The Dragon-Snake Spine drilled out from the crack in the wall, Ghost Shadow clinging to it as it observed the surroundings.
Seeing that there was no danger, the crack gradually expanded into a half-meter-wide opening, and two people quietly crawled out from within.
Ren Qing had already figured out the pattern of terrain changes inside the tunnel. Though it had cost him some extra effort, at least it had been without danger in the end.
Huang Ziwan couldn't help but gape at the kitchen, now magnified countless times.
It was said that the appearance of the Forbidden Zone was not fixed, and due to the devouring of Supernatural Remnants, subtle changes might occur.
Ren Qing noticed that their current location was shrouded in shadow and quickly used Mirror-Faced's illusion to cover the two of them.
He observed the surroundings and found the Forbidden Zone extremely silent.
It seemed the Rice Husk Giant had visited recently. The ground was covered with moldy rice husks, likely because with the ratmen exterminated, no beasts had come to scavenge.
Ren Qing then noticed some details in the kitchen and couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his mouth.
There were drag marks from corpses all over the floor tiles, human bones mixed into the rice husks, and even the severed heads of unidentified beasts.
He even smelled a faint scent of blood in his nose.
He then discovered several ducks with human heads in the rice husk piles, looking very panicked, seemingly trying to avoid something.
The human-headed ducks had also started to undergo vegetal transformation from eating the rice husks, indicating that the ecosystem was beginning to adjust naturally.
"Ren Qing..."
Huang Ziwan couldn't help but ask, only to see Ren Qing pointing into the distance.
A two-meter-tall lizardman loomed faintly in view.
The lizardman was clearly able to change its own color and was likely formed from a chameleon Supernatural Remnant. It was slowly approaching the human-headed ducks.
Ren Qing hadn't expected that in just a few days, the lizardmen had already formed a population.
However, Supernatural Remnants from Restraint Officers had all reached the Ghost Envoy realm, fundamentally beyond what something like the Half-Corpse realm rat Mother could compare to.
The lizardman suddenly lunged forward, its sharp claws easily killing the poultry, then extended a tube-like mouthpart to suck the blood dry.
Just as the two creatures became visible, a flapping sound echoed from above.
Over a dozen insectoids dove down, launching suicide attacks against the lizardman. Even though half of them were killed, they still managed to snatch away the duck corpses.
Their attacks were unusually brutal, just grabbing the bodies and gnawing savagely.
Outnumbered, the lizardman quickly chose to retreat, letting the insectoids take the corpses and fleeing in embarrassment.
"Something's not right…"
Ren Qing furrowed his brow. The insectoids' movements were stiff; they didn't feel like living beings.
He looked toward the cage and saw that the bars were completely stained red with blood, with severed insectoid limbs occasionally dropping down.
In just this short period, the insectoids had launched several attacks. Though they had snatched a few corpses, they also suffered countless casualties.
"What is it?"
Huang Ziwan's heart jumped. With his vision, he couldn't make out the details, he just sensed that Ren Qing's expression had grown grave.
Ren Qing did not respond.
Several insectoids crawled out from the cage bars, still clutching charred corpses in their hands.
Judging by their direction, they were heading toward the stove.
Ren Qing shook his head and explained, "I don't know exactly, but anything is possible inside the Forbidden Zone."
"Let's head to the stove first. If we're to look for an exit, it'll be easier to go in from one of the outer caves."
All the monsters formed from Supernatural Remnants were inside the tunnel; the outside was actually safer.
"Alright."
The two of them walked along the table's edge toward the stove, passing several insectoid corpses along the way, already badly decomposed.
The Rice Husk Giant hadn't appeared during this time, so it had been relatively safe.
Ren Qing kept sensing a lizardman tailing them, seemingly regarding them as prey, but too wary to act.
Reaching the base of the stove took them at least half a day. But with the dim lighting inside the Forbidden Zone, it was hard to tell the time.
The stove didn't look much different from a regular household's.
At the top was a Kitchen God statue, decorated with ornamental patterns, and the stove's fire pit burned with roaring flames.
The fuel used to sustain the flames was human bones, which gave the fire a ghostly blue color.
Ren Qing looked back, the lizardman had proactively retreated, seemingly deliberately avoiding them.
Huang Ziwan wiped the sweat from his forehead. The fire in the stove made one feel uneasy from body to soul; it was likely formed by some kind of technique.
Ren Qing was slightly better off. The Twin Nightmare Ghosts isolated the anomaly half a meter away.
The two of them whispered for a moment, then moved toward the most secluded corner of the stove, preparing to climb up along the wall.
But before they could act, a dark swarm of insectoids came flying from above.
"What the hell?!"
Seeing the insectoids up close, Huang Ziwan's scalp tingled.
He had thought the insectoids just maintained a humanoid shape, but what he saw was completely different, as if stitched together from corpses.
Ren Qing frowned.
He had already sensed something off from afar, and now he was even more certain that something had happened recently.
Most of the insectoids had human limbs stitched onto them, some had human hands, others human feet, even one with half a head missing.
They gave the impression of zombie insectoids.
"Looks like we'll have to fight our way up."
"Fight it is. The sooner I die, the sooner I reincarnate."
Huang Ziwan spat out poisonous gas from his mouth. Over a dozen insectoids collapsed, but still tried to crawl toward them with their hands.
Seeing this, Ren Qing opened his right palm, and the Dragon-Snake Spine extended forth.
The Dragon-Snake Spine transformed into a lightning python and pierced the insectoid horde, instantly killing or wounding over a dozen. Thick heat rose slowly.
The smell of burning flesh mixed with decay made Huang Ziwan gag.
The insectoids showed no sign of intelligence and feared no death. Even when severed in half, they continued crawling toward the two.
Ren Qing stared at the dark blood flowing from the insectoids' wounds, it was as if they had been dead for quite some time.
He sidestepped two meters away. Once cloaked by the Ghost Shadow, the insectoids all surged toward Huang Ziwan, completely ignoring Ren Qing.
"Damn you…"
Huang Ziwan cursed silently. Facing the onslaught alone, he was under immense pressure and was nearly wounded several times.
"Old Huang, don't exhale."
Upon hearing this, Huang Ziwan quickly used poisonous fluid to cover his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.
But the insectoids still clung to him.
Ren Qing's legs were cloaked in Ghost Shadow. In an instant, he appeared in front of Huang Ziwan and used Mirror-Faced's ability to hide them.
The Ghost Shadow then enveloped their bodies, eliminating their scent as well.
Suddenly losing track of them, the insectoids aimlessly flew toward the stove like walking corpses, looking extremely sluggish.
Ren Qing bent down to inspect an insectoid corpse and confirmed his suspicions.
The bodies weren't recently dead. In fact, the flesh was already rotting and festering.
The human limbs were clearly sewn onto the insectoids later.
However, in Ren Qing's view, the insectoids hadn't become stronger, rather, their movements were extremely stiff due to incompatibility with the new limbs.
He voiced his judgment: "It's likely a Restraint Officer reached the stove before us and already gained control over the insectoid tribe."
Huang Ziwan looked completely incredulous.
"How's that possible? The soul is separated, you'd have to find your original body…"
Once inside the Forbidden Zone, the soul didn't even know the location of its body, let alone go up to the iron cage hanging at the stove's top.
Huang Ziwan believed that if Ren Qing hadn't rescued him, he'd have been food on a plate by now.
"I also think it's unlikely. Let's just head up for now."
Ren Qing climbed up first, gripping the wall's cracks. It shouldn't take too long, though resting en route was impossible.
Huang Ziwan quickly followed.
Originally, his palms had suction cups, but with Ghost Shadow covering him, he had to climb the hard way.
The stove resembled a towering mountain.
The higher they climbed, the heavier their bodies felt.
As if they were carrying hundreds of pounds, their muscles ached faintly.
Even Ren Qing's main body felt that way. If it were the vegetated puppet body, climbing the stove would be impossible.
How could any Restraint Officer manage that?
The two were highly adaptable. After eating some dry rations, they quickly adjusted.
Reaching the top took them several hours. They couldn't help but sit down, panting heavily, nearly exhausted.
At first glance, everything looked normal. Steam rose from the edge of the pot lid, it seemed the Rice Husk Giant was cooking something.
But the surface of the stove was covered in sticky blood and scattered meat pieces.
Yet another zombie insectoid flew overhead, its hands clutching a corpse. Blood fell like light rain onto the stove.
The zombie insectoid finally flew into the crevice between the stove and wall. Many holes existed there, likely the location of a nest.
Ren Qing looked down from above.
Even in this short half-day, all the rice husks had been consumed.
The number of human-headed ducks had grown exponentially. It showed how quickly the Forbidden Zone adjusted its ecology, within just a few days.
He had clearly underestimated the Forbidden Zone. It seemed that just stripping the rat Mother Supernatural Remnant wasn't enough.
Ren Qing gave a mental command, and the rat Mother Supernatural Remnant was once again released from the Prison Within the Abdomen.
Under Huang Ziwan's shocked gaze, he tossed the Supernatural Remnant out of the stove. Immediately, heavy footsteps sounded from outside the kitchen.
"You…"
"Let's go hide in the crevice for now."
Ren Qing had no time to explain. Only by occupying the Forbidden Zone's attention could they reduce other dangers besides the Rice Husk Giant.
Just as they were about to enter the crevice, they suddenly sensed the window outside the kitchen engulfed in flames.
There weren't any changes inside the Forbidden Zone yet, but such an anomaly surely foreshadowed something.
Ren Qing and Huang Ziwan exchanged glances, both filled with confusion and unease. Could it be that Restraint Officers' Hall was preparing to seal off the Forbidden Zone?
"They're probably still searching, but they've likely already located the general area."
Ren Qing recalled the last image before his soul clone was destroyed, the Forbidden Zone's location was likely near a village in the forest.
Restraint Officers' Hall was probably setting the forest ablaze.
This kind of swift and decisive method was exactly their usual style.
Once the forest was gone, whether by digging three feet underground or probing with techniques, the Forbidden Zone wouldn't remain hidden for long.
Ren Qing's heart sank. It seemed they had to leave quickly.
Whatever time Song Zongwu had bought wouldn't last long, after all, he wasn't someone who would put his own life above the safety of the Restraint Officers' Hall.