Upon closer inspection, I realized that the mud at the bottom of the pond was being stirred by something unknown. It seemed as if a massive entity was moving beneath the sludge, bringing forth the dark mist that lay hidden below. The entire bottom of the pond was in motion, with what appeared to be an irregular vortex in the mud, wrapping the bodies within it and then spitting them out.

As the agitation of the mud intensified, more and more black mist surged up from below. At that moment, I had no strength left to feel fear; my teeth were clenched, and the tension in my body was at its peak, unable to tighten any further. My mind raced to figure out what to do while I remained alert to the situation below.

This black mist could be toxic gas formed from the decay of a large number of leaves in the rainforest beneath the swamp. Such gases are often found in the mud deep within swamps and rainforests, and they can be released due to significant natural climatic changes. Many areas of tropical rainforests are inaccessible to humans precisely because the presence of these toxic gases blocks large pathways. Some toxic gases are produced by specific minerals or volcanic gases that evaporate, or they can form deadly clouds when mixed with mist. These toxic gases are particularly potent, and many so-called “valleys of death” around the world are formed because of them, where even birds cannot fly through.

If that were the case, this substance was definitely not something to be trifled with. I wondered if it would be as blinding as the mist I encountered in front of the temple yesterday. I thought about whether I could immediately descend and rush back to the ruins, but after calculating the distance and time, I realized there was no way to do so. The black mist had already spread beneath the trees, and I could no longer go down. Moreover, if the mist near the temple hadn’t dissipated, it could very well cause me to lose my vision due to poisoning, and if I encountered a snake swarm, I could end up like the fat guy. In that case, I would rather end it myself.

I prayed that the black mist would only spread beneath the trees and not rise to the canopy, but clearly, that was impossible. Gradually, I noticed that the black mist seemed almost alive, rolling and beginning to fill the entire space.

I cursed under my breath, knowing that if this black mist was toxic, it would likely be even more dangerous than blinding. In a moment of desperation, I tore off a piece of my clothing and smeared a large amount of black mud over myself, covering my mouth and nose, and then made a similar covering for the fat guy.

Then I remembered that I was in the tree and quickly found some vines to tie myself up and hang from the branches, in case I became disoriented from poisoning and fell.

Just as I finished this, the black mist reached my feet. When it enveloped me, the speed of its spread was astonishing; the black shadow moved like a phantom and almost instantaneously wrapped around the branch we were sitting on. I even heard a faint crackling sound from the trees as it passed by, and then the area within my line of sight was suddenly shrouded in black mist.

The thin black mist quickly filled the surroundings. Watching it rise, I felt as if I were trapped in a house engulfed in flames, but at the same time, I immediately caught a strange smell, and my throat began to itch.

The itching in my throat was clearly a bad omen. Instinctively, I held my breath and tried to minimize my intake of air.

A few seconds later, when I didn’t immediately succumb, I let out a sigh of relief; clearly, the toxicity of this black mist was not severe. This gave us a much greater chance, but if we inhaled too much, it was hard to say what would happen.

As I prayed for the black mist to dissipate like the fog, I continued to climb higher, hoping to reach a place where the black mist was thinner. However, when I looked up at the treetops within my line of sight, they were completely shrouded by this black mist. Under the beam of my mining lamp, I saw that the black mist seemed to consist of solid little particles, resembling smoke rather than gas. I reached out to touch it but couldn’t grasp anything.

What is this? Suddenly, I felt like I had seen this kind of black smoke somewhere before. Where was it? As I pondered, a vague sense of unease began to rise within me, accompanied by an extremely ominous feeling.

I suddenly thought of the “Muffled Oil Bottle” and inwardly cursed his ancestors. If he had listened to me just now, we wouldn’t be in such a predicament. Why didn’t I insist a little longer? If I die here, who would I call for justice?

Perhaps I had trusted him too much before, but his recent decisions had been somewhat erratic, and I immediately wanted to slap myself.

However, even if he had come, I still wondered if he would be able to make it tonight. Not bringing a gas mask was indeed my oversight, but the gas masks that A-Ning and the others had were quite large, while the ones used by Fatty and Panzi were old military models—sturdy but too heavy and inconvenient.

No matter how I thought about it, it felt wrong; this was an unavoidable calamity.

As I continued to watch the marsh, I heard a series of deep water sounds stirring from the swamp beneath my feet. It was heavy and not too loud, but it sounded as if some enormous creature was about to emerge from within.

Something strange must have happened beneath this swamp; otherwise, such a disturbance wouldn’t occur. I wondered if the snake eggs in a corpse’s belly had hatched, or if a large snake had come to feed?

The water sounds grew louder, as if approaching us under the tree. I shone my mining lamp and saw a black spot, about the size of a calf, hidden within the black mist, constantly moving. Its size was even larger than the snake we encountered before, but I couldn’t determine if it was indeed a snake.

The black mist obscured my vision, making it impossible to see what lay beneath that black spot. I felt that at this moment, I could only leave my fate to the heavens. I focused intently, watching the movement of that black spot.

Beneath this mist was all swamp; the black spot was coming from the marsh, so it certainly wasn’t a land creature. Judging by its shape, it didn’t resemble the giant snake we had encountered earlier. I thought to myself that with such a large body, I shouldn’t have missed seeing it. Could it be a large fish buried in the mud?

However, what fish in the swamp could grow as big as a calf? Could it be a crocodile? That seemed unlikely. If it were a crocodile, I would have already been done for. In this swamp, if there was a crocodile the size of a calf, it would definitely drag me in; crocodiles never let go of anything that intrudes on their territory.

While I was lost in thought, the black spot suddenly stopped near the beam of my mining lamp, seemingly having noticed the light. I felt something was wrong and quickly moved the light away, directing it toward the treetops to illuminate Fatty.

As soon as I shone the light, I realized something was off. Fatty’s head had drooped down, and black blood was actually flowing from his eyes. I was horrified and reached out to touch him, breaking out in a cold sweat. Fatty felt icy all over, with only exhaled breath and no inhaled breath left.

I cursed silently, unsure whether it was the snake venom acting up or the toxicity of the black mist. At that moment, I couldn’t worry about anything else. I adjusted the fat guy’s position and pinched his philtrum hard. After a few attempts that yielded no results, I felt a wave of nausea and realized I had to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

However, the fat guy’s posture was very awkward, and there were no branches behind him to support him. I had to use my hands to keep his head upright, but he was extremely heavy. I stepped on a branch that creaked under my weight, and after trying several positions, I still couldn’t support his upper body with just one hand.

In the end, I simply stepped onto the branch he was sitting on and leaned over him. But with my heart racing, as soon as I leaned down, I suddenly heard a “crack,” followed by a sharp snap—the branch he was sitting on broke. I suddenly felt the ground drop away beneath me, and before I even realized what was happening, I fell off the tree, clutching the fat guy, and we tumbled into the water below.