Chapter 186

Chapter 186

As dawn broke, the "Old Shark" finally emerged from the morning mist and sailed into the makeshift port of the Fourth Island. There was no asphalt pier like on the Twelfth Island, only a few rows of rotting wooden planks nailed to the reef. The sea breeze carried the damp, musty smell of the rainforest, mixed with a faint scent of gunpowder—the smell of rifle ammunition from the Colonial Force. As Evan steadied himself against the railing, he frowned: at the end of the plank bridge stood a row of soldiers in gray-blue uniforms, rifles slung diagonally over their shoulders, muzzles casually aimed at the sea. The copper badges on their collars glinted coldly in the morning light—they were the Colonial Military Police of the Sala Empire.

Old Shark had already furled the sails. As the hull came to a stop against the pier, he shot Evan a meaningful glance and lowered his voice: "Don't mention the mission. Just say you're a merchant here to collect herbs, and I'm the boat owner. They're strict, especially with Supernaturals." No sooner had he spoken than two soldiers stepped onto the wooden planks, their boot soles grinding against the shells on the reef, producing a harsh scraping sound.

"Everyone off the ship! We're searching you!" The leading soldier, a burly man with a thuggish face, wore a gleaming curved saber at his waist. When his gaze swept over the "Thornbird" wooden token at Evan's waist, he suddenly stopped. "Palm Leaf? What are you doing on the Fourth Island?"

Old Shark hurried forward, handing over the prepared travel documents with a sycophantic smile: "Sir, this is my distant nephew. He studied herbal identification back home and came to the Fourth Island to collect some 'Rain-Mist Grass' for medicinal use, not to take on any missions." He discreetly slipped a silver coin into the soldier's palm. As the coin rolled into the soldier's hand, the man's expression softened slightly.

Evan cooperatively pulled out a herbal atlas from his pocket—one he had hastily borrowed from Old Shark's collection the night before, with the captain's name still written on the title page. He deliberately avoided the soldier's gaze, tracing his finger over the illustration of "Rain-Mist Grass": "This grass only grows on the edge of the rainforest on the Fourth Island. It's excellent for treating miasma. My family's pharmacy is in urgent need of it."

The soldier flipped through a couple of pages of the atlas, then suddenly pointed at Evan's pocket watch: "What's this? Open it." Evan's stomach tightened. Not only did the watch's secret compartment hold the silver badge, but also the map given to him by the mixed-race waiter. He slowly pulled out the watch, deliberately letting the "family crest" engraved on the inside of the lid show—a common trinket he had brought from home, but enough to make the soldier mistake him for a minor noble.

"Must be nice to be a noble." The soldier sneered, not pressing further. Instead, he kicked the ship's planks. "The island's been unstable lately. Native rebels are hiding everywhere. Don't go deep into the rainforest at night. If you run into the Military Police, show them this." He tossed over an iron pass, engraved with the port's number. "Collect your herbs and leave quickly. The Colonial Force is sealing off the island and searching the hills next week."

Once the soldiers were gone, Old Shark breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "Sealing off the island and searching the hills? It must be for the Sea Heart Stone. That soldier's saber had rainforest moss on it, meaning they've already been inside." He helped Evan carry his gear off the pier, pointing to a wooden house on the eastern side of the port. "That's the home of a guide I know, named Kalu. He's a native, knows the rainforest like the back of his hand. Find him to lead the way—it's safer than going alone."

Just as Evan was about to thank him, he saw a plume of black smoke rise from the edge of the rainforest, followed by a few crisp gunshots. Old Shark's face darkened instantly: "The Colonial Force is suppressing the natives. Go find Kalu quickly. I need to hide the boat in a secluded cove, or they'll commandeer it." He handed Evan a piece of paper with a simple route drawn on it. "Follow this path. Don't touch the 'Red Needle Grass' by the roadside—it attracts snakes."

Clutching the paper, Evan walked toward the wooden house. Behind him, the port echoed with the soldiers' shouts, mixed with the pleas of a native guide. He glanced back and saw the "Old Shark" already turning, heading toward the mangroves on the western side of the port.

As soon as he stepped into the edge of the rainforest, Evan was enveloped by a thick, damp atmosphere. The air was a mix of rotting leaves, sweet wild fruit, and the pungent scent of some unknown plant. Sunlight filtered through the layered canopy into scattered patches of light, falling on the thick layer of fallen leaves. Each step felt like sinking into a bog. Following the marks on Old Shark's note, he avoided the red-stemmed "Red Needle Grass" by the roadside, but his fingertips accidentally brushed against a hanging aerial root, getting covered in sticky sap. Just as he was about to wipe it off, he heard a faint "hiss" nearby.

Evan froze, slowly looking up. On the trunk of a towering tree above him, a spider the size of a palm clung to the bark. Its black carapace was covered in rainbow-colored fuzz, the tips of its eight legs glistening with sticky mucus, and its abdomen bulged like a ripe berry. It seemed to sense his movement, slowly turning its body. A pair of compound eyes glowed with an eerie green light in the shadows, and a drop of transparent venom dripped from its chelicerae, hitting a fallen leaf and instantly corroding a small black hole, emitting a wisp of white smoke.

"A Rainbow Poison Spider," Evan muttered the name under his breath. He had seen this creature in the herbal atlas—its venom could paralyze nerves, rendering a person immobile within minutes. Holding his breath, he slowly stepped back half a pace, picked up a thick, sturdy branch from the ground, and gently nudged a nearby vine. As the vine swayed, the Rainbow Poison Spider lunged at it. Seizing the opportunity, Evan turned and quickly ducked into a nearby bush, not daring to breathe heavily until he could no longer hear any movement behind him.

Just as he caught his breath, a rustling sound came from under his feet. Evan looked down and saw a piece of emerald-green "bamboo leaf" slowly moving across the fallen leaves, its tip tinged with an eerie purple. His heart tightened as he recalled Old Shark's words: "There are more snakes in the rainforest than vines, especially the 'Purple-Tipped Bamboo Viper,' which can change color to match its surroundings." He held his breath, standing perfectly still. The "bamboo leaf" indeed stopped, slowly raising its head to reveal a forked tongue. Its pale purple fangs glinted coldly in the dappled light, and its body, as thick as his arm, was coiled among the leaves, nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding vegetation.

Evan's hand crept toward the dagger at his waist—an ordinary iron dagger he had brought from home, useless against Supernaturals but enough to scare off ordinary beasts. Just as the Purple-Tipped Bamboo Viper was about to strike, the silver badge in his watch's secret compartment suddenly grew hot. A faint, pale white light seeped from the badge, drifting from his fingertips toward the ground. The snake seemed startled by something, shrinking back abruptly before turning and disappearing into the leaf litter without a trace.

Evan clutched the burning badge, his heart pounding—this was the first time the badge had actively released its power. It seemed the dangers in the rainforest had already exceeded the realm of ordinary poisonous creatures. He dared not linger any longer, quickening his pace along the marks on the note. The poisonous creatures grew more numerous along the way: palm-sized toxic moths fluttered their wings, their powder causing leaves to wither instantly; thick, bowl-sized poisonous vines were covered in barbs, secreting a sap that could make skin swell and blister; and swarms of "Carrion Flies" buzzed around the skeleton of some unknown animal, their wings fanning out pale green toxic mist.