"After all, the commotion when you came in must have been quite large, and you lay on the ground for so long.

"So why are you still wearing that tight bodysuit? It's completely useless, isn't it?

"Maybe, someone is following right behind you now." Fuji made a menacing gesture to scare Zhang Ze.

She only scared him for a little while, but when Zhang Ze didn't respond, Little Fuji murmured and continued amusing herself. However, after a moment of enjoyment, Fuji suddenly thought of something.

"Ha, I figured it out! You just like wearing this crappy tight bodysuit, that's why you wear it every day, hahaha, it must be this.

"I'm going to tell Lily when we go back!

"Humph, you don't want Lily to know your secret, do you?

"If you want me to keep quiet, then fork over ten thousand to buy my spicy chicken skewers!"

Zhang Ze, "..."

Listening to Fuji's clamor, Zhang Ze approached the edge of the desert.

As he got closer to Li, Zhang Ze's sensing became stronger. He tried to communicate with Li, but there was no response from that end.

Soon, the group left the desert, crossed a barren land grown with desert grass, walked past a stone mountain, and a forest appeared in front of Zhang Ze.

A river flowed past the front of the forest, splitting the stone mountain from the forest.

On the opposite bank of the river, traces of intelligent beings were clearly visible.

Whether it was the paths cleared in the forest, or the planks and stakes acting as piers by the river, they all looked very new.

Obviously maintained and frequently used, rather than relics from the old times.

"There really are people."

Zhang Ze looked up at the 'sky'.

On the continent beyond the sky, the shadows of some cities and huge buildings were vaguely visible. Initially, Zhang Ze thought they were some kind of ruins, but now it seemed people might actually live there.

While pondering these things, Maomao's tail slapped Zhang Ze's calf, signaling him to hurry across the river.

In Maomao's perception, Li was in the forest on the other side of the river.

Stepping forward, Zhang Ze crossed to the opposite bank of the river.

But instead of following the path into the forest, he lifted Maomao onto his shoulder and stood calmly beside it, not making a sound. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

He sensed someone was coming.

Soon, the sound of light hooves echoed, and the residents of the forest left the path, appearing before Zhang Ze.

Hmm, this person looks strange...

The newcomer was a little girl, a bit taller than Lily.

But she was half-human, half-beast; her upper body was human, and her lower body somewhat resembled a deer, yet her four hooves were slightly different.

Her rear toes hadn't fully degenerated and were unusually flexible and developed, able to move like human thumbs.

The little girl resembling a half-deer wore a cyan robe, with decorations made from animal skin hanging from her waist, holding a bucket in one hand, and a small, simple hand crossbow in the other.

The crossbow was not strung, but it glowed faintly, clearly not of Mortal Grade.

This Half Deer Lady was very cautious, but caution was meaningless in front of the black tight bodysuit.

She walked past Zhang Ze, turning her head every few steps, not stepping onto the pier, but hesitating by the riverbank.

Seemingly wanting to fetch water, yet fearing something.

Indecisive, unable to advance or retreat.

Her strange hooves came into play, gripping the ground like hiking shoes, preventing her from slipping on the slick pebbles and falling into the river.

Zhang Ze watched the little girl, feeling he had seen this scene somewhere before.

Oh, remembered.

It's Animal World, zebras drinking water, so...

Thinking of this, Zhang Ze peered into the water, the surface rippled, as if something might actually be hidden.

But the Half Deer Lady didn't notice; she took some stones from her pocket and tossed them into the water.

Watching the spray and the stones settling on the riverbed, the Half Deer Lady gathered courage and took a step forward, seemingly ready to bend down and fetch water.

'If it's Animal World, now should be...'

Just as expected, when the Half Deer Lady placed the bucket into the water's surface, a creature composed entirely of water emerged from the river.

Resembling some unknown jellyfish, as it extended its tentacles from the water, a sort of core or mouth-like structure was revealed.

Deep red and filthy, full of teeth, indescribably eerie.

Yet soon, something even more indescribable appeared.

At the moment the jellyfish emerged, Maomao and Fuji rushed out of the tight bodysuit.

Maomao feared water, so it did not dive into the river to fight the jellyfish monster but delivered an Iron Head Skill to bump the girl away from the riverbank.

As for Fuji, she showed the jellyfish what true indescribable horror was.

Zhang Ze, "..."

Seeing they had been exposed, Zhang Ze sighed, then removed his disguise and stepped out of the shadows.

He was ready to check the Half Deer Lady's injuries.

She shouldn't have been eaten by the jellyfish, but rather bumped to death by Maomao; that would be ridiculous.

Fortunately, although the little girl was only a bit taller than Lily, her physical constitution was far superior to Lily's.

Maomao's collision did not cause her much harm.

....

Su La held her side, feeling dazed as she sat up, unsure of what had happened.

The golden-haired wolf that bumped her was crouching beside her, emitting a dangerous aura, yet it did not eat her, only wagged its tail and watched her.

And in the water, a blue evil creature was casting a death spiral, battling the water spirit, appearing bizarrely abnormal.

And the one approaching her from the riverbank...

Upon turning and seeing Zhang Ze's appearance, Su La's heart suddenly paused for a moment.

Then fear crawled onto her face.

"You... you are..."

Su La didn't finish her sentence, her four legs stretched out, and she fainted with a sudden snap.

...

Zhang Ze halted his steps, somewhat puzzled.

"Do I look that scary?"