Survival of the Nation: My luck was a tiny bit worse.

Seeing that everything seemed to be normal, Ou Yun instructed Nanbei to order the lynxes to increase their patrols and also to inform the monkeys.

Nanbei nodded and disappeared with a whoosh.

Leng Ruolan lowered her voice and asked, "Big brother, what do you think that is?"

Ou Yun said he didn't know, "I estimate it will appear again soon; it doesn't seem like a creature that will give up easily."

Chen Hao also said it was possible, "Maybe it came from other regions and is no longer a creature from this area of ​​the forest."

Leng Ruolan's expression turned serious. "The third phase isn't starting for another two days, and new mutated creatures have already appeared?"

"It could just be a coincidence. Mutant creatures are constantly emerging in the forbidden area, so it might not necessarily be related to the third stage. But it could also be..."

Chen Hao adjusted his glasses. "Is this a trailer?"

"A teaser?"

"The preview indicates that the third phase will be more dangerous than we imagined."

Ou Yun thought for a moment, "Should we go take another look at the river bend?"

"No need. Since the giant tortoise didn't chase after it, it means that thing has already escaped. We can't catch up now anyway."

Leng Ruolan shrugged. "Besides, with the giant tortoise guarding it, the waterway might be safer than our camp."

"Too."

Chen Hao put away his notebook, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, Green Bean and Red Bean haven't come back yet. Should we contact them?"

"They're following that handsome Chinese guy; they're probably sleeping by the river right now."

Leng Ruolan looked up at the moon. "I'll be back tomorrow morning."

The valley returned to its usual tranquility at night.

But everyone knows that this calm may only be temporary.

Although the unknown behemoth was driven away by the giant tortoise, the tremors it left behind still faintly echoed on the ground, like some kind of silent declaration.

*

Mike slept by the river for less than three hours before being awakened by a mournful screech.

He sat up abruptly, his hand instinctively gripping the military knife.

The neighing sound came from downstream and echoed fiercely in the canyon.

He couldn't tell what kind of creature was making the sound, but he could tell that the creature was definitely not small—it even stirred up ripples on the water's surface.

Then he soon heard another response.

That was an even deeper gurgling sound, coming from further away.

The two sounds collided in the night sky for a few seconds, then gradually disappeared.

Mike gripped his saber and listened intently, holding his breath.

The campfire was almost out, with only a few pieces of dark red charcoal shimmering faintly in the ashes.

The moonlight on the river surface shattered into countless silver scales, swaying gently with the current.

The surroundings were so quiet that only the sound of the river and the occasional call of a night bird could be heard.

He waited for a long time, but the neighing did not reappear.

That low, somber response never came again.

Mike then slowly exhaled and placed the military knife on his knee.

He recognized the gurgling sound—it was the cry of the giant tortoise at the foot of the mountain in the Dragon Kingdom camp.

So that means an unknown giant creature approached the Dragon Kingdom camp just now, and was chased away by the giant tortoise.

It took no more than half a minute.

"……ha."

He lived in fear and trembling in this forbidden area for nearly a hundred days. Every time he encountered a mutated beast, he had to be on high alert, hiding or running away whenever possible. Direct confrontation was always the worst option.

And the people of the Dragon Kingdom, faced with an unknown behemoth that could shake the ground, actually reacted by—letting the gatekeeper tortoise handle it?!

He recalled Ou Yun's perpetually ambiguous smile, and Leng Ruolan's nonchalant expression as she cleaned her gun—

Those people weren't just trying to survive in this forbidden area; they were living in it.

A word difference is a world of difference!

Mike packed up his sleeping bag and prepared to continue his journey.

He decided to walk downstream along the valley—the unknown behemoth he had just encountered came from that direction, indicating that there might be new mutated creatures active there.

Perhaps we can find more clues about the changes in the forbidden area?

He didn't know why he was still looking for these clues...

No one needed his reports, and no one would make any plans based on his findings.

But he still wanted to find it.

Perhaps... because it's the only thing he can do right now!

He slung his backpack over his shoulder and continued walking down the riverbank, leaning on his trekking poles.

The road was difficult to walk at night, and the moon was mostly obscured by clouds, with visibility less than ten meters.

He could only rely on the reflection on the water to determine the location of the riverbank and grope his way forward.

After walking about a few hundred meters, I suddenly stepped on something soft and squishy—

He looked down and shone his flashlight.

It was dark and resembled a human figure.

Mike froze, his pupils dilating in shock.

It was a corpse—a human corpse.

It wasn't Sarah, it wasn't James, it was a complete stranger.

The body was dressed in a tattered dark blue combat uniform, the insignia on its chest blurred beyond recognition.

The fatal wound was on the neck; three deep claw marks that exposed bone had almost torn half of the neck apart.

The blood around the wound had congealed and turned black, and judging from the degree of putrefaction, the time of death was at least three days ago.

Mike crouched down and examined the body's equipment.

The backpack contained a pistol, two empty magazines, a broken military knife, half a piece of moldy jerky, and an empty water bottle.

A small national flag, soaked in blood, was tucked into the bottom of the backpack; it was barely recognizable as belonging to Australia.

He probably got separated from his teammates and was wandering alone in this valley when he encountered some kind of unknown mutated beast.

Such corpses were common in the live streams, not just in the current forbidden area, but even when the forbidden area was first established.

He himself had seen quite a few things since he came to the forbidden area.

However, his mental state is currently worrying; he even gets a bit of PTSD when he sees a corpse.

He searched for usable equipment and then continued onward.

Less than two hundred meters away, two more bodies were discovered.

Both contestants were from Australia and died in similar ways, their throats slit by a sharp weapon—but this weapon was clearly not human, as the wounds had fine, serrated tear marks at the edges.

Two bodies lay beside a fallen tree, surrounded by spent shell casings and an empty rifle.

The rifle barrel was bent, clearly from being bent by a huge external force during close-quarters combat.

Mike stared at the three corpses, and as he looked, he suddenly realized something—

The fact that all three people from the Kangaroo Kingdom died here shows that what they encountered was enough to wipe out a well-trained three-man squad.

Based on the degree of decomposition of the body, this incident occurred three days prior—around the time the third phase of the restricted area announcement was issued.

This was no ordinary attack by a mutated beast.

This means that the forbidden area has begun to release more dangerous creatures before the third phase arrives.

A night wind swept in from the valley, and Mike couldn't help but shiver.

Looking at those three frozen, cold faces, he suddenly felt that perhaps he shouldn't go any further—

That's hell ahead, isn't it?!

But if we don't go forward, where should we go?

He glanced back in the direction he had come from.

Dragon Kingdom Camp – a camp hidden among the mountains, a place with campfires, food, drink, laughter, and conversation.

That place seems even more terrifying than hell!

Mike shook his head.

He should keep walking forward...