Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three dark green vines shot out like arrows.
The vines instantly pierced through the festering skull of the crawling woman, bursting out from the back of her head in a spray of blackish-red viscous fluid.
[Vine Manipulation (Advanced) Proficiency +1, Current: 3/500]
The entire sequence happened in the blink of an eye.
The crawling woman didn't even manage a complete scream before her mushy head exploded like a rotten watermelon struck by a sledgehammer.
Her body convulsed violently once before slowly sinking beneath the water, leaving only an expanding ring of murky ripples.
Through their Mental Link, Snowflake's raging emotions receded like a tide, leaving only confusion behind.
Shaking its head, the creature's yellow vertical pupils refocused as it emitted a puzzled whimper: "Murr?"
As if asking: What just happened?
"Hmm?"
Han Ning offered no explanation. After waiting several seconds, the expected energy failed to materialize.
"Did I not finish it off completely?"
He stared at the completely lifeless monster corpse and made a grasping motion with his right hand.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The vines pierced through the water's surface, stabbing into the motionless corpse.
The sharp wooden thorns churned violently through rotten flesh and bone crevices, further shredding the remains.
[Vine Manipulation (Advanced) Proficiency +1, Current: 4/500]
Splash! Splash!
Murky blood water mixed with fragmented tissue kept bubbling up.
"Still not dead?"
Han Ning continued grinding the flesh, but still no energy emerged.
Just as he grew thoroughly puzzled—
Plop!
A thumb-thick, pale-white soft-bodied creature suddenly burst forth from the corpse's abdomen.
Eyeless and mouthless, its smooth surface was coated in translucent mucus like an enormously magnified roundworm. The moment it escaped its host's corpse, it began writhing frantically, using the water's current to propel itself like an arrow into the depths of the white mist.
"Trying to run?!"
Han Ning snorted coldly.
The vines tore through the water, arriving first despite moving second!
Squelch!
"Squeak!"
A strange, high-pitched shriek sounded.
The pale worm body exploded under the vines' terrifying penetrating force.
Thick, milky-white fluid dispersed from the dying worm, clouding the water in a small area of turbid mist.
Swish!
A glowing white speck—only half the size of a rice grain but exceptionally condensed—shot out from the exploded worm fluid.
Moving faster than the eye could track, it ignored the murky water and embedded itself between Han Ning's eyebrows.
[Druid Growth Progress +7]
[Swamp Crocodile Lizard Growth Progress +1]
[Mental Power +0.1]
[Mental Power attribute unlocked. Current: 0.7]
"This is..."
Han Ning shuddered.
A stream of icy yet refreshingly pure alien energy flowed into his brain.
Unlike the warm currents of regular energy, this brought an indescribable clarity.
The world before him seemed to shed a thin veil, becoming extraordinarily vivid.
Suddenly, he could hear the subtle differences in raindrops striking the water's surface from much farther away and discern finer particles of debris in the turbid water.
His translucent profession panel automatically unfolded before his eyes.
Beneath [Spiritual Power: 12/25], a new line of faintly shimmering silver text appeared:
[Mental Power: 0.7]
"Mental Power... so it really is related to the mind." Han Ning suddenly understood.
"So... it was this thing causing all the trouble!"
He let out a long exhale, his tense expression relaxing slightly.
"Not a ghost, but a monster with physical form after all."
"Seems like some kind of parasite that can infest living creatures, release special mental waves, create terrifying illusions to trap its prey," Han Ning speculated internally.
Truth be told, what Han Ning feared most was encountering formless supernatural entities.
...
A hundred meters away, behind the cracked windows of a half-submerged hotel building.
The Stocky Man slowly lowered his military binoculars, revealing a faint smile.
He turned to the Jacket Man beside him, whose face looked grim, and said with obvious mockery:
"Well? Wasn't I right? Those three live chickens of yours belong to me now."
He waved three fingers in front of the Jacket Man's face.
"Actually you were partially correct - he really didn't last ten minutes."
"Hmph."
The Jacket Man snorted coldly, his face full of displeasure.
He stared at Han Ning in the distance, his gaze complex and inscrutable.
There was unwillingness, but also a trace of unconcealable surprise.
"Damn it..." The Jacket Man spat viciously. "Lucky bastard got lucky!"
After a brief flare of anger, the irritation in his eyes quickly faded.
He stroked his chin, reassessing Han Ning with newfound interest:
"But... this kid's skills are genuinely impressive. Quite interesting."
"Not only could he independently break through the Mirage Worm's troublesome mental illusions, but he also accurately pinpointed its true form and killed it with one strike in such short time... these aren't abilities your average Awakened possesses."
He paused, his tone turning serious.
"With skills like that, he's qualified to join us."
"Come on, let's go talk to him."
Before the words had fully left his mouth, the Jacket Man's figure blurred like a ghost, slipping through a broken window gap and landing lightly on a floating GG-brand debris below, splashing a small spray of water.
The Stocky Man shrugged, put away his binoculars, and followed closely behind.
Like two shadows merging with the rain curtain, the two men stepped nimbly across floating debris, moving swiftly and silently toward Han Ning's location.
...
Han Ning returned to his senses from the afterglow of his increased Mental Power.
This strangely shaped insectoid creature was the second type of monster he'd encountered in this world.
Scanning the surrounding White Mist Zone in the distance, he considered it might be better to return to safety first and plan his next moves carefully.
After such a bizarre battle, he wasn't sure if even more terrifying creatures might lurk within.
What if there were beings with stronger Mental Power where even Nature's Blessing might prove ineffective?
"Huh?!"
But just as Han Ning began to turn around.
Something in his brain seemed to twitch abruptly without warning.
Han Ning's eyes sharpened as he snapped his gaze toward the right front.
One second later.
Two humanoid figures gradually emerged from the distant rain curtain.
Using floating debris as stepping stones, they moved effortlessly across the water's surface like two black streaks rapidly approaching.
In the blink of an eye.
The two shadows had crossed dozens of meters, leaping to the waters not far ahead of Han Ning.
Thud!
One landed precisely on a floating road sign.
He stood tall and straight, his hands hanging casually at his sides, wearing a faded work jacket. His medium-length hair was simply tied back, with a few loose strands clinging to his cheeks. His sharp, hawk-like eyes swept over them with a scrutinizing gaze from above.
Another figure crouched silently atop a rusted streetlamp post.
Dressed in a dusty hooded windbreaker, most of his face was hidden beneath the brim of his hood, revealing only a slightly rounded chin.
Seeing they were two normal humans, Han Ning didn't lower his guard in the slightest. "Who are you?" he demanded coldly.