Warriors will die if they charge.

It's started raining.

Towering palm trees blocked out any trace of the sky, and the rain, black as it fell in waves from the leaden clouds.

Everywhere you look, there are tall palm trees and ebony trees, with vines growing from the ground climbing up to the treetops, struggling for the only sliver of sunlight, and moss covering the ground, clinging to the airy spaces.

At the edge of the dense, intertwined treetops, shadowy figures with indistinct outlines roamed—were they monkeys, owls, or leopards?

Jenny was unaware that, with a waterproof tarpaulin over her head, she was listening to the rustling of snakes slithering across the muddy ground at her feet and the distant, indistinct roars of leopards hunting in the night forest.

Black monkeys hung motionless from the treetops, their bulging eyes staring at the walking adventurers like a group of ghosts.

Everything was rotting in the rain, which was Jenny's deepest feeling. The wild boar, with only its head remaining, had white maggots growing on its body that had sunk into the swamp. They crawled from its nostrils into its teeth and out of its eyes.

If she went into the rainforest alone, she would definitely be driven crazy by the oppressive atmosphere, but fortunately she has three reliable companions with her...

Bardin dove into the dense bushes, his backside sticking out, and mumbled, "Tough guy, give me a hand!"

Marcus pulled him from the bushes; the dwarf's thick beard was covered in twigs and leaves, and he held up a handful of brightly colored fruit with a smug look on his face: "This will surely make a barrel of fine wine!"

Seeing that the tough guy didn't respond, the dwarf followed the guy's raised head and looked up at the treetop. There was a black howler monkey hanging under a thick branch, sheltering from the rain. Its fur was soft and smooth, and its limbs and tail were long, making it look very agile.

"She's quite pretty," the dwarf said inexplicably.

"Indeed," Marcus nodded in agreement.

Trish's slender eyebrows twitched as if in pain. These two fools had been causing trouble ever since they entered the rainforest, without a shred of caution or a willingness to take risks.

She was just about to suggest that they should find a place to camp when Marcus pointed to the strange berries in Bardin's hand:

"Don't get a stomachache, or the whole rainforest will smell like you."

Bardeen Storm Spirit brushed the broken leaves from his beard and put a handful of fruit into the glass bottle in his bag:

"That would be even better, tough guy. From now on, this rainforest will belong to Greenock, hahaha."

The two tough guys, laughing and joking around, gave Jenny, who was following behind, a huge shock. They would whistle at the monkeys hanging in the treetops and comment on the appearance of the female monkey, saying that she was a beauty.

A moment later, he pointed to the anaconda curled up in the tree hole and complained that it was hiding too deep, otherwise they should have a roasted snake tonight.

They were always bickering and grumbling, complaining about this and that, laughing and walking through the crowded, damp rainforest in the rain.

Under Trish's unquestionable orders, the group temporarily camped in an open area. Once the campfire was lit and the canvas was hung up, she ordered two tough men in a deep voice to go and grab something fresh and edible.

The two boisterous individuals left arm in arm. Trish took a clean towel from the large bag Marcus was carrying and handed it to Jenny, who was shivering slightly.

"You're hypothermic. Dry yourself and your clothes."

Jenny looked at the clean towel in front of her and Zhuo'er's gray hands, and didn't know what to say for a moment. Trish was the one who was most opposed to her joining the adventure, but she was also the one who took the most care of her along the way.

She took the towel, mustered her courage, and looked at Trish's face: "Um, can I call you 'older sister'?"

"Hurry up, those two are faster at finding food than anyone else."

Jenny looked ahead; the tough guys had disappeared, but their laughter could still be heard. She slowly untied the cloak straps at her chest, revealing her close-fitting brown leather armor.

After removing her leather armor, her last line of defense was her loose underwear. She rubbed her body through a towel, trying to place her wet hands in a safe position. Finally, she placed them on the silver pendant between her collarbones, but the pendant felt like a sharp fishbone, piercing her heart.

You must leave alive...

The two tough guys returned to the campsite much slower than Trish had anticipated. They had clearly noticed Jenny's unusual behavior, but left the opportunity to help her to Drow.

Since both of them are women, it's easier for them to bring up certain topics.

Marcus carried a fat iguana on his shoulder, while Bardin held two large frogs in his hands—a bountiful harvest.

Dinner consisted of fragrant roasted iguana and large frog, which were tender and juicy, and sprinkled with a little of the dwarfs' special spices, which added a unique sizzling flavor.

During the night shift, Trish insisted that she take the middle shift, which puzzled the gambler who had already taken out his bridge cards.

He had already made plans with Badin to secretly play cards all night, with Zhuoer taking the last shift, so the two of them could sleep until noon the next day.

Why?

"Because you guys will play cards all night, keeping everyone awake! And it will also delay the adventure's progress!"

Bardin secretly clenched his fist to cheer on the captain, signaling him not to back down, as losing to a woman would be too embarrassing.

However, there is a huge difficulty in not losing to Zhuo Er. If Marcus dares to breathe on Trissy, he will be asked to play a game of cards, and as everyone knows, the King of Gamblers cannot beat the God of Gamblers.

Marcus slowly put the cards into his backpack and said stiffly, "How boring. I was thinking of teaching Jenny how to play bridge."

Jenny, who was ready to rest, poked her head out from under the blanket and mumbled:

"I don't like playing cards. Gamblers will never have a good end. They only go out at noon because they'll get into trouble sooner or later."

"You little..." Marcus pressed down on her little head and rubbed it for a while, turning her smooth, short golden hair into a mess before he stopped.

The first night of my rainforest camping trip ended in a noisy atmosphere.

Following the snake people's map, Rye Wine successfully arrived at the stream hidden deep in the rainforest on the fifth day. The blooming Mayflowers grew rustling among the pebbles and mud, their iridescent petals shimmering in the sunlight and dew.

"Hey tough guy, don't pollute the public environment by peeing in the water!"

Bardin roared at Marcus, who was crouching by the stream, carefully using a twig to gently lift the slender roots of May Lily. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a puddle of pale yellow liquid floating on the water.

Looking up, I saw that Marcus, that inconsiderate guy, was releasing water upstream.

"Oh, nothing, nothing happened, Bardin." Marcus hurriedly turned his gun around, not expecting that his secret leniency had been discovered. He had deliberately found a hidden spot.

Jenny crouched down beside her, carefully lifting the roots of May Lily by imitating the movements of the dwarfs.

After realizing she couldn't return to town immediately, she followed the example of the two heartless guys and began to enjoy the rainforest adventure.

She hadn't sensed any danger since leaving the camp, and that was enough.

With her head down and her eyes darting out of the corner of her eye to Bardin, who was a meter away, she asked casually, "Bardin, have you known Marcus for a long time?"

"Me and him? We've only known each other for about a month."

"A month? But you two seem like old friends."

Bardin glanced up at her, then looked down again and continued fiddling with the roots: "There's a saying in the mountains: those who are willing to drink can become brothers in three days, but those who are greedy for wealth, even if their beards grow to their knees and their ancestors' statues are covered in dust, will not lift a shield for you."

"Words of wisdom," Jenny thought to herself, but they were all nonsense. "I could say those too, and say them much better."

Bading rinsed the processed Mayflower with the stream water, put it into the leather bag he had prepared beforehand, and casually asked the down-on-his-luck mage apprentice who was engrossed in digging for flowers:

"Honey, you're a mage? To be honest, I've never met any of you liars, but tough guys are different. You've been bewitched by a female demon."

"Magicians and fairies are two different things. The dwarf master, the one who bewitched Marcus was probably the witch from Riverside. Magicians believe in reason and knowledge; magic is a means, not an end. Like ancient philosophers, magicians use magic as a means to understand the world and thus grasp the laws governing the operation of all things."

Bardin was puzzled by the dwarves' pragmatism: "But you're not as powerful as that goblin. She can disappear with a snap of her fingers and throw out a bag of gold coins with a single word."

"It's probably a teleportation or storage ring, something only high-level mages can use. I'm just an apprentice who's only just entered the deep halls of magic, how could I possibly..." Jenny suddenly froze, raising her head, her bright eyes filled with doubt:

"You mean, you encountered a mage who can teleport?"

"Her name is Lothara Okado. She doesn't smell of alcohol or malt, and like you, she's not a good family woman."

"Losara Okado..." she repeated several times, quickly associating the name with a person:

"Is that Losella Orlando? A tall, beautiful woman with long, dark blue hair and purple eyes. She has an elegant demeanor and a gentle voice, speaking like a caring elder."

"Hey, dwarf brother, how come you've already exposed my loss the moment I let you win?" Marcus came down from upstream, shaking the water off his hands. Seeing the Mayflower with its broken stem in Jenny's hand, he couldn't help but shake his head.

"It's one thing to misjudge a water druid, but he can't even handle a flower. Sigh... these young people nowadays."

"You!" Jenny, holding her breath, wanted to throw a beautiful, perfectly round flame of hellfire at Marcus's face.

Her amber eyes widened, her small chest heaved a few times, then she deflated, asking curiously:

"Have you seen Teacher Losella? Is she in Riverside Town? How did you meet her?"

So she's a teacher? Marcus nodded to himself, plopping down on a rock by the stream and launching into a long, detailed account of the intense and suspenseful card game: "She's at the Magic Association's branch headquarters, I mean that shady little hut..."

Standing guard beside the tree trunk, Trish's pointed ears twitched slightly, and her red and blue eyes swept over the bushes where Marcus had just released water, where an unseen figure was slowly moving.

She squinted and observed for a moment, then decisively lifted her cloak, aimed her crossbow at a black shadow that flew by at high speed, and pulled the trigger with her index finger.

"Snake Man!"