At that very instant, I saw Andre clutch his throat with both hands, his face turning ashen white, his chest heaving with labored, agonizing breaths.

He looked at me, reaching out a hand as if to grab me, his mouth moving as if trying to speak, but no sound emerged.

Seeing this, I knew something was terribly wrong. I immediately released Liang Qian’s hand and lunged forward.

But even as I moved toward him, Andre’s figure grew increasingly indistinct, blurring as if he were ash from a burned-out page scattering in the wind; his shadow faded and dissolved into the air.

By the time I reached where he stood, Andre was gone.

Liang Qian had clearly witnessed the bizarre scene just as I had; we both stood with our mouths agape, speechless.

“What in the world was that? Did he just evaporate?” I muttered to myself.

Liang Qian pulled me back, saying urgently, “This mist might be poisonous. The Professor’s reaction looked exactly like someone suffering from poisoning.”

I shook my head. “Impossible. If the mist were truly toxic, we would have been poisoned already. Besides, how strong would a poison have to be to disintegrate a person instantly?”

Liang Qian clearly conceded the logic in my words. If this were an enclosed space, death by poison might be plausible, but out in the open air with circulation, even the strongest gas would dissipate quickly.

Could it have been some kind of creature?

The thought made my brow furrow deeply. I recalled the Tree Heat Algae from Lop Nur that could instantly reduce animals to nothingness.

But considering it further, something felt wrong. First, the climate here was vastly different from Lop Nur. Second, Andre had clearly struggled to breathe. Most critically, those algae couldn't fly—which meant the dark shadow that snatched Lauren remained unexplained.

“Hey! Look over there! What a huge crab!” Da Xiong emerged from the building, holding a massive crab in his hands.

I had no time to look at the crab because I saw the woman in black still standing right in front of me.

If I remembered correctly, the woman in black and Andre had vanished simultaneously, yet what was happening now seemed different from before.

The woman in black and I locked eyes, but I couldn't discern her expression at all.

What I could see, however, was a profound stillness in her gaze—utterly unruffled. Faced with the shocking spectacle of Professor Andre vanishing into thin air, she displayed not a flicker of emotion.

“What happened? Where is Professor Andre?” Da Xiong asked, gripping the crab’s large pincers.

I didn't answer him, as my mind was racing, needing to meticulously plan the next step to avoid any further blunders.

Seeing my silence, Da Xiong turned to Liang Qian with a questioning look.

Liang Qian bit her lower lip, clearly still recovering from the strange incident, her voice trembling slightly. “Professor Andre disappeared. He vanished right in front of us.”

Liang Qian was a seasoned explorer who had seen many things; for her to be this terrified suggested how horrific the event had been.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, I managed to regain my composure so quickly. Perhaps that was the difference between men and women.

Da Xiong’s eyes widened in shock. “No way? What happened?”

Then, Liang Qian recounted the entire sequence of events to Da Xiong.

At that moment, the woman in black took two steps toward me, stopping right before me, and asked quietly, “You know something, don’t you? You consciously looked backward during that event.”

Unsure how to respond, I simply continued to look at her without speaking.

Seeing that I didn't deny it, the woman in black nodded. “Alright, if you won't say, you won't say. But can you tell me what we should do next?”

I paused for a moment before saying, “I’m taking you somewhere now. We are certain to see something truly extraordinary there.”

The woman in black nodded with the same calm demeanor. “Then let’s go.”

By then, Da Xiong and Liang Qian had finished their exchange. Da Xiong’s expression was one of absolute shock, and the large crab slipped from his grasp, falling to the ground.

I went over and patted Da Xiong, whispering into his ear, “It’s alright. We can’t stay here; we’ll all be in danger if we do. We need to leave now, I’ll take you somewhere safe.”

Da Xiong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”

Seeing Da Xiong agree, I walked over and took Liang Qian’s hand, gripping it tightly.

The first time I held her hand, Liang Qian had been shy. Now, holding it again felt completely natural; she even squeezed my hand back subtly.

I realized I didn't need any more words. As long as I held her tight, my heart felt a degree more secure. This time, I absolutely would not let her vanish before my eyes again.

The place I intended to take them was Poseidon’s Temple. Although I had stumbled through accidentally from there, I felt intuitively that it was far safer than wandering aimlessly in the city.

Under the current circumstances, investigation was out of the question; survival had to be the top priority.

Having made this decision, I led them forward, following the footprints left on the ground, intending to retrace my previous path for the quickest route to the Temple.

But as I searched for the footprints on the ground, I suddenly froze.

Because I discovered there were absolutely no footprints at all.

Da Xiong walked up and slapped my shoulder, asking, “Why aren’t we moving?”

I asked without hesitation, “Strange. Where are the footprints on the ground?”

Da Xiong pointed toward the sky and said, “It’s pouring rain. Where would there be footprints? Even if there were any, the rain washed them away.”

Hearing him say that, I stopped short and murmured to myself, “Heavy rain. Right, it wasn’t raining before. Why is it raining so heavily now? This change in weather is too extreme.”

More importantly, there had been heavy snow just a few days ago; even if it were raining now, there should still be accumulated snow.

But now, there was no sign of any snow having fallen. The temperature wasn't even close to the cold of a snowfall; instead, it felt more like the slightly warmer climate when we first arrived in Siberia, so warm that the rain hitting our clothes didn't make us feel cold.

While I was puzzling over this, the rain from the sky suddenly eased.

I watched as the rainwater relentlessly washed down the mud from the mountainside, flowing down through the gaps between the houses like small streams composed of silt and sand.

Then the woman in black behind me asked, “Are these the footprints you meant?”

I quickly turned my head. I saw that at some point, I had stepped into a mud puddle, leaving a trail of impressions behind me where I walked.

As the rain gradually stopped, these footprints remained visible.

Looking at the tracks, I found their curve strangely familiar.

Then, I suddenly remembered: I had bought these specific shoes together with * at Ruoqiang.