The Fatty’s initially relaxed heart suddenly tightened, and he rowed with even more vigor. But unexpectedly, the white substance began to slowly turn viscous, on the verge of solidifying, making every stroke feel incredibly strenuous. He glanced at Ma Xiong, whose eyes were fixed on him with desperate hope.

The Fatty couldn't bear to betray his good friend’s trust, but suddenly he couldn't move the paddle anymore. A bead of sweat had mysteriously formed on his forehead.

Lu Zong suddenly patted the Fatty’s shoulder. The Fatty hastily turned around to look at Lu Zong, only to find Lu Zong staring down toward the hull of the boat with a look of profound horror dawning on his face.

He sensed that Lu Zong must have discovered something amiss, and quickly looked down, nearly crying out loud. He realized the milky-white substance beneath the boat had solidified, turning into **. He was too astonished to speak. He tried to swing the paddle, only to find it completely unmovable; the paddle had been deeply embedded in the solid material. In frustration, he threw the paddle away, and it remained fixed in place.

What shocked Lu Zong even more was that the surrounding rock oil had not solidified; instead, it continued to creep upward in the manner of **. It was rapidly threatening to engulf the bamboo raft holding the two men. Lu Zong grew anxious and urgently called for the Fatty to think of a solution.

The Fatty had lost his bearings, not knowing what to do for a moment, merely staring blankly.

“What to do, what to do?” The Fatty spun around nervously, constantly scratching his forehead.

Lu Zong seemed to have spotted another secret and urgently called out to the Fatty, “Fatty, look! Ganda’s eyes…”

The Fatty hurriedly looked toward Ganda’s eyes but saw nothing unusual, curiously asking, “What’s wrong, Lu Zong? Did you notice something strange?”

Lu Zong stammered, “Look closely at Ganda’s eyes. Look very closely, don't blink.”

Carried away by Lu Zong’s intensity, the Fatty stared unblinking at Ganda, wondering what was happening with his eyes—whether they had opened or something else.

Suddenly, the Fatty’s expression slowly shifted to one of panic, freezing on his face. Seeing their expressions, Lu Zong immediately realized that something must be terribly wrong with Ganda. But Ganda was strapped to his back, and he couldn't turn around to check, so he could only ask what was happening.

The Fatty said, “Wait a moment. I need to look again, really closely, and then I’ll decide whether to tell you, so you at least know how you’re going to die.”

Lu Zong and the Fatty watched Ganda, strapped to Ma Xiong’s back, with intense focus, while Ma Xiong could only stare back at them with a look of baffled curiosity.

The two noticed that Ganda’s eyes were actually beginning to twitch. But the movement wasn't confined to the sockets; instead, they started to bulge, forming a large lump. At first glance, it looked as if the eyeballs were trapped under the eyelids, but the sphere wasn't fixed there; it slowly wandered across his face—from the eyes to the nose, then from the nose to the cheek, and then to the mouth. Once it reached the mouth, the small lump disappeared. They stared wide-eyed at Ganda’s mouth, wondering if his eyeball had been swallowed into his own gut.

Time ticked by, but Ganda’s mouth showed no abnormality. Just as they were about to give up, Ganda’s mouth suddenly snapped open. They saw a thick, greenish object thrust out from the dark cavity of his mouth, appearing quite rigid. At its tip, something smooth and tender seemed to be held. They looked intently and nearly vomited: it was Ganda’s appendix.

They stared at Ganda in astonishment. At this moment, Ganda had gone completely mad. His eyes began to writhe violently, gradually forming a fleshy sphere that expanded until it finally burst with a pop. They saw a green branch emerging from within, which, along with the appendage protruding from his mouth, began to grow rapidly and wildly. His nostrils were not spared either; two small vines shot out.

The Fatty stood stunned. “Lu Zong, Ganda is done for.”

Lu Zong watched the scene with heartbreak, grieving deeply. Unwilling to watch his companion die like this, he closed his eyes.

The Fatty, however, didn't want to miss this spectacle, staring blankly as Ganda transformed from a living man into a vegetative state. Ganda’s face was now unrecognizable, just a mass of mangled flesh hanging from a plant. The Fatty muttered to himself, “My God, that carnivorous plant has taken root and sprouted inside Ganda’s brain, finally growing out. What a huge parasite.”

The carnivorous plant began to grow frantically. In a short time, Ganda’s body was covered in its vines. The vines slowly crept upward until they met resistance at the top, then stopped ascending, instead coiling around the vines of other carnivorous plants above.

Ganda’s body separated from Ma Xiong. Ma Xiong turned back to look at the bloody mess that was Ganda, taking a moment to recognize him, and stammered, “Fatty, is this Ganda?”

The Fatty nodded. “The bloody parts are Ganda; the rest is the carnivorous plant.”

Ma Xiong shivered uncontrollably, unable to comprehend how terrifying it must have been for a corpse on his back to suddenly mutate like that.

He paused for a moment before daring to look up at Ganda again.

Lu Zong suddenly felt a slight ache in his feet and quickly looked down. He saw that the milky-white substance had flowed past the raft and was surging toward them. Startled, he quickly called out to the Fatty, “Fatty, look! Our feet are almost being corroded! Think of something, quickly!”

The Fatty then noticed his feet were almost submerged in the milky-white substance. He frantically lifted his left foot, but his right foot immediately sank again. He kept alternating his feet, only to find that each time he pulled a foot out, it became harder. He kept ** like this, feeling his back and waist ache.

Lu Zong warned him, “Fatty, stop moving! Your feet have stirred them into a solid state. Soon, both of us might be buried here as part of the **.”

The Fatty stopped stirring his feet and asked, “Then what should we do?”

Just then, Ma Xiong, still bound to the vines, suddenly screamed. The two hastily looked up. They saw that Ma Xiong’s body was being tightly wrapped by Ganda’s vines and pulled upward, seemingly being offered toward Ganda’s mouth. Lu Zong and the Fatty roared, “Ganda, no!”