This was a lifeless place, which inexplicably made people feel a sense of oppression. After the disaster, the temperature here was probably only around zero degrees Celsius. Although Li Qing and others were physically strong enough to cope with such low temperatures while naked, it was torture for the injured. Coupled with their current state of mind, they felt even more desperate.

"Try to look on the bright side and forget about Dahei's misjudgment," Li Qing thought to himself. "At least this place looks like a safe haven. Maybe Jiewu and the others are just ahead."

Besides the low temperature, the surrounding environment also made Li Qing feel suffocated. The lush greenery of the past now felt as desolate as winter. The trees were leaning and crooked, and the soil under his feet exuded a chill that seemed to penetrate straight into Li Qing's body. Ever since he saw the blood on the ground, Li Qing had developed an inexplicable aversion to sticky soil. Who knew if the sticky stuff in there was blood or something else?

There was a strange smell in the air. Even though they were wearing simple masks, they could still smell it. The smell didn't seem to be poisonous, but this indescribable feeling was what was most worrying.

Upon arriving here, in order to take care of the few injured people in the main group, Li Qing told Dahei to walk slower. The group slowly walked through this desolate area, and looking ahead, he seemed to be able to vaguely see traces of some figures moving about.

This time, however, Li Qing was not happy too soon.

He has been disappointed countless times.

Sure enough, upon closer inspection, it was discovered that these so-called human figures were actually just visual illusions caused by the wind blowing through the tree trunks.

"This damned natural disaster!"

Occasionally, you can see a few wild beasts or dinosaurs lying on the ground, their bodies covered in purple.

It turns out there are still a few guys who haven't escaped this place yet; how pitiful.

Li Qing felt that he would probably remember the way these wild beasts died forever; their eyes rolled back, and when they died, their bodies didn't even have any injuries or bleeding.

Aside from their rolled-up white eyes and purplish body signs, all of these beasts appeared to be asleep. It seems that after being corroded by the harmful element, these beasts were unaware that the element was harmful to them and died without realizing it.

This is the way Li Qing hates to die; it's more painful than being disemboweled.

These scenes along the way inevitably dealt a significant blow to the young people, and some of the more vulnerable ones even began to discuss whether they would die like them.

Li Qing would always step forward at times like this.

“I told you that if any of you were about to die, I would send you to a completely safe place to rest. But at least for now—now that you’re coming with me to find the chief and the others, you’d better follow me quietly. If anyone talks about these negative topics, don’t blame me for being impolite!”

People who are feeling down need this kind of half-encouragement, half-criticism advice the most.

After these words, the group finally recovered somewhat and silently continued on their way.

Finally, the group arrived at a scene different from the previous ones—a forest that looked very eerie and resembled the Black Crow Forest.

This is also near the place where Dahei smelled the scent.

The plants are mostly low-growing ferns, whose branches and leaves are dark green and grow very densely together.

"Wheat, is this the place?"

Following Li's gaze, one can see a path worn into the ground, leading deep into the pile of plants.

"This should be it. Jie Wu and the others must have just arrived here not long ago." Li Qing looked up at the path above, where there were traces left by someone. Someone had tied the ferns above their heads together to make it easier for them to enter and exit this place, which made Li Qing even more certain.

“Let’s go,” Li said, turning around and raising a hand. “Our family is inside, so stay strong!”

Normally, when these people saw Li raise his hand to boost morale, they would have followed suit. But they were exhausted. In just a few days, they had experienced too many changes, so they just glanced at Li hesitantly and made a few scattered perfunctory responses.

Li Qing faced these people, clapped his hands, and said, "What do you mean by this? You don't mean to let the Jie Wu and the others see you looking so dejected, do you?"

This stimulation finally roused many people, and they joined in with a few shouts.

Li Qing shook his head, coughed lightly, and said, "I know you are all very sad. There are too many of you who can only watch helplessly as the people around you die. I can do nothing about the dead, and I can only express my regret. But—we must also cherish the living. Giving up like this is not the style of our Red Flower Tribe!"

Li Qing paused for a few seconds, but not to ask them to respond. He was just giving them some time to think. “Due to the terrain here, we can’t all go in. How about this, Dahei and the more seriously injured ones, you stay outside and keep watch. If anything seems wrong, just shout. Li and I, along with a few others who want to go in, will go in. Come on, anyone who wants to go in, just tell me. Anyone is welcome.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Carboxy was the first to say without hesitation, "I want to go in."

“Sure, no problem,” Li Qing nodded.

With Carboxyl leading the way, several other people quickly signed up to squeeze in. Just as Li Qing had said, he allowed all those who wanted to go in, as long as their injuries weren't too serious, to enter. Soon, the number of people who had "signed up" had reached ten.

“Maizi, let me go in too. I haven’t seen Jiewu in so long, I miss him so much.”

"Li, please help me put in a good word for them. I really want to see them!"

Many people are still eager to get in; they miss their tribe members so much.

Li Qing pressed his hand down and said, "Ten is enough, any more and it will be chaotic."

"But... Wheat, this isn't fair! Why can they go in, but we can't?" a younger soldier said, very dissatisfied.

"Shh, be quiet! Mai Zi and Li must have their reasons for doing this." One of the people next to him quickly pulled his companion aside and whispered a word of advice.

Li Qing saw all of this, but he wasn't angry. He said gently, "Don't worry, I didn't mean to look down on you. It's just that besides those who went in, there are many injured brothers who need your care. Promise me you'll help take care of them, okay?"

"...I understand, I will take care of them."

The person who spoke just now hesitated for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out this sentence.

Seeing this, Li Qing's mood finally improved a lot, and he smiled and said, "Don't worry, I promise we'll come out as soon as we see Jie Wu and the others, and we won't keep you waiting."