Su Qingzhi then recounted her experience in detail, from seeing the little bear leading the way, to discovering that everyone had disappeared along the way, and then realizing the illusion after drinking water.
Shen Zhiyu listened with a solemn expression.
He then hugged her tightly, his arms gripping her firmly.
"It's alright, Niannian, I'm here, I've always been here."
It turned out that she was the first to wake up, and at that time she hadn't inhaled much of the toxic fog, so she was still conscious.
Therefore, I immediately took the Lingquan water to detoxify.
However, when he was exposed to the fog again, the poison gradually invaded his consciousness. His consciousness could not be completely protected, so he fell into hallucinations and could not distinguish between reality and illusion.
The reason he was able to appear in time was because he had also sensed something was wrong and followed her scent all the way here.
In fact, Shen Zhiyu was right behind her the whole time, holding her hand steadily.
For some reason, Su Qingzhi suddenly felt a strong sense of loss.
Now, the two of them each drank a small sip of the clear, transparent spring water.
My mind gradually cleared, and the hazy memories began to piece themselves back together.
This time, they dared not let go of each other's hands again.
Step by step, I walked back along the route I remembered.
Fortunately, this time there were no more hallucinations, and we did not lose our way; we proceeded smoothly all the way.
Soon after, they saw three familiar figures lying on the ground ahead.
The little bear squatted beside the three of them, its fluffy head tilted to the side, its eyes filled with confusion and anxiety.
It was shaking Little Blackie's shoulder with its paws.
His clumsy movements, coupled with his innocent expression, made him both funny and pitiful.
When it saw Su Qingzhi and Shen Zhiyu walking over, the little bear immediately raised its head.
It quickly moved its body and pounced at Su Qingzhi's feet, placing its front paws on her legs and whimpering incessantly.
Although Su Qingzhi couldn't understand its language, she could roughly guess what it meant by looking at its appearance.
He looked exactly like a child who had gotten into trouble but was at a loss for what to do, anxiously pacing around in circles.
The reason Su Qingzhi was able to wake up earlier was because the little bear sensed something was wrong as soon as the fog rose and immediately ran to wake her up.
Otherwise, she would probably be like everyone else, trapped in the illusion, unable to extricate herself for a long time.
Shen Zhiyu frowned, took out a water bottle from his backpack, unscrewed the cap, and carefully approached Xiao Heizi.
He gently lifted Xiao Heizi's head and slowly poured the spiritual spring water into his lips.
The glasses next to it received the same treatment.
After drinking a few mouthfuls of water, the two remained motionless with their eyes closed.
Su Qingzhi knelt beside Jiao Jiao, calling her name softly while trying to feed her water.
Ten minutes passed, and Jiao Jiao's eyelashes didn't move an inch.
As Su Qingzhi looked at her three unresponsive companions, her unease grew.
She stared at the kettle in her hand, then suddenly her eyes widened.
"A-Shuo!"
She turned to look at Shen Zhiyu, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.
"Do you remember? We all fainted when we drank this spiritual spring water before!"
She paused, then spoke faster.
"Could the water be mixed with mist now? Is it contaminated? Is it making them even more confused the more they drink it?"
Shen Zhiyu gently patted her hand.
"It should be fine, let's wait a little longer. I only slept for less than two hours last time."
The two people, along with the little bear, stayed by Xiao Heizi and his two companions' side the whole time, and none of them left their posts.
The night was still dark, and the surroundings were eerily quiet.
Only the occasional chirping of insects in the distance broke the silence.
They were afraid that the fog would get thicker and thicker, and that their vision would be completely obscured, making it impossible to find anyone.
If they get separated in this eerie place, the consequences could be disastrous.
"What exactly is this fog?"
Su Qingzhi frowned and asked, her brows furrowing tightly into a "川" shape.
She stared at the thick, grayish-white mist in front of her with a puzzled expression, and reached out to brush away a wisp of it.
The moment my fingertips touched it, it felt slippery and a little sticky.
“There must be a lot of rotten grass roots buried underground,” Shen Zhiyu said, squatting down and analyzing in a calm tone. “There are poisonous plants like Ashoka and Datura.”
As he spoke, he carefully used a dagger to pry away the withered leaves at his feet.
As the leaves were parted, the layer of black mud underneath gradually became visible.
Even more disgusting was the dark red liquid slowly seeping out of the mud.
“When the temperature drops at night, the rotten roots will release toxic gases, which mix with the moisture in the air and become fog.”
He stood up and pointed in the direction of the thick fog.
"Look at this color, isn't it similar to diluted blood?"
He had barely finished speaking when he heard a series of hurried footsteps approaching from afar.
Immediately afterwards, the figure of the person wearing glasses emerged from the fog.
He was holding a device in his hand, the screen of which was dimly lit and the red light was flashing continuously.
"It contains alkaloids."
He stared at the data readings and spoke at a slightly faster pace.
"The gas inside can not only make people faint, but also stimulate the nerves and cause hallucinations of seeing things that are not there."
As soon as the words were spoken, Xiao Heizi and Jiaojiao, who were lying on the ground, opened their eyes one after the other.
The two sat up almost simultaneously, their eyes still a little dazed, but their mental state was much better than expected.
Xiao Hei Zi rubbed his face, yawned, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"I slept so well. I even dreamed that my mom made braised pork. I can still smell the aroma now."
"Come to my house for dinner when we get back."
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