Upon hearing Charles's words, the other crew members began to look around anxiously, realizing that the bandaged figure was indeed missing. A shadow of fear crossed each face—how could a companion just vanish without a trace?

  "When was the last time anyone saw the bandaged one?" Charles asked, suppressing his own unease.

  "I did," James said, raising his hand hesitantly. "He was right in front of me five minutes ago."

  "No, I think I haven't seen him for about ten minutes," Lily chimed in.

  The crew's accounts were inconsistent, but it was clear that the bandaged figure had disappeared within the last ten minutes.

  Charles furrowed his brow as he surveyed the thick fog surrounding them, then turned to Audrick. "Transform into a bat and follow the arrow I carved. See if the bandaged one got lost somewhere else."

  Audrick nodded, unfurling his cloak and transforming into a bat, flying off into the mist. Bats could use echolocation, so the fog wouldn't hinder his search.

  Before long, Audrick returned, shaking his head in disappointment. Charles knew that the disappearance of the bandaged figure was undoubtedly linked to this island.

  Leaning against the wall, Charles pondered his next move. Compared to terrifying monsters, he found this situation far more frustrating. At least with monsters, there was a chance to fight back; here, no matter how powerful one might be, there was no way to respond.

  Suddenly, a loud bang echoed through the mist, startling everyone. Charles quickly opened a mirror box, allowing light to pierce the fog, but the source of the sound revealed nothing.

  Then, the dense fog began to thin. Charles sensed that something ominous was unfolding.

  He slowly spoke, "We need to leave here."

  Freighton immediately protested, "Captain! But we haven’t found the first officer yet!"

  "Do as I say. We’ll talk about it outside," Charles replied, taking the lead.

  Though he felt guilty for abandoning the bandaged figure, as captain, he had to prioritize the safety of the remaining crew. It was his duty.

  If one could vanish, so could another. Without knowing what had caused the bandaged figure's disappearance, staying here was not a rational choice. He couldn’t risk the lives of others for one crew member. Besides, as a follower of the Futan god with strong regenerative abilities, the bandaged one should be able to survive. They could figure out how to rescue him once they were outside.

  With the captain's order, everyone began to move quickly along the maze's walls, following the arrow markings.

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  The thick fog parted before their torches, and aside from the sound of muddy water being disturbed, there was no other noise.

  However, when the group switched to a second torch, Charles's expression soured. They had been running for a while; they should have reached the maze's exit by now, yet they hadn’t arrived.

  "Wait," Charles called, halting the crew. He examined the arrow on the wall closely.

  After a thorough inspection, he realized that the hidden markings he had deliberately left within the arrow were all intact; it was indeed his carving, not something altered by another.

  But despite the markings, they couldn’t seem to find their way out. Charles felt puzzled. What was going on with this maze? Could it be moving?

  However, before entering, he had considered this possibility. He sliced his fingertip with the black blade, quickly smearing the blood on the bat mirror. Black fur began to sprout on his face, and membranes quickly formed under his arms.

  With his increasingly fierce visage, he addressed the crew, "Stay put. Once I find the entrance, I’ll come back to get you out."

  No matter how confusing the maze was, it was still two-dimensional. As long as he could fly above the crew, he could find the exit.

  A few seconds later, his transformation was complete. The wind from his bat wings stirred the mud into waves as Charles propelled himself upward.

  The massive bat opened its gaping maw, emitting ultrasonic waves inaudible to human ears. These waves bounced off objects, allowing him to visualize everything around him.

  Even though he had seen the structure of the giant maze once before, he was still struck by its complexity. The myriad of intricate intersections was dizzying.

  Ignoring the intersections, Charles flew straight up.

  As he rapidly flapped his wings, he noticed something strange: no matter how high he ascended, the walls beside him seemed to rise in tandem.

  Three minutes later, he hovered in mid-air and sent out a sound wave, but he received no echo. He was at least a thousand meters above the ground.

  This was clearly illogical. Charles remembered the island's appearance; even with the fog obscuring it, he knew it couldn’t be that high.

  Realizing that flying higher wouldn’t yield any results, Charles made a decisive descent.

  "Captain, what’s going on?" Deep asked anxiously as he watched Charles drink from a blood bag.

  "It's no use. I flew up over a thousand meters, and the walls keep rising with me."

  Hearing their captain's response, the crew's faces fell. They couldn't escape following the arrows, and with the walls soaring over a thousand meters, it meant they were all trapped here.

  "Don't panic; we have other options," Charles said, retrieving some explosives from James's backpack.

  "Boom!!" Debris flew everywhere as the maze's walls were blasted open, revealing the mist beyond.

  Since they couldn’t find a way around, they’d blow their way out. After all, a straight line was always the shortest route.

  The explosions continued, and the crew quickly moved through the openings.

  Charles had thought they would soon return to the swamp, but things didn’t unfold as he imagined. When they emerged from another hole, they were greeted by the sound of water droplets hitting the surface.

  Before long, the dripping intensified, sounding almost like rain. Charles cautiously turned toward the source of the sound. Gradually, he saw a group of strange creatures approaching.

  These beings resembled upside-down, hairless rats, their elongated and deformed organs making them look bizarre. Their elephantine noses dipped into the water, creating the dripping sounds as they walked on their trunks.

  These nasal creatures stood nearly a meter tall and were numerous, densely packed atop the black, muddy water, resembling corn stalks in a field. Encountering such beings in this place would unsettle anyone.

  Deep drew a dagger, shaped similarly to the black blade, swallowing hard as he glanced at his captain.

  "Hold off on attacking; let’s see what they want," Charles said, lowering the guns raised by the crew beside him.