Zerra took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down to no avail. She recalled some details: the time and space tears the tiger mentioned and the same power which related to the mutated mushroom. Cassias’ hair, which was longer than she last remembered. Then, Amora’s group, which had a strange reaction–they didn’t immediately assume she was Zerra Sylvaris they were looking for. They might have simply assumed she was dead. "What do you mean by three months, Cassias?!" She pried him off her shoulder, shaking the poor man slightly. "You aren’t joking, are you?" "This isn’t funny." She let out a breath, running her hand through her hair. "Zee... how long do you think you have been in the forest?" Cassias’ eyes flickered with a strange light. He knitted his eyebrows before his expression returned to calmness. "I-I..." she paused, pondering. Then, she held up seven fingers. "Around a week." Because of her astonishment, she didn’t realize that their position was too close. Their faces were less than ten centimeters against each other. Now that she realized it, she coughed softly and began to withdraw herself a little further away from him. Cassias shifted closer, pretending not to notice her little action. The widening gap was shortened again. "You have been missing for three months, not just a week." Zerra fell silent. Her mind was a little chaotic. "I-I... how can it be three months...?" She bit her lip. "What did you encounter there?" As she knitted her eyebrows in deep thought, Cassias took her hand and linked it with his. "There was a strange mutated mushroom. Its umbrella cap was like a sinkhole, pure blackness. I sensed traces of space power there... time and space power... space tears..." she mumbled a little incoherently at the end. "Were you alone?" His face knitted with worry when he mentioned this. He knew she could control zombies, but her power wasn’t inexhaustible either. How much she had suffered while she was out there? She must have eaten only the dry rations. "You have gotten thinner," he added. His heart ached a little. Zerra lifted her head and blinked. She stared at her waist; it was just like the last time as she remembered, neither decreasing nor increasing in volume. "I don’t think so," she coughed. "And yes, there was someone else who accompanied me. His name is Derek Ashford. He is from the Research Institute, a deputy chief of the Botanical Research Department." She didn’t notice Cassias’s darkening face as she continued to chatter on, a little excited. "Do you remember the tiger we met last time in the forest? It’s actually here! I can communicate with it, and now we are friends!" When she looked up again, Cassias’s face had returned to his usual expression. "I don’t know if it’s related to my case of time difference. The tiger told me it had arrived here because it had fallen into some kind of sinkhole." Cassias reached out and brushed her hair. "Did the tiger stay with you too?" She nodded. "It should be around here, still following me." The look in Cassias’ eyes softened slightly. "Can you tell me more about the mutated mushroom?" When she heard Cassias’ words, she hesitated a bit. Ultimately, she still took out a container of the black mass from her inner space. It was made of steel. She had secretly scooped some of it when Derek and his people weren’t looking. Cassias’ eyes constricted. "What’s wrong?" Zerra asked. He had been staring wordlessly at the steel container for a while now, scrutinizing the black mass on it. "What kind of power did the monster mushroom have?" He already imagined the devastating fight between Zerra and the mutated mushroom. The black mass looked somewhat ominous. It must have been a dangerous one. She tilted her head and began to narrate her experience. "Now that I think about it... it might be because of the illusion. The mutated mushroom trapped me and Derek in the illusion, which made us keep going in circles." Her forehead wrinkled as she recalled another detail. "The tiger didn’t seem to be affected. It knew I was heading the wrong way, but now that I think about it, the mutated mushroom must have affected it too. Otherwise, the time difference would create some kind of inconsistency." "We might have fallen into some kind of dimension, the mutated mushroom’s illusion dimension," she laid all her assumptions in front of Cassias without hiding anything. "Eh, what are you doing?!" Zerra let out a shocked cry at Cassias’ sudden action. He was burying his hand in the black mass. Zerra hurriedly pulled his hand out. "Take it out... it will hurt you." She stared at Cassias’ hand carefully, which had turned as red as a lobster. "Does it hurt?" Cassias’ eyelashes fluttered, and he bit his lip as if suppressing his pain. He lowered his head and said in a soft tone, "Yes..." Zerra blinked, sensing something was wrong, but she couldn’t determine what it was. She stared at his hands and didn’t hesitate to take a basin of water. Washing his hands with water, she dried them with a towel. His hand was still red. His forehead wrinkled as if he still felt the pain. She rolled her eyes and scolded, "Don’t do such a thing recklessly again." Cassias lowered his head. "I will listen to you next time..." Her heart softened when she saw him . Unexpectedly, there would be such a day when the male lead would act in front of her. It tickled her heart a little, making it feel a little itchy. A bit bothered by what she was currently feeling, she grabbed his hands. Vitality flowed from her fingers, slowly healing his scalded skin. After a while, she withdrew her hands. She stared at Cassias’ deceptive, slender and fair fingers. She was finally satisfied upon seeing them look so flawless again. "So, what did you find?" She cleared her throat and tilted her head. The man stared at their entwined hands earlier, witnessing the healing process. However, his mind seemed to wander off. He might have found clues in his dangerous little experiment. "It indeed has traces of space and time power," He softly muttered. "It must have confined you within its range of ability, marking a particular area as its territory." "It’s no wonder that I couldn’t find you." A deep frown marred his forehead. Zerra inspected his face. Did she just sense anger radiating from him? "But the most important thing is that you return safely." Cassias let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. His gaze softened as he looked at her. Zerra became a little shy for some reason. She cleared her throat to regain control of her sudden, chaotic emotions. "You... " She let out a sigh. "You should sleep more. It must have been really tiring." Her voice became smaller when she said the last sentence. "I am fine." He took a few bottles of spring water from his space. After handing one to her, he drank the rest. His exhaustion gradually lessened. She could sense his energy slowly returning, faster than average people’s speed. Soon, a healthy flush appeared on his face. "I will be shy if you keep staring at me like that." Cassias’ lips curled up into a teasing smile, as if he wasn’t the man who acted pitiful after getting his hands scalded earlier. She turned her head away, a little suspicious. Would Cassias really not be aware of the properties in the mushroom liquid and act recklessly like that? At least, he could have used some kind of preventive measure. "Your family is also looking for you." Cassias cleared his throat. Why did she feel he was changing the topic? But even if that was his purpose, he indeed achieved it successfully. At the mention of her family, she hurriedly asked him. "How are they? My parents..." "Your parents are okay. They insisted on joining the search at first, but now they are at the people’s residential area. Laziel and your elder sister are heading to this place too." He answered. "Do you want to go back?" ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel_fіre.net Zerra thought about it. She wondered whether the time was finally aligned correctly. The wooden hut she saw... was it from a few weeks ago or was it a few days ago? Derek too. He must have come back to report, so he should have arrived, right? She wondered whether the mushroom effect had truly gone when she bid farewell to Derek or... "What are you thinking about?" Cassias asked, tilting his head. Zerra blinked and didn’t hesitate to tell her findings to him. She narrated how she, Derek, and others found the wooden hut for human experiments. "Would it be too late if we go over there now?" She asked anxiously. Secretly, she paid attention to his expression. She was still curious. Why had Cassias and Nyra allowed Daniel to tag along when they could have simply left him behind? She nodded. "Yes. I still feel curious. Why did you let him join us even after you found him annoying? You and Elder Sister..." Under her scrutinizing gaze, he finally opened his mouth.