Curiosity

Feng Ling took out a rope and securely tied it to Kite's saddle. Then she gripped the rope and jumped down, sliding all the way to the ground along its length.

She wanted to see for herself what had happened to the Human-faced Crow that had lost contact.

Ye Zheng followed close behind.

The two set out from the area that had been bombarded.

Such a lush green scene should have felt soothing, but the plants here only felt oppressive and suffocating. The leaves were packed together as densely as toothpicks in a full box. Even some leafless roots and stems were covered in Bud Points waiting to burst forth at any moment. Then there were the flowers—thick petals covered in ugly warts, lumpy and garish, constantly assaulting Feng Ling and Ye Zheng's eyes.

The hot, humid air was like the breath of some enormous creature. Both Feng Ling and Ye Zheng felt uncomfortable. They felt as if the Labyrinth Boss was very, very close, yet also very, very far away.

Before they had gone far, dense branches and leaves blocked their path.

Feng Ling used her hardened Bone Blade to cut through some of the foliage. It felt like cutting into an incredibly tough head of broccoli.

At last, she saw the Human-faced Crow that had ventured deep into the woods—

It had already been wrapped in tentacles and fused together with an organ.

The Human-faced Crow was small and weak. Once the tentacles had tangled around it, it had no way to break free.

Feng Ling stretched her arm into the thicket, half her body pressed tightly against the plants. She straightened her fingers, reached forward, grabbed the organ fused with the Human-faced Crow, and yanked hard!

All the tentacles covering the organ writhed violently. Some crawled up