

......

At that moment, dozens of dark wolf shadows were hot on his heels.

They skimmed along the ground, their sharp claws occasionally darting out from their distorted shadows, leaving streaks on the snow-white, velvety moss.

"Chase! Can you go any faster? Haven't you eaten?"

Ivan, his grief and anger turning to rage, turned back and defiantly gave the wolf pack the middle finger. "Come on! Who have Ivan's grandpa ever been afraid of!"

Although we don't speak the same language and are different species...

But the culture of provocation seems to be universal.

Enraged, the shadow wolves suddenly sped up, with the leading ones leaping up and trying to bite Ivan.

"Well done!"

Ivan turned around and unleashed a whirlwind axe, which struck Shadow Wolf squarely.

however,

The axe passed through without any hindrance, splitting the shadow wolf in two without causing any harm. It then turned around and reunited with the other shadows.

Physical immunity?

As Ivan paused, a small piece of the shadow was bitten off.

A feeling of weakness spread from his back, making him dizzy for a moment, but it was quickly healed by the aura that Aurora had placed on him.

"Damn it..."

He cursed, dared not be reckless anymore, and silently accelerated his sprint.

However, the ground in this godforsaken place was too soft, making it even more difficult to run than on sand. Just as he was wondering how far he had already run and whether he should change direction, something unexpected happened.

The shadow wolves that had been chasing him relentlessly seemed to have received some kind of order, suddenly changing direction and rushing towards the bamboo forest.

Ivan nearly tripped over himself when he braked suddenly.

My pants were practically falling off when I ran away, and you guys are just not going to chase me?!

Can't you at least care about the dignity of the bait?

"stop!"

Ivan roared, shouldered his [Heart's Desire], turned around and chased after the pack of fleeing Shadow Wolves.

"Don't run away! Come back!"

"We agreed to play together, whoever runs away first is a coward!"

"You bunch of cowards! This is a mission assigned by the boss, at least show some respect!!!"

"Hey, I'm about to unleash a ranged attack! Heart Shockwave!"

The shadow wolves immediately ran even faster.

They rushed back to the exact location they were heading.

Stand idly in front of the Abyss, just outside the fire line, and quietly await the storm to come.

"Shh...shh..."

The black soil began to churn, as if countless things were churning beneath it.

One, two...

From the very center of the raging flames, countless black bamboo stalks stood up and began to move as if they were alive!

Their extensive roots pulled from the black soil, transforming into countless twisted legs that supported the rustling bamboo tubes and leaves as they crossed outside the ring of fire.

He gripped the raven tightly with his right hand, while a flash of blue light appeared in his left palm, grasping a small, pale blue cylindrical object—

【Energy Core β】

"Finally, they've shown up."