As we went deeper and deeper into the interior of the "Holy Land Island", the surroundings became quieter and quieter—there was no more wind, no more birds, no movement of birds or streams, and a strange silence condensed in the fog and hung over the team.

However, this extreme silence brought more uneasiness to people, and when the sounds of nature had subsided, the idea of "this island is alive" began to take hold uncontrollably, and Shirley always felt as if there was a gaze in the fog on her, as if the island was observing and examining the uninvited guests who had intruded into the place, and the fog that slowly wandered around the procession...... It also seems to be gradually becoming infected with a layer of "watcher".

And the team continued to go deeper, towards the "excavation" that appeared in Shirley's mind.

After leaving the harbor area, there is a small walkway leading to the center of the island, which seems to have been carved out by the cultists on the island a long time ago - it is located between two black rock faces, there are no signage on the way, and from time to time you can see some black stones that seem to be crystal clusters where the rock walls are connected to the rock faces.

Duncan's gaze was drawn to the black "stone clusters" that were not uncommon on the island, and on the cliffs on the west side of the island, clusters of larger rocks "grew" almost everywhere, and these things emerged from the earth and mountain walls like some kind of strange "plants", making people wonder how they formed.

Even Morris's erudition does not seem to explain the appearance of these "clusters" from a purely geological point of view...... But considering that the entire island is "alive" as Shirley puts it, it doesn't seem strange that something strange is here.

Perhaps, these strange-shaped stones really "grow" from the island, just like ...... Some kind of ancient god secretion.

Several Marines, under Amber's command, carefully collected samples of the "stone clusters" and scraped a number of dull powders from the nearby rock faces, which they carefully stored in a blessed metal cylinder and kept separately by a select group of people on the team.

Along the way, they were all doing similar things, and they were so familiar with the road that they barely affected the speed of the team's progress, and it was obviously not the first time they had done so.

"All of the 'frontier samples' have the potential to come in handy, some of them have incredible practical properties, some of them can help us uncover the secrets of the world and improve our understanding of supernatural powers," Amber explained to Duncan, "A lot of people think of the 'border' as a place where there is nothing, that it's sea water but that it's ...... Entities are often present in the fog, and we deal with nearly double-digit 'entity events' every year......"

After a pause, she added, "Miss Lucrecia should know this very well - she often works with the church in the field of frontier exploration......"

"I've heard her mention," Duncan nodded indifferently, "she said that this is the main source of funding for the Bright Star's activities on the border - the Truth Academy is the most generous when it comes to buying border samples, and the Fire Bearer is always the one who delays payment, and the Deep Sea Church has good credit in this regard, but the 'receipt' standard is very strict, and the review and registration process is sometimes even slower than that of the Fire Bearer. ”

Amber was slightly embarrassed on her face: "...... Not every church has as much money as the Truth College, and they can buy a dozen city-states with the technology transfer of the steam core reactor alone, and we have to consider the annual budget every year. ”

Duncan: "...... Very practical reasons indeed. ”

"Do you think it...... It seems to be colder around than it was before? Shirley suddenly broke the silence, she hugged her arms and rubbed them while muttering, "I always feel like the wind is blowing, and my arms are almost frozen......

"Cold?" Vanna frowned when she heard this, "I don't think so...... But the fog around is indeed a little thicker than just now, and the road ahead is becoming more and more difficult to see...... Well? ”

Vana stopped suddenly, her eyes fixed on Shirley's arm: "Shirley, the chain on your arm ......"

Shirley was stunned for a moment, and while raising her arm, she wondered, "Huh? What happened to the chains? ”

The sound of chains swaying echoed through the mist, and the black thorn chains connected her arms to the dog's cervical vertebrae, as always.

Vanna's brows furrowed, she carefully looked at the black chain on Shirley's arm, and shook her head hesitantly: "...... It's back to ...... But just now I suddenly saw that the chain on your arm was broken. ”

"Huh?!" Shirley's eyes widened when she heard this, and her tone became a little flustered, "Hey...... Don't scare me! Did you really see that?! ”

As she spoke, she quickly raised her arm, directly dragged Ah Gou in front of her, and hugged the latter's head: "Ah Dog, do you feel it?" ”

"No......" Ah Dog was also a little flustered by Fanna's words, "Wrong ......"

Fanna was still frowning, of course she knew that the scene she saw just now was a little unbelievable, but the inquisitor's professionalism still made her quickly raise her vigilance: "Shirley, dog, you really don't feel anything unusual?" ”

Shirley and Ah Dog said in unison: "I don't feel anything." ”

"Let me check." Duncan strode over, grabbed the black chain between Shirley and Dog, and put it in front of his eyes to examine it carefully.

Shirley watched this scene nervously next to her, and it took a long time before she dared to speak: "Yes...... Any questions? ”

A faint green flame flowed through Duncan's fingertips, seeping through the gaps between the chains like water, and after a long time, he shook his head slightly: "I don't see anything." ”

"What happens if the chain breaks?" Even Alice reacted at this time and asked nervously.

"I don't know...... If the chains of those Annihilation Cultists and Contract Demons were broken, they would usually die directly, and neither humans nor demons would survive, but this is not the case between me and Ah Gou......" Shirley said in a panic, obviously a little scared, "And under normal circumstances, this chain can't be broken, it's very strong...... How could it be broken......"

Duncan suddenly reached out and patted Shirley on the shoulder.

Shirley looked up at the captain with some uneasiness.

"Back to the boat." Duncan said to her.

Noticing that the other party was a little dazed for a while, Duncan continued to speak: "The situation is a little wrong, from the point of view of prudence, I think you should go back to the Lost Country, and you can't continue to go deeper into this island." ”

Shirley finally reacted, she nodded a little hesitantly, but at this moment, the dog next to her suddenly stood up, and it rarely did not obey the captain's arrangement: "No, captain, I think...... Sherley and I would better stay on the island with you. ”

Duncan frowned when he heard this: "Why? ”

Ah Gou hesitated for a moment, and then he said as if he had made up his mind: "First of all, it is not necessarily safer to return to the Lost Country at this time than to stay with you. ”

Duncan didn't speak, just motioned with his eyes to go on.

"Secondly...... I'm worried that even if I leave the Holy Land Island now, it's useless," Dog organized his words and continued, "I don't think Miss Vana was 'wrong' just now, and even if you really see something wrong in this environment, you have to take it seriously...... The situation may really not be right, Shirley was obviously affected by this holy island when she was in the square just now, and saw a lot of things that should not be seen......

"In my experience, simply leaving the site after this happens won't solve the problem, but can uncontrollably erupt into bigger trouble after a while – pollution is everywhere and grows in avoidance, and the solution to a complete problem is often only hidden at the source."

Shirley understood what Ah Dog meant, and suddenly looked up at the mist at the end of the road with some nervousness: "What do you mean...... Shall we continue to walk inside? ”

"I have to move forward, and if I don't understand what is going on on this island, if I don't understand what is wrong with the chains between you and me, I will not be sure," Ah Gou said in a deep voice, "and...... As I said, it's probably not safe to go back to the Lost Country at this time. ”

Shirley opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but she suddenly heard the voice of Ah Dog coming directly into her mind through the symbiotic chain-

"Shirley, stay with the captain - trust my judgment, it's safer to be by his side, even if it's to go to subspace with him."

Shirley turned her head and saw that Ah Dog was quietly looking at her, a pair of hollow skeleton eyes, blood red light flickering on and off.

Ah Gou seems to have a premonition of something.

As a ghostly demon, it occasionally has some inexplicable premonitions.

Dog is often unable to explain the specific content of this hunch, but Shirley has always trusted her judgment unconditionally.

So she nodded slowly: "Okay, then let's continue to walk deeper." ”

"Are you sure?" Duncan looked at Shirley seriously, "Further down, there may be unforeseen circumstances. ”

Sure, the danger of the environment is relative, and the safety of the captain's side is absolute.

For some reason, such a sentence suddenly flashed in Shirley's mind—not the words that Ah Dog came from through a spiritual connection, but more like a judgment that suddenly appeared in her own mind.

She was in a trance for a moment, then nodded again: "Sure, I feel like I'm okay." ”

“…… Alright," Duncan retracted his gaze after confirming Shirley's firmness, but then he reached out and pressed the head of the girl, who was too thin and short because of malnutrition as a child, and reminded him earnestly, "Follow me, keep up." ”

"Good!"

(End of chapter)