Ten minutes later, every inch of ground outside the ruined heritage hamlet had been turned upside down. But still, there was no sign of Magnus.

It was that eerie hour just before dawn, the darkest stretch of night. In this isolated valley, the only light sources were three campfires and a few scattered flashlights–everything else was swallowed by pitch black.

Chantelle’s face was twisted with frustration. “Mr. Sutton, weren’t you just with Mr. Veyne the whole time? How the hell did he disappear like that? What the hell were you even doing?”

Ralph looked panicked. “Ms. Garcia, that’s unfair! How am I supposed to know?”

Chantelle was fuming. For the first time, she had to admit that Andrew had been right all along. This so-called survival expert really was a useless joke.

Andrew snapped, clearly out of patience. “Ralph, answer me–were you with Magnus before he went missing or not?”

Ralph showed a thoughtful expression and said, “When Ms. Garcia told us to start the fire and eat, Mr. Veyne said he wanted to go relieve himself. I didn’t think much of it at the time and just told him to be careful.

“Then I saw him walk behind that big rock over there. After waiting a few minutes and seeing no movement, I figured he was probably taking a dump. So, I waited a few more minutes, but he still hadn’t come out.

“As a wilderness survival expert, I immediately realized something was wrong. Sure enough, when I ran behind the big rock to check, there wasn’t a trace of him anywhere!"

Logan said mockingly, “Wow, some survivalist you are! You waited a few minutes and then waited some more. Calling yourself a survival expert is a joke! For all we know, Mr. Veyne is dead because of you!”

Ralph’s face turned bright red with embarrassment. He wanted to argue back but could not find the words to defend himself.

Chantelle turned toward Andrew. “Mr. Lloyd, what now?”

Andrew scoffed. “What do you mean ‘what now’? We’ve already searched everything we could. We’ve done what we can. This just means Mr. Veyne had terrible luck. I warned you not to bring those two along, but you didn’t listen. And now he’s gone, and you’re asking me what to do? Too late for that.”

Chantelle was speechless. She had been hit hard by his words and had nothing to say in return.

Just then, a timid voice cut through the silence. “I actually think there’s a chance Mr. Veyne is still alive. It’s just that we’d probably have to search inside the forbidden area; there might still be a chance to save him.”

Everyone turned, stunned, and looked in the direction of the voice.

Mohave, the young Patoaja boy, looked visibly nervous. It was as if even suggesting this had put him in a very difficult position.

Buzz roared angrily, “Mohave, shut your mouth! Who told you to butt in? Mr. Veyne has obviously been dragged into the forbidden area. He’s as good as dead. Whatever could drag away a full-grown man like that would either be a Blood Ghoul or that beast.

He added, “But regardless of which one it was, he’s as good as dead.”

Andrew frowned. “Buzz, didn’t you say the Blood Ghouls won’t leave the forbidden area?”

Buzz’s expression darkened. He grunted, “The Blood Ghouls won’t step outside, but that doesn’t mean other creatures won’t. And Mr. Lloyd, don’t forget–there’s also a massive black tiger out there. That beast has slaughtered just as many of the Patoaja as the Blood Ghouls have.”

Andrew did not say anything, deep in thought.

However, Kevin gasped. “Buzz, are you saying this cursed place has more than just the Blood Ghouls roaming around?”

Buzz’s expression went stiff. His lips moved slowly as he muttered, “Yeah… there are definitely other evil things here."