"Hmph, damn serpent! You want to eat me? Dream on!" Jade Swann exhaled sharply, cursing viciously as she withdrew her powers and wiped the sweat from her forehead. In her heart, she couldn't help but feel lucky.
After that thrilling battle between human and serpent, Jade Swann was exhausted. Her stomach started growling with hunger. She patted her tattered camouflage uniform and found that all her pockets had been ripped open by thorny vines. The energy bars she carried for emergencies were lost somewhere along the way. She knew that in this tropical rainforest, if she didn’t keep up her strength, getting out of this wild jungle would be nearly impossible!
With no other choice, Jade Swann glared at the corpse of the jungle python in the grass, steeling herself. She walked straight over, and as she got close, she was surprised to find that the beast’s body had been charred by her 'Thunderstrike Curse.' Aside from the scorched snake skin and battered spots, most of the giant snake was well-cooked, even giving off the unique aroma of roasted snake meat.
"Heh heh—stupid snake! You wanted to eat me, but look who’s eating who now! Ha!" Jade Swann laughed triumphantly, quickly retrieving her SGS7 combat knife. She sliced off a steaming chunk of snake meat and started chomping down without a second thought. This jungle python had lived for centuries, and its meat was surprisingly delicious. Jade devoured nearly half a pound in one go, instantly regaining much of her lost strength.
After eating her fill, Jade Swann swiftly cut off a large piece of snake meat and wrapped it up to carry with her. She knew she couldn’t stay here long—the pursuers could catch up at any moment. Although two 'Dragonforce Tactical Team' operatives were keeping most of the enemy distracted, Jade was well aware that the real threat hadn’t shown up yet!
Just as she was about to leave with her chunk of snake meat, Jade suddenly noticed a swarm of dark red, big-headed ants gathering around. She had no idea where they’d come from, but in an instant, they flooded out of the undergrowth like a tide. Jade’s scalp prickled—she recognized these massive, dark red ants as the terrifying Acid Ants of the tropical rainforest. Not only were they vicious and venomous, but they also attacked like ghosts, swarming living creatures, biting their prey, and secreting a powerful corrosive acid. When they appeared in packs, their numbers were staggering—they could take down even the largest beasts in moments! Encountering Acid Ants meant even leopards and wild bears could be reduced to bare bones in less than half an hour. These rainforest Acid Ants were truly a nightmare!
"Oh my goodness, why am I so unlucky? Just finished eating and now this—ugh, what a hard life!" Jade Swann muttered, channeling her true energy and preparing to unleash a Thunder Curse to carve a bloody path. But she quickly realized that most of the Acid Ants were swarming toward the python’s corpse, with only a few heading her way.
"Heh heh—good thing I’ve got luck on my side!" Jade Swann cheered, seizing the moment. She quickly cast a Thunder Curse—"Boom!"—striking the ground ahead and blasting the group of Acid Ants charging at her into pieces. Then, with a nimble leap, she dashed into the thicket, sprinting deep into the jungle at full speed.
After running nonstop for more than ten minutes, Jade Swann’s already tattered camouflage uniform was shredded even further by vines and wild grass. But she finally breathed a sigh of relief—she was sure she’d escaped the terrifying Acid Ants’ attack range.
After another ten minutes weaving through the rainforest, Jade Swann saw sunlight streaming through the dense jungle ahead. The dappled light pierced the leaves and thick grass, forming white rays, and the path looked much clearer, as if a whole new scene lay ahead.
"Hmm—could I be at the edge of the rainforest already?" Jade Swann wondered, secretly delighted. She hurried forward, knowing that she and the four Dragonforce Tactical Team operatives had spent days navigating this dangerous jungle. Without satellite navigation and unable to send signals, they’d been relentlessly pursued by JSOC agents and Nika’s armed drug traffickers. These days had been pure hardship—living like wild people, constantly fighting enemies. If she could escape this so-called 'Crimson Purgatory' of northern Myanmar’s tropical rainforest, her mission would be more than halfway done!
Jade Swann rushed to the edge of the jungle, parting waist-high grass to look out. Ahead lay a strange valley, undulating and clustered together, with an odd terrain full of towering gray-white rocks. The rocks shot up like inverted arrowheads, jutting from the ground. From afar, it looked like a sea of scattered stones. Though there were patches of grass and trees, they weren’t nearly as lush as the rainforest she’d crossed earlier. Compared to the dense jungle by the river, this stone forest looked bizarre and barren.
"Uh—what the heck is this place? Why is there such a weird stone forest?!" Just as Jade Swann was puzzling over it, she suddenly felt several hair-like things drop from the trees above, startling her.
"Ugh—Dry Leeches, so gross—" Jade Swann quickly recognized these ever-present, sneaky rainforest vampires: Dry Leeches! As soon as they smelled humans or animals, they’d get excited, crawl up from the ground, and hang from trees. When people or animals passed by, they’d silently drop down, their suction-cup mouths latching onto skin and greedily sucking blood. The worst part was, you couldn’t even feel their bite—before you knew it, you’d been drained!
"Yikes—these things are such a pain—" Jade Swann realized she was probably covered in Dry Leeches. She’d run through the jungle, passing trees and grass where these ghostly vampires lurked, and once they stuck to you, they were nearly impossible to notice.