Zhang Haiyan looked at Weitoma, whose eyes blinked sideways, resembling a lizard. Humans could never blink sideways.

“Why look for such people? Are they really valuable?” The Europeans had long been spoiled by the diamond mines in the Borneo rainforest; catching a few strange individuals for a circus wouldn’t offset the costs of the expedition. The Royal Academy of Sciences wouldn’t undertake such a project either.

Weitoma smiled, “Do you think those people blink sideways just because of a deformity in their eyelids? Have you ever seen such a deformity?”

Zhang Haiyan asked him, “Speak clearly, what is your reason?”

Weitoma coughed a few times and said, “They are just a skin; it’s not them blinking sideways, it’s whatever is inside their skin that blinks sideways.”

Zhang Haiyan frowned, and Weitoma continued, “We are not an expedition team looking for truths or treasures; we are a death squad. We are all murderers, scum. That tribe is infested with demons, and we are going to exterminate the demons.”

“You haven’t gone, have you?” Zhang Haiyan looked at Weitoma, who laughed, “Because I’m a coward. I peeled off my own nails to keep myself from moving and stayed here. I don’t want to go to my death.”

Weitoma looked at Madeshun, “Now you understand, they will do anything along the way to reward themselves because they are going to fight the demons, and most of them won’t come back.”

Madeshun looked at Weitoma coldly, but Zhang Haiyan’s eyes lit up. His intuition told him that although the information Weitoma provided might not be the truth, it certainly wouldn’t be without reason. There must be real information hidden within the legend of this demon.

He adjusted Weitoma’s body and looked at him, “Come on, tell me more.”

“You want to know?” Weitoma laughed, “Then you need to fix me up; I can’t move my hands or feet. Then you have to send me back to Perak.”

Zhang Haiyan turned around and slapped Weitoma on the left cheek. Weitoma continued to laugh, “Now I have leverage. No matter how you torture me, I will make you fulfill your promise. I can read your eyes; this information is very important to you, and you need to cooperate with me.”

Zhang Haiyan looked at Weitoma’s expression. To be honest, he had never met someone so annoying. He stared at Weitoma, his expression gradually growing colder, and Weitoma’s smile slowly faded as he realized that this person suddenly lost interest in the story he was about to tell. Or rather, Zhang Haiyan’s disgust for communicating with him had exceeded his desire to know the truth.

Weitoma immediately said, “Sorry, I understand. I’ll talk.”

Zhang Haiyan coldly replied, “Start from the beginning and say it all at once.”

Weitoma’s gaze became vacant, as if he began to recall what had happened before coming here. Slowly, he recounted the entire story.

Unlike the information Madeshun had received, Herman obtained not an ancient map from the old library. A few years ago, Herman was honored for his outstanding achievements in Borneo and returned to his country to receive accolades before being transferred to Perak. During that time, he spent six months in England. The diamond trade in Borneo had brought his family substantial wealth, and now he had set his sights on the precious timber of the Perak rainforest.

Herman is a very cautious and meticulous person. Everyone who knows him considers him to be proper yet reserved. Everything he does is carefully planned, striving for perfection. This extends to his interactions with others; he always greets everyone with a polite smile, maintaining a comfortable and friendly distance.

Before heading to Perak, Herman visited all the old libraries in London to search for research reports from the first-generation explorers regarding the distribution of plants in Perak. In these books, he encountered for the first time records of a remarkable drug called Gonka.

He was very curious about this drug, but he also knew that Gonka was completely extinct, with the possibility of a few remaining specimens only deep within the rainforest; it was impossible to find it elsewhere. The profits from the opium trade made it difficult for him to forget about this extraordinary drug. That day, he discovered a small description in a library report.

Aside from being consumed, Gonka had another widespread use: it was a dye for coloring leather, used by the local indigenous people. Almost simultaneously, Herman noticed that the cover of the book containing this record was of a strange red color.

Herman received a peculiar inspiration. He cut off the strange cover, scraped off the red color, mixed it into some red wine, and then drank it.

Half an hour later, his vision began to distort, and then he experienced a hallucination that would change his beliefs for the rest of his life.