The group left the Ning'an.
They jumped back onto the beach.
After heading a little way inland, they reached the Charred Woods.
From the entrance, they looked inside.
It was far more terrifying than it had appeared from the ship.
The trunks were blackened and split, their bark curling like burned human skin. Every branch twisted in the same direction, reaching thickly toward the shore.
The woods were not deep.
But less than twenty meters in, darkness swallowed their view. They could make out nothing beyond it.
The place was enough to make anyone hesitate.
An ordinary person would never set foot inside, even under threat of death.
But all nine people present were Special Ability Users from the Heaven-Bearing Society. Led by Wang Peng, they were determined to follow Jiang Qiao and explore.
Of course, helping him was not their only reason.
Before they set out,
the Heaven-Bearing Society had given them a mission of its own: gather whatever information they could.
As for that,
Jiang Qiao knew perfectly well and had no objection.
After all,
even if he told them they would die quickly here, they would still follow him.
So it made no difference.
"Let's go in." Jiang Qiao stepped into the woods.
Wang Peng followed at once and waved to the people behind him. The eight team members drew their weapons and followed, spreading out to the front, rear, and sides in a guarded formation as they crossed into the woods.
The moment they entered, the light dimmed.
The canopy overhead had long since lost its leaves. Only charred branches remained.
Yet the branches were so densely intertwined that sunlight could not get through. It was broad daylight outside, but inside the woods, it was as gloomy as dusk.
The air was stifling and damp.
A