Shenlan quickly replied: "Based on the terrain comparison, there is a 99.99% probability that this is a planting area for Dragon’s Beard Grass and other Magic Potion Materials."
Herag looked around: "It seems I wasn’t mistaken; it’s not my problem."
He looked around, the traces of cultivation were gone, and the path between the fields was also missing.
Herag pondered for a moment, then boldly approached the pine forest.
His pace was slow, and his movements cautious, trying not to make loud noises.
When he reached a point where he could barely make out the pine forest in the distance, he stopped to observe the movements within the forest.
"The spider silk is gone..."
After several examinations, Herag found that the spider silk within the pine forest had completely vanished.
The ground of the original pine forest was covered with spider silk, but now it was nowhere to be seen.
"Strange, I just came out of the cave and could see the spider silk hanging on the branches, but now, how come it’s all gone in the pine forest, wait..."
Herag recalled that at dawn, when he emerged from the cave, he could see residual spider silk on the branches at the entrance, and traces of spiders on the ground.
Suddenly, he wondered if the fields were gone and the spider colony in the pine forest had disappeared, would the ancient ruins inside the cave still exist.
With this in mind, Herag decided to go back to the cave to check the situation.
Returning the way he came, he arrived at the cave’s vicinity.
The sight before him left Herag dumbfounded; the cave entrance was nowhere to be found.
The place where the cave used to be was now just a mountain, without any entrance.
Refusing to give up, Herag circled around, finding no traces of a cave.
He used a spade to clear away some weeds from the mountain’s surface, digging a bit into the soil, but found no signs of excavation.
Turning back, Herag glanced at the surrounding woods, with the spider silk on the trees gone and no traces of spiders on the ground.
So much spider silk hung on the trees that it couldn’t possibly all be blown away by the wind in such a short time.
"With my current knowledge, it’s hard to explain this phenomenon..."
Herag had never encountered such a situation and hadn’t learned related knowledge, not even knowing which subject to study to understand this phenomenon.
"According to the Blacksmith Uncle, you can leave during the day, does that mean that day and night are two different worlds here? Or rather, two different spaces. Otherwise, the changes couldn’t be this drastic."
After a moment of thought, Herag speculated that there might be space overlap here.
At night, the eerie town, the fields planted with Magic Potion Materials, the spider colony, and the cave would all emerge, whereas during the day, it was the normal Valley Town.
Suddenly, Herag thought: "Right, let’s check out the town."
The residential houses in Valley Town are dangerous; every house harbors something unusual.
If it were nighttime, Herag wouldn’t dare go back, not even to take another look.
But now it’s daytime, he felt he could risk going back to observe from afar, and if there were no issues, then venture into the town.
After all, returning to Heaven’s Edge at the foot of the mountain requires passing through the town; if there were problems with the town, he would just circumvent it from a distance.
Looking back at the mountain wall without the cave, he retraced his steps.
However, he still avoided the location of the pine forest, as the impression the spider colony left on him was too profound.
Even in the daytime, he dared not get too close, taking a wide detour instead.
On the way back, Herag also observed the road beneath his feet.
The giant Mammoth from last night should have left obvious tracks, considering its size.
But as Herag walked, he saw no trace of it.
The ground was overgrown with weeds, with even the roads covered, suggesting it had been years since anyone passed through.
Herag followed this path back to the town, stopping at a spot where he could clearly see the situation in the town. Follow current novᴇls on novel⸺fire.net
Surveying the town from afar, he sensed something ominous.
He remembered that when he first arrived in Valley Town during the day, it looked like an ordinary town from the mountain’s base, with people moving about.
But now, from his position, Valley Town appeared entirely in ruins.
The residential houses in Valley Town were either completely collapsed, decayed, or wrapped in numerous green plants.
Some houses bore traces of fire, with an adjacent cluster of houses reduced to ruins by the flames.
Approaching a bit closer, Herag found that the road in the town was also overgrown with weeds. From a distance, you couldn’t even tell it used to be a road.
According to his memory, he made his way to the Blacksmith Uncle’s house.
The main structure of this house still remained relatively intact, and the main door was still tightly closed.
Looking through the window, Herag saw that the interior setup was similar to what he saw the previous night.
He walked to the door and tried to push it, but it didn’t budge.
The lock had rusted shut, and when Herag applied a bit more force, he ended up toppling the entire door frame.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Herag said: "Sorry, Blacksmith Uncle, I didn’t mean to..."
The door frame collapsed to the ground with a bang, and years of accumulated dust flew up, forcing Herag to step back outside to avoid the dust.
Once the dust settled, Herag re-entered the house.
He explored the first floor, discovering various plants already growing in every room.
He even spotted a snake, which slithered away quickly through a hole in the window after being startled by Herag.
"Let’s check the second floor," Herag thought for a moment and decided to take a look upstairs.
The stairs leading to the second floor were already somewhat decayed, with many steps having holes.
As Herag stepped on the stairs, they creaked under his weight.
To avoid stepping on unsupported sections, he had Shenlan scan the staircase.
Some sections beneath were hollow and would break if stepped on.
Cautiously, Herag ascended the stairs to the second floor, casting his first glance at the dining table.
Last night, Robert’s unfortunate arm had been on this table.
Now, the table was still there, but apart from a lot of clutter, the arm was nowhere in sight.
Herag checked the other two rooms on the second floor; each was dilapidated and overgrown with various plants.
What caught his attention was that in the room where there was a leg hanging last night, Herag still found those photographs.
The photos were blurred beyond recognition, but he could vaguely tell it was a family photo of the Blacksmith Uncle’s family of three.
Besides the photos, Herag also discovered a rag doll at the head of the bed.
The rag doll was tattered, but it was obvious that it was the same one held by the little girl last night.