Pei Yan's emotions are both tense and excited right now. According to alerts from micro drones, a team of unknown creatures is rapidly sweeping towards his direction.

Watching one surveillance video after another, Pei Yan slightly furrowed his brow. This group clearly wasn't any humans he knew, consisting of five humanoids and six non-humanoids.

The five humanoid creatures had body shapes similar to humans, but their entire bodies were covered with thick, plate-like scales. If the video hadn't been clear, Pei Yan nearly mistook them for armor initially. Judging from their physique, two of them had obvious female characteristics, assuming the gender classification in this world was similar to his own, noting the two's slightly protruding chests, Pei Yan thought.

However, when it came to appearance, Pei Yan couldn't distinguish any differences among them. All their faces were covered by scale armor like face masks, leaving the facial features completely concealed except for pairs of eyes glowing red, constantly shining in the night. Pei Yan didn't know whether they always looked like this naturally; there wasn't time to delve into it further.

The remaining six non-humanoid creatures were divided into three types, and analyzing by exterior, there were two canine animals which made Pei Yan's heart skip a beat. Although he quickly packed his belongings, he couldn't completely eliminate his scent, which made him cautious and ready for battle at any time.

Among the remaining four creatures, two had bizarre scythe-shaped wings, eagle heads with multiple legs, eagle claws at the front, beast feet at the rear, and surprisingly human-like hands at their abdomen. These two creatures were strange enough, and with the other two entities, Pei Yan couldn't even tell if they counted as creatures; they were just two pitch black spheres rapidly bouncing through the forest, seemingly extremely flexible and silent despite their bounding leaps.

This curious little squad was about to close in on Pei Yan's location in the blink of an eye. With everything set up and combat preparations in place, Pei Yan was nervously greeting their arrival while pondering if this squad was passing by or deliberately coming for him.

Very quickly, their actions provided Pei Yan with an answer. The group sped past him without stopping, continuing to dash forward.

They found me! That was Pei Yan's first thought. His concerns were indeed correct; those two canine creatures glanced towards his previous campsite, emitting several strange and unpleasant barks. Having heard countless dog calls, Pei Yan swore he had never heard such ugly sounds. The calls were like a dog whose throat had been punctured and its head stuffed into a broken jar, wailing mournfully.

This barking was quickly silenced by a stern shout from one of the humanoid males among the five. Pei Yan could feel the man's gaze brush over his hiding spot, but there were no extra movements, and the entire squad proceeded forward.

Pei Yan squinted as he watched their gradually fading figures, speculating why they would ignore him, considering three possibilities: first, they had a definite target and didn't care to waste time; second, they were in a hurry during pursuit; third, they intended to feign departure only to later ambush.

Regardless of their intent, what should I do? Follow or not? This was Pei Yan's first encounter with living creatures for days, and just letting them go felt unsatisfactory. This team didn't match the mysterious dimensional creatures described by Captain Gu, but he couldn't discount them being an undiscovered species. Friend or foe was unclear, and rashly chasing them might lead to conflict.

Faced with eleven creatures of uncertain power, an actual confrontation might place him in a disadvantaged position. Numerous thoughts flashed through Pei Yan's mind swiftly, and within mere seconds, he decided to pursue them.

But to be safe, he first released micro nanomechanical insects, trailing the group, while he maintained an even greater distance, ensuring a safe gap. This way, even if they had ulterior motives, he would have sufficient time to react.

Just making the decision and deploying the nanomechanical insects to track them, Pei Yan quickly turned his gaze back in the direction they had come. He finally understood why they hurriedly left without concerning themselves with him.

Disregarding caution, Pei Yan hastened in pursuit of the group, simultaneously observing the images transmitted from behind, being deeply shocked by what he saw despite his broad knowledge.

In the distant forest sky, a red hue swept across rapidly, enveloping the entire sky, tearing away the black curtain of night to reveal a blood-red reality.

Such a sight would not astonish Pei Yan, having witnessed daylight turning into night in seconds. While the blood-red sky was strikingly unusual, it still lay within Pei Yan's range of acceptance.

The true shock came when the land beneath the red sky transformed like a slideshow, completely changing in appearance. The lush trees disappeared, and there was no clear, babbling stream; only bare hills, dried riverbeds, and fields full of unknown creatures emerging with the advancing red curtain.

What the hell is this? Pei Yan's brain momentarily short-circuited. Through the images relayed, he could clearly see these creatures hadn't come rushing from afar but suddenly appeared in place with the red curtain's progression.

However, the surveillance images from before showed nothing was there. Could it be these creatures always existed, lurking where he couldn't detect? Consider all his daily movements, choosing sites as if alone, yet constantly under countless prying eyes. This tightening thought raised goosebumps across Pei Yan's entire body.

Is this possible? Pei Yan struggled to believe this situation could actually exist. If true, why hadn't they attacked him earlier, and what's with the scenery change? It's bewilderingly drastic.

An illusion? Was the world he was in previously an illusion, or is the scene he now sees an illusion?

Shaking his head, he cleared the uneasy feelings from his mind. After using an array to implant into his facial muscles, Pei Yan's brain returned to calmness. Either way, the beasts amidst the red curtain seemed unfriendly. Since the group rushed forward, presumably towards safety, he decided to follow them secretly for now!

Having decided this, Pei Yan disregarded stealth and moved like lightning across the forest. He refrained from using his flying abilities as that would allow him to ignore terrain for a quick escape. However, he noted those fleeing ahead clearly possessed flight capability yet chose low-altitude movement through the forest instead; presumably, something was odd here, prompting him not to test that boundary.

Though he planned to avoid complications, trouble sought him out instead.