The fat worms are mainly brown with a few reddish ones. These worms have neither combat nor construction capabilities; their main purpose is to replenish energy.

After all, insects also need food.

Jiang Ran picked up a fat worm and made sure there were no black parts on its body.

This is indeed a rather unusual ingredient, but Jiang Ran didn't have high hopes of finding much good food in this insect forest.

Jiang Ran wiped the dirt off the insect with his sleeve and then put it in his mouth.

Mmm, and it's bursting with juice...

Actually, the taste wasn't strange, but it certainly wasn't delicious either. However, with this thing around, Jiang Ran no longer had to worry about losing strength due to not being able to replenish his food.

"You have five questions left."

The giant spider spoke again.

Five questions left...

Have you heard of the Lost City?

"The Lost City?" the giant spider replied. "An adventurer once asked me the same question. So, the reason you've all come here is to find this Lost City?"

"You can also understand it that way; this is my purpose."

“But unfortunately I don’t know.” The giant spider shook its head. “However, you can go to our ‘King’. He is all-knowing and is the will of our whole being. If you need, I can take you to our ‘King’, as if you asked the question ‘Where is the King?’”

"Oh? Is what you're doing within the permitted scope? By the way, this isn't a question I could ask, but you can also choose not to answer."

"All you need to know is that I cannot do anything that the 'King' forbids."

"You have four questions left, but if you want to find 'King', you'll only have three left."

"If I cross the entire Insect Forest, where will I end up?"

"I don't know, I've never left this place." The giant spider was a little embarrassed. "You keep asking me questions I can't answer, which makes me feel pretty useless. Opportunities are limited, so ask me something you know."

“You know a lot, but I’m not interested.” Jiang Ran stepped forward and tossed another fat worm into his mouth. “So, let me ask what I’m interested in.”

"What exactly is a night storm, and what causes it?"

“Night Storm—it has existed since the time I was born,” the giant spider continued. “Legend has it that it is the punishment of the gods for all living things in the world. Every night, the Night Raven brings annihilation, and all who have seen it have died without exception.”

Uh, Jiang Ran covered his head. What difference did this make? Seeing Jiang Ran's expression, the giant spider also felt a little guilty: "Ahem, you have two more questions. Um... just ask what's here, I can answer that."

"I'll ask your 'King' about the rest of the questions. I'll ask you one last question—" Jiang Ran didn't expect to get anything useful from the giant spider anymore. Getting food and information about the "King" would be enough.

"Ask away, I hope I can answer."

"Have you ever heard of Alice? A little girl in her pajamas."

Gwen was puzzled as to why Jiang Ran would ask such a question.

Since they couldn't turn back after leaving the cabin, Alice should have nothing to do with them anymore. Instead of asking that, they should ask the insects why they are afraid of plants.

"Alice? Hmm... I remember now, there was indeed a little girl who came here, but I don't know if her name was Alice."

Seriously? You really know?

"That was a long time ago, about thirty... or forty years ago? An adventurer came here; he was the little girl's brother."

"Then, that little girl came to us all by herself, and thousands of our insects died at her hands. This was a significant blow to us, but 'the King' didn't intervene. We could only watch as she took her brother away. But to be honest, we never wanted to kill her brother. Instead, she inexplicably treated us as enemies..."

The giant spider couldn't help but complain.

Before Jiang Ran set off, Alice handed him a pot of herbal soup, which was just the right amount to control the insects in the area. At that moment, Jiang Ran wondered if Alice had ever been to the Insect Forest.

This pot of herbal soup is probably not only effective against insects. You know, Jiang Ran might have chosen the second path. If Jiang Ran had gone to the "uninhabited city", would this pot of herbal soup still have any effect?

Is it because of the plants' unique characteristics in this world that the herbal soup has this effect, or—because of Alice?

Alice plays not just a guide looking after the cabin in this world, but a crucial figure who runs through the entire story!

"But we can't back down, or we'll miss out on Alice."

Gwen raised her own questions.

"Is there really no way to back down? Is there really no other way?" Jiang Ran closed his eyes. "I don't think so."

"But your talent..."

"The coin only told me 'dangerous,' but it didn't tell me 'no'!"

"Big guys, this is your last chance. Take me to your 'King'."

"Come with me, adventurer."

Tebu from India paced around the room. Currently, he was the closest to Jiang Ran in terms of time, and he had also made a significant contribution to the others.

When he was extremely hungry in the afternoon, he finally ate the fruit Alice gave him, and to this day, his body has shown no abnormalities.

This also proves that the fruit is harmless, and the absoluteness of the first rule has been broken, which is a good thing for everyone. Seeing that there were no plants around Jiang Ran at the time, Lin Changqing did not rush to use the prompt opportunity.

But the dangers of Alice and the inescapable world deterred all nations from sending any more ghost storytellers; at the very least, they needed to know how to survive Alice's clutches.

[Rule Seven: If you are in Alice's cottage, please do not leave the cottage for the time being. Tonight, please be sure to go to Alice's bedroom to rest. Remember to keep the windows closed, do not look into the eyes of the dolls in the room for a long time, and do not mention topics such as "family" to Alice.]

If Teb wants to survive tonight, he must find a way to get into Alice's bedroom!

Asking directly, "Alice, can I sleep with you tonight?" would definitely be seen as perverting and shut out!

He'd just barge in? He's got a death wish!

As dusk fades and night falls!

Alice closed the door tightly and started brewing herbal soup.