In the thick fog, the air was still and stagnant, and Chen Chong stood in place, his prison uniform soaked with cold sweat.
"I ran hundreds of meters in a straight line, why did I end up back here?"
Chen Chong's expression was icy as he recalled his every move:
"Was it my disorientation that caused me to circle around in the mist, or is there something else at play?"
Chen Chong confirmed that the rock in front of him was real, not an illusion, and his consciousness was clear and calm. It didn't seem like some sort of ghostly phenomenon.
"Let me try again."
Chen Chong forcefully suppressed his growing unease and sprinted in a new direction.
This time, Chen Chong's speed significantly slowed down. He occasionally looked back to make sure that the faint footprints on the ground remained roughly in a straight line.
After a few minutes of maintaining his straight path, without finding the rock he started from, Chen Chong's tense nerves relaxed slightly, and he let out a sigh:
"It seems like I was just too nervous earlier. It may have been a coincidence..."
Just then, a faint sound broke the silence. Chen Chong's body shuddered as an unparalleled sense of horror overwhelmed him, and without hesitation, he rolled on the ground!
With a swish, a flash of cold light appeared as a strong arm suddenly reached out from the dense fog next to him, wielding an extremely sharp tactical dagger. The arm ruthlessly sliced through the original position of Chen Chong's neck. If it weren't for Chen Chong's quick reflexes and agile movements, this attack would have decapitated him instantly!
"I've changed my mind!"
Johnson's imposing figure broke through the fog and revealed itself, his face filled with excitement upon discovering his prey. He stomped fiercely towards Chen Chong, who was rolling on the ground, and exclaimed:
"You bastard! I've decided to take your head back with me!"
However, Chen Chong had no intention of fighting with his heavily injured body against Johnson. After rolling on the ground, he used his intact right arm to propel himself up and swiftly leapt into the dense fog like a gecko. Then, under the cover of the pervasive fog, he sprinted away!
With a loud bang, the ground cracked and formed a small pit where Johnson had stomped. It was evident how immense his strength was, even in his enlarged state with bulging muscles. However, luckily, while Johnson's strength and defense were astounding in this state, his reaction speed and agility were lacking. After Chen Chong rolled away, he swiftly disappeared into the fog, leaving no trace.
"Damn it!"
Witnessing Chen Chong slip away like a slippery eel and fail to capture him twice in a row, Johnson's eyes turned red with rage. He shouted in frustration.
...
"Huff, huff, huff..."
All Chen Chong could see was the gloomy white surroundings as he ran rapidly through the thick fog. After running another kilometer or so, he finally came to a slow stop.
Despite running in a straight line based on his perception for the past kilometer, he still hadn't escaped from this foggy labyrinth.
"What the hell is going on!"
Chen Chong slowed down his pace and cautiously continued forward. The dense mist seemed to mockingly dance around him, filling his heart with indescribable restlessness.
"What the hell is this place!"
It's not surprising that Chen Chong struggled to remain calm. The abnormality of this foggy area exceeded his comprehension. He felt like a trapped beast in a maze, coupled with the unknown danger lurking around him. It felt as if a sword of death was hanging over his head, making him entertain the thought of confronting Johnson in a fight to the death.
"Perhaps Johnson's appearance earlier was just a coincidence. If he could track my movements in the fog, he should have caught up by now."
Forcing down his growing impatience, Chen Chong took a deep breath:
"There must be a way to get out of here. I've come this far, I must survive."
Discarding any distracting thoughts, Chen Chong decided to continue moving in a straight line using the footprints he had measured earlier.
However, just as he took a few steps using this method, Chen Chong's gaze suddenly froze. Because, when the fog was shattered, he once again saw the rock that he was very familiar with in his path. There were bloodstains on it, dot by dot.
This was the rock he started from, and he had returned to the same spot once again!
Staring fixedly at the rock, Chen Chong's body turned cold. Two coincidences in a row couldn't simply be dismissed as such, especially in such an extremely eerie place!
Gurgling sounds emerged from the ground beneath Chen Chong's feet at that moment, accompanied by strange water flow noises. His feet felt damp.
Chen Chong's expression stiffened as he lowered his head.
On the ground beneath his feet, a large amount of crimson liquid gushed out frantically, like a rising tide on the coast, quickly flooding his feet. The red color and the smell of blood filled the air, spreading in all directions!
The flood of blood submerged Chen Chong's feet, and the horrifying mist formed a terrifying world of only blood and white.
Is this... hell?...
In an instant, his whole body was engulfed by the bloody sea. In the sea of blood, Chen Chong's consciousness became muddled, as if something was restricting his thoughts, making even simple thinking difficult.
Then, in the sea of blood, his body began to melt.
First, his facial features, then his limbs and torso... his skin started to rot, and his muscles melted like a candle, revealing white bones. Even his internal organs... in this terrifying red sea, Chen Chong's entire being seemed to be decomposing, as if he was food being dissolved within a stomach.
Am I going to die?
His thoughts were extraordinarily sluggish, as if every nerve reaction process had been infinitely lengthened. In this horrifying sea of blood, Chen Chong struggled to feel fear, even when death slowly approached.
Suddenly, just as Chen Chong's skin and muscles completely dissolved and fell away, leaving only a bloody skeleton, his mind fell into complete silence. In his mind, the previously silent mysterious ball of light suddenly radiated an unparalleled brilliance!
This brilliance seemed to contain the mysteries of heaven and earth, the truths of the universe. It could illuminate boundless time and space, and directly illuminated Chen Chong's spiritual world with a majestic presence!
Sss!
In just an instant, the blood-soaked sea of infinite horror melted away like ice and snow.
"I...!"
In the next moment, Chen Chong's soul trembled, and he abruptly opened his eyes!
There was no horrifying sea of blood anymore, and the surroundings were still filled with the thick and impassable white mist. He remained in the leaning position against a rock, feeling sharp pains all over his body.
The source of the pain was the appearance of strange white plant roots breaking through the ground. These roots were no thicker than a pinky finger and slithered across his body like snakes, entangling and penetrating his skin. Some had even pierced his skin, drawing his blood!
"I understand now!"
Watching the horrifying roots wriggling on his body, eagerly sucking his flesh and blood, a flash of insight suddenly pierced Chen Chong's mind!
He seemed to have finally understood something. His eyes were not filled with fear but rather surprise as he laughed maniacally:
"So that's how it is!"
With a flick of his hand, Chen Chong tore off the entwined roots on his body and stood up abruptly. He glared fiercely at the dense and gloomy mist:
"You want to devour me? I'll devour you first!"