Chapter One Hundred and Twelve: A Place That Must Be Held at All Costs

Following the clues provided by the zombie monkey, Chen Yi and the others quickly found the strange forest.

The forest was wrapped in a layer of green miasma. Even Chen Yi, who possessed antidote abilities, could not help but stir his own power to form a defense once he arrived there.

“What is it?”

Feeling the white antidotal glow surround him, Chu Yunxi immediately took his hand.

“Did something happen again?”

Chen Yi shook his head.

“No, I’m just taking precautions. You don’t need to worry.”

Something was off.

Chu Yunxi felt that Chen Yi would never normally do something like this. He had arranged it this way only because the matter was serious, so she chose not to press him further. She did not want to arouse suspicion from anyone and make things harder to handle later.

As they continued deeper in, Chen Yi kept Chen Yaxi and Chu Yunxi close to his side. That reaction made Chu Yunxi even more certain that her judgment was right.

She was sure Chen Yi was hiding some secrets in his heart. Of course, they were certainly not secrets that would harm her, so she accepted his concern with peace of mind, while still remaining vigilant about their surroundings.

After all, if anything unexpected happened, the number of people dragged into it would be far too large.

“Boss, look here!”

At that moment, Lu Kai also noticed something. He pointed directly at a monkey’s remains.

“This monkey was obviously bitten to death by some huge creature, and from this wound, that thing snapped its neck in one bite, not giving it the slightest chance to resist.”

Such a massive beast was practically even more savage than a roc, and to move freely through the forest, it was probably either a python or some other reptile.

Judging from the dragging marks and footprints on the ground, the thing was no small creature at all.

Chen Yi’s brows were tightly knit as he quickly warned them, “Everyone be careful. We may be getting closer and closer to danger.”

“Got it.”

Everyone quickly went on guard, their eyes growing especially cold, ready to strike down those deadly creatures at any moment.

Just then, a furious roar erupted, and a monster with the head of a man and the body of a snake appeared before them.

“My God!”

Hu Sanhan nearly pissed himself in fright. He staggered back two steps.

“What is that thing? Is he human or a monster?”

Chen Yi stared at the creature and made his judgment.

“He should be a failed mutant. From his shape, it looks like someone forcibly stitched him together.”

“Impossible, right?”

Chen Yaxi and Chu Yunxi both froze at the same time.

“Forcibly stitched together? Could something that absurd really exist? And after that, could a person still live?”

“If a mutated gene serves as the carrier, then yes, he can survive.”

Chen Yi spoke calmly.

“This sort of thing is not uncommon. In order to achieve their goals, some people will stop at nothing.”

“What do we do now?”

Lu Kai and Hu Sanhan also drew their weapons at once, their gaze fixed tightly on the creature.

“We can’t just let him keep getting closer to us, can we?”

Chen Yi nodded.

“Don’t worry. Leave this to me.”

At that moment, the monster with the human head and snake body also noticed Chen Yi moving toward him, and immediately flashed to one side, trying to flee.

Chen Yi lunged after him in a blur, slammed him to the ground, and pressed a dagger against his throat.

“Don’t kill me.”

At last, the creature spoke.

Chen Yi asked expressionlessly, “Speak. What exactly are you?”

“Just as you can see, I am both man and serpent!”

The man gave a bitter laugh.

“Only my mindset has changed. You all know that in this world, some people are already driven mad just to survive.”

He slowly told them the whole story.

In the past, he had been an ordinary researcher, doing the most ordinary and frightening experiments. That in itself had nothing remarkable about it; once the task was done, he would have gone home.

But unexpectedly, one day, a group of men like Japanese marauders burst in, subdued him, and forcibly turned him into the grotesque thing he had become.

It was only later that he learned the organization had captured researchers like him precisely for this kind of experiment, because no one else was willing to undergo it.

When they heard this, everyone’s eyes practically blazed with fury.

“That Organization X is truly inhuman. To think they’d do such an atrocious thing.”

The man gave another bitter smile and shook his head.

“Who says otherwise? But who could stand against them? The reason they possess such immense and convenient power is that it was extracted from people like me. My current form is that of a merman, but I am a failure. I cannot release the power of the merman at all.”

Chen Yi fell silent for a moment, then slowly understood.

“You mean the people conducting the experiments have already obtained the most valuable data from you, and they know how to seize everything they want?”

“That’s right.”

The man’s face was full of anger.

“All that data was extracted from failures like us. Organization X now wields a terrifying force, and the most frightening part is those bodies fused together through special methods. That batch of soldiers is extraordinarily fierce, and they neither age nor die. They have already surpassed the level of zombies.”

Chu Yunxi’s tone turned cold.

“And you still say that’s not your fault? Didn’t you so-called scholars give them the opening they needed?”

“You can’t just focus on me.”

A helpless look appeared on the man’s face.

“I know I failed. I really do understand all of this, and no one can help me. That’s why I came to tell you the whole story, hoping you could lend a hand. If you think it’s impossible, then I’ll look for someone else.”

“No need.”

Chen Yi gently cut him off.

“There’s no doubt about it. The only people bold enough to take this on are us.”

“Exactly.”

Lu Kai smiled again at once.

“With the boss here, what could possibly stand in our way?”

“Don’t put me on too high a pedestal.”

Chen Yi faced everyone’s praise with complete calm.

“I need to say this clearly: the situation is not optimistic. None of us has a second chance.”

Hu Sanhan, Sun Dawei, and Lu Kai all fell into thought, but soon they lifted their heads and gave their assurances.

“Boss, rest assured. No matter how this turns out, we promise to be loyal to you!”

“We do too!”

Chu Yunxi and Chen Yaxi spoke together, and a trace of confidence surged in Chen Yi’s heart.

“Good. Since we’re all working together, I believe this will be much easier to handle. For now, let’s keep thinking of a way to solve it. Remember, this man is our partner from now on!”