Chapter 97

Aixiaohai did not give up for even a minute.

While the animals were searching all over the mountain, Aixiaohai was also making efforts.

Mount Dengyun is called a mountain, but in fact, the most mysterious and unpredictable place is the large area inside the mountain. There are forests, swamps, and mountain lakes, where countless animals and plants live. Twenty years ago, a scientific expedition team came in to investigate and discovered many rare animals and plants that were not seen before.

Originally, the expedition team decided to continue further exploration, but then very strange things happened, with expedition members disappearing one after another. This forced the team leader to issue an order to retreat.

And those missing members, like the missing mountaineers, were never found again.

Over the past twenty years, some expedition teams have also come to explore, but the harsh climate and environment here made them all return without success.

Now, Aixiaohai has come.

No matter how difficult or dangerous it is, he will definitely go. He is not afraid of anything; he has been to the primeval forest of Lake Yan and the bottom of the sea. Mount Dengyun absolutely cannot make him retreat.

Moreover, there are two people waiting for him there. He firmly believes that Deng Mengmeng and Xu Yunqi are not dead, they are still alive!

Why? Aixiaohai doesn't know either, but he can feel it.

"King, human traces have been found ahead!" Dagang ran over in a hurry.

Upon hearing this, Aixiaohai's spirits were lifted. Under Dagang's lead, he quickly found a backpack left by a human.

Upon seeing it, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. From the style of the backpack, it was definitely not something the two girls would use. This backpack's style was from a few years ago.

Opening the backpack, there were some rotten food and essential items for exploration inside. Aixiaohai found a shelter from the rain and emptied the contents of the bag. He even found a sealed oil paper package in a plastic bag.

After peeling off the outer oil paper, it turned out to be a diary. Aixiaohai couldn't help but smile bitterly. Why did he have such a connection with diaries? The one he found in the sea is still at his home. These expedition members are really something; in this day and age, they still write diaries with paper and pen. Don't they know there's something called a recorder?

Flipping through the diary, it was written by an expedition member. It roughly described how they formed an expedition team five years ago to conduct a scientific investigation inside Mount Dengyun.

Aixiaohai remembered this; it was the last organized expedition to Mount Dengyun, and it was organized by civilians. This exploration resulted in heavy losses for the expedition team, with all nine members disappearing without a trace.

The local government also attempted a rescue, but the expedition team seemed to have completely vanished from the world... Mount Dengyun thus gained a nickname—Devil Mountain!

After that, no expedition team dared to take the risk.

Local elders say that there are terrifying demons hidden inside the mountain, ruling over all the creatures there. Humans who enter its territory will suffer a terrible fate.

Aixiaohai doesn't believe in demons.

The rain became even heavier, making it impossible for Aixiaohai to move normally. He could only wait for the rain to ease up. Taking advantage of this time, he roughly flipped through the diary.

"X month X day, sunny. Baisi Yuan disappeared, and we can't find him. There's no cell phone signal here, so we can't contact the outside world... X month X day, sunny. We are still searching for Baisi Yuan. When we returned to the camp at night, Hu Weiguo and Gao Xiaofan didn't come back... X month X day, cloudy. It's already the third day, and Baisi Yuan, Hu Weiguo, and Gao Xiaofan have disappeared. We can't find them no matter what...

X month X day, rainy. A terrifying atmosphere envelops the entire team. It's the sixth day since we entered Mount Dengyun. In six days, six of our members have disappeared. The expedition team is now down to me, Old Sun, and Xiao Wei. We agreed to search for one more day, and if we still can't find them, we have to retreat. But at night, just like every other day, Old Sun didn't return...

X month X day, rainy. The rain is heavy, forcing us to delay our retreat. In the camp, Xiao Wei and I didn't say a word. I could see the same fear, loneliness, and helplessness in his eyes as I felt. What happened to our companions? Are they dead or alive? How can we explain this to their families..."

Aixiaohai read this and flipped to the next page, expecting to read about another day, but the diary continued from that day:

"I saw it, I saw it! I must record everything I saw. Unfortunately, it was too fast, and I couldn't see what it was..."

Aixiaohai immediately became curious. What did the diary's owner see? He quickly read on. The diary's owner started a new page, and the handwriting became much messier, probably due to excitement or high tension:

"My name is You Guofeng, and I am a plant expert in the Mount Dengyun expedition team. Our team consists of nine members. After entering Mount Dengyun, seven members disappeared one after another, leaving only me and Xiao Wei, Wei Nianhua. Today, taking advantage of the lighter rain, Xiao Wei went out to see if we could evacuate. In less than two minutes, I heard Xiao Wei's terrified scream. I rushed out immediately. Xiao Wei's scream was very piercing, but it disappeared after a moment. When I arrived, a black shadow flashed by. I didn't see what it was, but I saw a pool of blood and a metal rod Xiao Wei used for self-defense...

He must have encountered some kind of terrifying creature, and that black shadow was it. The time from when I heard the scream to when I arrived was very short, but Xiao Wei was completely helpless in front of that unknown creature. The rain had lessened, and the blood trail was still visible. I followed the blood trail, but the more I followed, the more I was shocked. From the track and shape of the blood, Xiao Wei was dragged by the creature, and from the friction marks on the ground, the creature's speed was astonishing.

I was shocked for a reason. Xiao Wei was over 1.85 meters tall and weighed more than 80 kilograms. What kind of creature could drag a 160-pound object and still run like lightning? I followed the trail to the edge of the mountain lake, where the blood trail disappeared. Did the monster take Xiao Wei into the lake? It's not scientific, really not scientific. If it were an amphibious creature, how could it move so fast on land?

The rain became heavier again, and I was worried that the monster's traces would be washed away, so I returned along the original path. Fortunately, the traces were still there. The monster seemed to be a reptile with strong limbs. Unfortunately, I am just a plant expert and don't have much knowledge of animals, so I couldn't identify it. A crocodile? No, crocodiles don't move that fast on land, and their front limbs aren't that thick...

Now I can confirm that the missing members must have been killed by that monster, and Xiao Wei was no exception. After recording this, I will take a camera and photograph the traces, hoping that the rain won't wash everything away. I may never return, but I hope that what I have recorded will be discovered by future explorers..."

The man named You Guofeng was right; he never returned.

A strong-limbed, lightning-fast amphibious reptile? Aixiaohai couldn't think of what kind of monster this could be. But one thing was certain: there was a lethal and ferocious creature hidden here!

Dragging a 160-pound object and running like lightning, this speed seemed even faster than his own.

Aixiaohai's heart sank... What if... What if this monster encountered Deng Mengmeng and Xu Yunqi... They would have no chance of escape...

"Dagang!"

"Here!"

Aixiaohai described the shape of the monster in the diary: "Do you know if such a creature exists here?"

"Yes." Dagang's answer was surprising: "This monster lives in the lake and comes ashore to hunt one to two times a day. Its speed is very fast, and its hunting speed is equally astonishing. For so many years, no one has ever known what it looks like. That's why the area around the lake has been designated as a forbidden zone by our ancestors..."

"Um... Have you seen this monster here?"

"No, as long as you keep a distance from the lake, you are absolutely safe."

Why? Could the monster only move around the lake? Aixiaohai didn't understand.

He put away the diary and looked outside. The rain had slightly eased. Aixiaohai was worried about Deng Mengmeng and Xu Yunqi and didn't want them to encounter the monster. He couldn't stay here any longer and hurriedly went out...

...

"Yan, look, there's a swallow!" Deng Mengmeng pointed outside: "A swallow in the rain!"

Xu Yunqi also saw it, and tears welled up in her eyes: "Mengmeng, I miss Sister Yanyan."

"I miss her too... We will see her soon..." Deng Mengmeng comforted her good friend.

The swallow flew right up to them, unafraid of humans. Deng Mengmeng murmured: "Swallow, swallow, we are trapped here, tired and hungry, and Yunyun is injured. Can you find someone to save us?"

She was just talking to herself in despair, but unexpectedly, the swallow circled around her twice, let out a few sharp calls, and then flew away.

"Yunyun, why do I feel like the swallow understood me?"

"You must be hallucinating. How could a swallow understand you?"

Maybe I am hallucinating?

But soon, a pangolin ran in. It... It actually placed a mountain fruit in front of Deng Mengmeng and Xu Yunqi.

Their eyes widened, and they rubbed their eyes, thinking they were seeing things!

...