In my more than 20 years of life, this is the first time I've ever seen a snake make expressions.

I don't know if it's because this snake looks strange, or because it really has human-like thoughts.

After leaving behind a teasing smile, the black snake retreated and disappeared into the darkness.

Looking in the direction where the black snake disappeared, I couldn't help but feel tense.

Although the black snake didn't attack me, it made me realize that something was wrong with this place.

I stared around suspiciously for a long time, making sure there were no other hidden threats and that the black snake hadn't reappeared, before picking up my hunting rifle and continuing deeper into the passage.

The passage in front of me wasn't very long; I only walked about twenty meters before reaching the end.

Shining the flashlight upwards, there should be a huge tree here, tens of meters tall, with vines hanging all over its branches, blocking out the sun and making it impossible to see the species of the tree.

Countless vines hung down from the branches overhead, like a wall built in front of me, with smaller vines growing between them, making it dense and impenetrable.

This kind of confined environment inevitably makes people feel uneasy.

Judging from the footprints behind him, Manjing must have entered this passage.

Along the way, I haven't found any other forks in the passage, so if Manjing has entered, there is only this one path in front of him.

I raised my hunting rifle and swept the flashlight across the vines in front of me, and soon discovered something unusual.

These vertical vines are quite thick, while some slender vines attach to them and grow, generally growing diagonally upwards.

Among the vines to my left and in front of me, these slender vines have obvious signs of breakage.

This indicates that someone has passed through here.

I shone my flashlight on the broken vines and slowly moved towards it: "Manjing, are you in there?"

"..."

Still no sound.

In this vast forest, there wasn't even the sound of cicadas or frogs, as if I were locked in a secret room.

Seeing that Manjing still did not answer, I slowly stepped forward and used the barrel of my shotgun to pry open the vines.

Throughout the process, my finger remained on the trigger, ready to fire at any moment.

The vines were parted, revealing an empty space behind them.

At the end of the light, vines still hung down.

Because the branches above are at different angles, the hanging vines also face different directions.

It's like a maze.

I walked through the vines and shone my flashlight around again.

The obvious signs of broken vines were no longer visible ahead.

This means that after Manjing arrived here, he did not pass through the vines, but instead followed the gaps between the vines.

As I followed Manjing's trail, a big question mark popped into my mind.

The passage ahead is eerie and unsettling. Why would Manjing, who was perfectly fine, end up here?

I was the only one there, so naturally no one could give me an answer.

I walked along the passage for a while, and this time I found the direction Manjing was heading without having to look carefully.

It wasn't because of the change in the vines, but because I saw light ahead through the gaps in the vines.

Through the vines, I could clearly see that it was the light emanating from a flashlight, but the flashlight seemed to be fixed in place, completely still.

I took small, quick steps closer to the vines, and through the gaps in the vines, I saw someone crouching in front of me. I asked again, "Manjing?"

The figure opposite the vines remained motionless and did not answer my question.

"Manjing, is that you?"

Seeing that the other party did not answer me, I slowly used the muzzle of the gun to pry open the vines, while also mentally preparing myself.

If the face that turns around isn't Manjing's, I'll shoot without hesitation.

As I lifted the vines, the figure turned around.

When Manjing saw me pointing a gun at him, he was clearly taken aback: "Brother, what do you mean by this?"

"It really is you?"

I saw that the person in front of me was indeed Manjing, and his face was ruddy, with a shadow at his feet. I asked him a little angrily, "What's wrong with you? I've been calling you for ages, why didn't you answer me?"

"You called me? When did you call me?"

Manjing stared at me blankly: "Didn't you just ask me to come here with you? After we came in, you told me to wait here for you, saying you had something to do. It's like you've become a different person."

I looked at Manjing with suspicion: "I have something to do? What could I possibly do in this forest?"

Manjing looked at me with the same unfamiliar gaze: "How would I know what you're doing? I never ask these things. Brother, what's wrong with you?"

"The person who just led you into the woods was not me."

Upon hearing Manjing's answer, I realized something was seriously wrong and asked him warily, "Do you remember where we met?"

Manjing looked at me curiously: "Luoyang, back then Lin Que and I wanted to take you away..."

I interrupted Manjing and continued, "Lin Que was injured. Which hand was it?"

Manjing was getting impatient: "Left hand! Big brother, what exactly do you want to ask?"

“I don’t know how to explain this to you, but I wasn’t the one who led you into the woods. This place is too eerie. We can’t stay here any longer. We have to go back the way we came.”

Seeing Manjing's impatient look, I finally began to believe his identity. After thinking for a moment, I pointed the gun at the path I had come from: "You go first."

Manjing still hadn't figured it out: "Brother, wait a minute. You said the person who brought me in wasn't you, so who was it?"

"I'll explain these things to you when we get out. Just go now."

I brandished the gun in my hand: "Listen to me, be quick."

"All right."

Seeing my serious expression, Manjing didn't say much. He walked over to me and crawled out along the vines: "Big brother, which way do we go?"

I had Manjing stand in front of me, looked at the road ahead, and my brows instantly furrowed into a knot.

I just came here by following the path through the vines to find Manjing. It's a straight line from the entrance to here.

But in the short time that Manjing and I were talking, the road behind us suddenly changed from straight to horizontal.

The unusual terrain here, combined with what Manjing just said, made me realize that we must have bumped into something.

Based on my past experience, there are only two possibilities in this situation.

First, the vines here move, and you need to find the logic to leave.

There is another rather special case, which is that there is no road at all, or rather, this forest does not exist, and what we are encountering is all an illusion.

If we want to leave, we first need to understand our situation.