Feng Yang did not rush to the other side of the light barrier.
Instead, he squatted down, grabbed a handful of snow, formed it into a ball, and threw it at the barrier. The snowball passed through without any resistance.
Hmm… it seems there's no danger in passing through, he thought. At least the snowball made it safely.
But as someone extremely cautious, Feng Yang remained vigilant. He plucked a strand of hair, held it between his fingers, and carefully inserted it into the barrier. Like the snowball, the hair passed through effortlessly.
Finally reassured, he slowly inserted his right little finger into the barrier. Detecting no danger, he pushed his entire arm through. Soon, Feng Yang stepped completely to the other side.
Everything was normal. No accidents occurred.
Clearly, the barrier's function was only to regulate temperature, not to block physical objects, including people.
As soon as Feng Yang crossed, a wave of heat washed over him. He understood it wasn't that the temperature here was high, but that the side he had left was unbearably cold.
Just then, the blue ghost that had been pursuing him caught up.
Having encountered this creature countless times over the past three days, Feng Yang remained calm. He calmly squatted, took out some wood, and lit a fire. Soon, a bonfire blazed on the ground.
After nearly three days of evading the ghost, Feng Yang hadn't gained much, but his fire-making skills had grown remarkably proficient.
Once the fire was lit, he quickly retreated about a hundred meters and sat down to observe from a distance.
To his surprise, although the barrier blocked temperature, it did not block the blue ghost's senses. Sensing the bonfire on the other side, the ghost accelerated like a hungry wolf spotting prey.
It crashed into the light barrier without hesitation.
The moment it touched the barrier, the ghost trembled violently, as if electrocuted. The trembling intensified until, with a final miserable shriek, the ghost dissolved into a wisp of black smoke and vanished.
Feng Yang was stunned.
"So the barrier can destroy the ghost?"
He guessed this transparent barrier might be a kind of magic array. Besides insulating against the cold, its main function was likely to block and kill those blue ghosts.
With the ghost gone, Feng Yang finally relaxed completely. After three full days on the run, he hadn't slept properly even once. Now, exhaustion washed over him.
Still, his fear of death kept him from sleeping just anywhere. To avoid being attacked by some unknown creature, he forced himself to climb a nearby tree, fighting off drowsiness.
He took off his shirt, tied himself securely to the trunk so he won't fall from the tree, and let out a long sigh. Just as he was about to rest, a plume of black smoke drifted slowly toward him.
What's that? Is it the remains of the ghost?
He thought he should resist sleep and escape the tree, but he was simply too tired. After three days without rest, even the strongest willpower has its limits.
Feng Yang was no exception—he was only human.
In the end, his will surrendered to exhaustion. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Forget the smoke… I'm just too sleepy.
The wisp of black smoke drifted to Feng Yang's side, circled him twice, and seeped into his body.
…
One day later.
The first rays of morning light roused Feng Yang gradually. He checked his phone: a little past six. He had fallen asleep around noon the day before, almost twenty hours of sleep.
Oversleeping left his body sore and stiff. Twenty hours without food or water made him both thirsty and hungry.
Gritting through the discomfort, he climbed down from the tree and lit a campfire. He collected a can of snow from beyond the barrier and heated it over the flames.
To travel light and maximise supplies, Feng Yang hadn't carried much drinking water. After all, snow was everywhere; he could always melt some when thirsty.
Once the water boiled, he tossed in an entire pack of instant noodles. Aside from candy bars, starchy foods were the most filling among the snacks he'd brought from the supermarket.
After finishing the noodles and broth, Feng Yang shouldered his backpack and ventured into the forest.
As for the snow-covered town… he didn't know why, but when he tried to return, he found it had vanished overnight, replaced by this very forest.
Left with no other choice, Feng Yang had to press forward into the woods.
The forest wasn't large. In less than ten minutes, he reached its edge. Beyond stood a small village.
The houses were simple—nearly half were built of mud. At the village entrance lay two people dressed in coarse hemp clothing, like something out of a period drama.
Most disturbingly, the two lay completely still, chests not moving, as if dead.
Feng Yang was shocked," Are they really dead?"
To confirm his suspicion and ensure his own safety, he hid in the woods and observed for nearly two hours. Throughout that time, the two villagers never moved, and no one else appeared.
It was clear they were truly dead.
Hoping to gather more information, and after confirming the area was safe, Feng Yang mustered his courage and walked toward the village entrance.
On closer inspection, he realised the two bodies were only the beginning. The village was filled with the corpses of countless villagers, at least several hundred.
The dead included men and women, young and old; not even the elderly or children had been spared.
Moreover, Feng Yang noticed a common trait among all the bodies: not a single wound could be seen. This was easy to determine, as there was no trace of blood anywhere in the village.
Every face was frozen in a mask of terror, as if they had witnessed something horrifying before dying.
Their deaths are far too bizarre.
The gruesome scene sent chills down Feng Yang's spine, and goosebumps rose all over his body.