The other party appeared silently, catching both Dennis and even the bold Xia Chuan off guard with a start. But in the next second, he felt much more at ease, because Shen Lan was still there.

He still remembered what Shen Lan had said before about the dinosaurs in the forest - just a Tyrannosaurus, there might be one, but most of the rest were something else, nothing to be afraid of.

At the time, he and Dennis felt exasperated hearing this, but now knowing Shen Lan's true situation, they felt it was perfectly normal for him not to be afraid of those dinosaurs. So with him here, the one in front of them was not so scary either. However, he forgot one fact...

Just as Xia Chuan and Dennis were slightly relieved by Shen Lan's presence, Shen Lan suddenly raised his hand and poked Xia Chuan.

The dinosaur in the forest still had its eyes fixed on them, the crisscrossing branches and leaves blocking most of its head and body, making it difficult to distinguish what species it was and how dangerous it was. However, just seeing its exposed white teeth, Xia Chuan didn't want to make any big movements under its watchful eyes.

So he didn't turn his head, and barely moving his lips, he squeezed out three words to ask Shen Lan, "What's up?"

His voice was so low that it was even less than a whisper.

However, Shen Lan still heard him clearly. He was already close to Xia Chuan, his left hand just happened to be hidden behind Xia Chuan's back. As long as the movement was not too big, it would not attract the attention of the dinosaur in the forest.

So Shen Lan started writing words on Xia Chuan's back with his fingers to answer his question.

Xia Chuan: "..."

For people who have experienced real gunfire and danger, the back is a very special place, a weak point in defense that is easily ambushed. So they are usually extra sensitive and attentive to movements behind their backs, and Xia Chuan was naturally no exception.

Shen Lan's unintentional action was simply a test of Xia Chuan's endurance. It took a lot of effort for him to restrain himself from instinctively turning around and attacking at that moment. But the hairs on the back of his neck had already involuntarily stood up, like a cat with its fur puffed up.

Fortunately, if Shen Lan wrote with more force and strength, it would be barely tolerable. But in order to avoid making the movements too obvious, Shen Lan was barely moving his wrist, and the force of his fingertips was very light. It made Xia Chuan's back tense up, stiff as a wooden stick, his face even more expressionless.

"This guy is tough, avoid him." Xia Chuan concentrated, recognizing the words Shen Lan wrote down one by one, piecing together this sentence.

Xia Chuan: "...You're afraid of him?" Who was the one who said 'there's nothing to be afraid of about dinosaurs' before?

Hearing this, Shen Lan suddenly became a little agitated and immediately started writing on Xia Chuan's back to explain.

Xia Chuan, who dug his own grave and jumped in: "..."

"Me, afraid? How is that possible? It's just that this one's situation is a bit special. Besides, our activity areas are different, it's in the forest and I'm in the sea, the well water doesn't interfere with the river water*."

*T/N: An idiom that means 'minding your own business'

This time Xia Chuan didn't say anything more, lest Shen Lan write another string of words on his back.

After all, Shen Lan was much more familiar with the survival situation here than he was. So since Shen Lan had spoken up, and it indeed made sense, there was no reason not to listen.

So Shen Lan walked two steps forward from behind the two, standing about a meter in front of them.

As he moved, the dinosaur in the forest suddenly raised its head and took a step forward, stepping on the grass and wood, making another cracking sound. With the "rustle" of branches and leaves, its head was completely exposed, large and hard, as if hard skin was directly wrapped around the bones. Its pointed long mouth opened, the conical fangs looking even more frightening.

Just as it lowered its head to charge at Xia Chuan and the others, Shen Lan suddenly raised his hand, his five fingers moving quickly for a few times, as if making some kind of gesture. Then he made a few strange sounds from the bottom of his throat, the sound close to a lion's purr, but with a different feeling.

Hearing his voice, the dinosaur actually hesitated and lifted a front leg, looking as if it wanted to back away.

While making this sound that normal people could not imitate, Shen Lan waved at Xia Chuan and Dennis, pointing to the other side of the forest, indicating for them to walk there and make way for this dinosaur.

Xia Chuan held the military dagger in his left hand close to his side, his body slightly hunched, carefully moving with Dennis step by step to the other side, not slow in speed but with very small movements.

Although Dennis was timid, he was not stupid. Seeing Shen Lan and Xia Chuan's movements, even without hearing Shen Lan's explanation, he more or less knew what was going on. So he also imitated Xia Chuan's movements, tightly hugging the black box in his hands, carefully following Xia Chuan step by step.

Shen Lan, on the other hand, "communicated" with the dinosaur in a strange way while maintaining a two-meter distance from Xia Chuan and the others, also moving towards that patch of forest.

A moment later, the dinosaur disappeared behind the tall trees, showing no intention of chasing after them. Only then did Shen Lan stop making sounds and put his hand down, closely following Xia Chuan and the others into the forest.

Looking at the forest from the outside and looking up at it from inside the forest were completely different feelings, and seeing it in the dark and in the light were two different experiences. This forest was much deeper than they had thought last night. The trees were frighteningly tall, comparable to dozens of stories, at least 180 meters high.

Even such huge dinosaurs appeared like ordinary beasts among them, let alone humans.

The exposed roots of any random tree outside could reach above Xia Chuan and the others' knees, making them look as if they had run out of Lilliput.

Even after entering the forest, Xia Chuan never relaxed his grip on the dagger, even holding it tighter. His eyes still remained on the place where the dinosaur had disappeared, somewhat unable to let down his guard. His right eye twitched a few times, always feeling a bit uneasy.

Dennis, on the other hand, didn't think too much. Seeing that the dinosaur had disappeared, he breathed a sigh of relief, took off his backpack that had been a bit cumbersome hanging on his arm, checked the wavy lines on the black box, confirming it, and then put the black box back into the waterproof bag and into his backpack.

As he was just about to slip his hand through the strap of the backpack, intending to sling it over his shoulder, something whooshed past, so fast that he could only catch a glimpse of a dark shadow.

"Watch out!" Xia Chuan's voice suddenly rang out.

Before Dennis could react, he felt a sharp pain in his arm. Something had grabbed onto his backpack, and with his arm still caught in the strap, it dragged him a considerable distance.