Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

"Captain?"

Tiger fell silent for a moment, looking towards You, "Any clues?"

"There are traces of human activity."

After a brief silence, everyone was waiting for Tiger's decision.

For some reason, Dashan felt his palms beginning to sweat, as if he were waiting for a judgment.

He hoped everyone would stay together, but he couldn't bring himself to voice his fears, worried it might influence Tiger's judgment.

After a long silence, recalling the advice he had secretly received from his instructor and Sniper God Carlos, Tiger still decided to err on the side of caution, "We'll stick together."

Efficiency could be sacrificed; ensuring the safety of the team and the success of the mission was the primary concern.

"Phew," Dashan let out a breath, feeling much more relaxed.

Just now, that hallucination-like "imagination" always made his heart feel as if it were being held by an invisible hand, unable to settle, nor to break free.

A sense of faint unease echoed in his chest, only dispersible by the warm strength of his teammates when they were by his side.

"Let's go."

The team once again plunged into as quiet an exploration as possible.

The finely ground special sand falling from the sand-timer-like device clipped to the waist of Dashan at the rear left a clear trail in the night vision goggles, so everyone knew the path they had taken to avoid getting lost.

Everyone still tried to minimize any noise they made, their stealth skills coming into play once more.

Bai E's footsteps were so light they were almost imperceptible, with You and Song Ying not far behind.

Only Tiger's footsteps were slightly heavier, but they too could not provide a sense of reassuring power.

It's coming...

It's here again...

That feeling... it's back again...

Dashan felt his breathing becoming difficult, his teammates ahead increasing their pace, while his own legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

He desperately wanted to pick up the pace and catch up, but he couldn't move quickly.

He reached out, yet he couldn't touch the back of his teammate.

Wishing to shout, something seemed to block his mouth and vocal cords, resulting in only a silent gaping.

"Thump~"

"Thump~"

The spiritual world was dark and ethereal, the sound of his own heartbeat magnified infinitely in his mind.

Faster and faster...

Faster and faster...

The howling winds above swept across the land, stirring up ghostly wails.

The world before him expanded away, while he felt like an insignificant grain of sand in the endless darkness, losing his color, his character, his will, losing... everything.

He was about to merge eternally into this expanse... of darkness.

"Szzzz~"

Static suddenly erupted in the comms, Dashan waiting with bated breath for salvation, only to hear a long scream.

"Ahhh~~~~"

"Save... *click~"

In a consciousness stream that seemed to flow slower, allowing him to hear every nuance of each byte, the screams of other team members played out slowly in his mind.

This cry from his teammate completely shattered his last line of defense.

The moment the scream sounded, he felt every nerve in his brain being plucked one by one.

His crown felt as if it had been blown off, sending chills directly through him. A tremor that reached deep into his soul invaded his entire body, leaving him feeling electrocuted.

He stretched out his hand desperately, seeking salvation from his teammates.

In his field of vision...

His teammates... all stood still.

...

"Woo~"

The wind over the wilderness never ceased.

In the cramped passageway, it was as quiet as one's own breathing, every light rustling of footsteps felt as if they were directly on one's heart, causing it to tremble ceaselessly.

If the noise from any step became slightly louder, it felt as if some taboo commandment had been violated, instilling unease.

Bai E, slightly distracted as he walked, blinked his eyes as if he had a premonition of the scream that was about to come through the headset.

"Ah!"

"Save... *click~"

Something's gone wrong!Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Bai E jolted alert from a semi-lucid state.

It was from another squad; he instinctively turned to look at his teammates.

But he found that everyone maintained a strange "in-progress action": Tiger's body rigidly extended forward in a half-step, his foot lingering in mid-air as if frozen into a statue.

Song Ying was holding his machine gun as if ready for battle, but likewise, he was stuck in place.

Lagging behind, Dashan reached out like a drowning victim in a weird semi-floating posture, desperately trying to touch what was in front, his longest middle finger stopping just three centimeters shy of Song Ying's back.

And You, just half a step in front...

Suddenly, a gloved small hand was thrust into Bai E's own, a pained and soft voice intermittently piercing into Bai E's ear.

"Quick... run..."

"You?"

Bai E shook the hand that had been placed in his, and along with it, You's entire arm also moved slightly.

However, his stiff body was likewise frozen in eternity.

Teammates... were all immobile.

The voice comms, too, fell silent.

No one questioned the comrade who had just screamed.

Everyone was engulfed in a deathly silence.

They... were all motionless.

They had fallen...

In just an instant, a piercing cold swept up from Bai E's heels, climbing up his entire back.

All the pores on his body contracted, his hairs standing on end.

"Woo~"

The only sound was the howling of the wind above.

It was like the death cry of a beast—or the sob of humans in despair.

What's happened! What's happened!

Bai E clenched his teeth tightly to ensure he wouldn't tremble from the fear in his body.

His mind was blanketed in darkness, Bai E having no time to analyze the situation or make decisions.

This can't go on!

Self-control... where is my self-control?

Realizing he had not yet fallen like the others, Bai E struggled to remember his trump card.

Fear's agents chaotically surged within, self-restraint like soldiers arresting bandits throughout the city, but the fear only multiplied… more and more…

It was as if it poured into the crown of his head from the air, the boundless darkness flooding his body along with the fear, seeking to completely bury him.

"Slap! Slap!"

Bai E fiercely slapped himself twice, the pain bringing a momentary lucidity to his senses.

He couldn't stay here!

Get out!

Carlos was right, as long as you don't die, collecting intelligence and returning is also a way of completing the mission.

There's something wrong with this Refugee Slum!

Something wrong!

It's problematic!

He scooped up You's light yet rigid body around his waist, his left hand trying to lift the close-by body of Ying.

However, the muscles, acidified from fear, suddenly gave out, and the two bodies he managed to lift fell to the ground in an instant.

He couldn't carry them…

Just run…

Leave this place…

Get out of this cave!

The disappearance of several previous recon soldiers was not a careless accident, this place… harbored perils beyond common imagination!

Bring back the intel! Bring back the intel!

Short, recurrent thoughts looped in Bai E's temporarily stalled mind.

Run!

The path he followed showed a clear guide under the night vision goggles.

He couldn't care about hiding, couldn't care about the noise, the only consideration was to leave the cave as fast as possible.

The mask of the night vision goggles trapped his heavy breathing, the hot vapor covering his face.

Running away…

Was also an escape.

The darkness grew ever denser, Bai E's consciousness filled with the pounding heartbeat and heavy breathing.

"Thump! Thump!"

It was as if an unknown primeval beast stalked him from behind, the closer Bai E got to the cave entrance, the smaller he felt in comparison to the entire world.

Massive stones and the very earth seemed like bindings pressing down on him, leaving him gasping for air.

"Hiss~"

Bai E's foot slipped on stepping out of the Wind Erosion Cave tunnel, almost causing him to fall.

Staggering to his feet, he sprinted to the vehicle parked not far away.

Opened the car door… turned on the ignition…

Bai E, performing all these actions, could only feel his hands shaking continuously, the unspeakable fear eroding his heart at all times.

At some point, the hand steadying the steering wheel suddenly paused.

Bai E slowly raised his head, staring blankly into the dimly lit night sky—

In the boundless wilderness, the rocks of bizarre shapes outlined monstrous and distorted figures under the black shadows.

Natural wind caves played a primitive roar for the ordinarily silent gale.

His thoughts, as if his soul had left his body, soared quickly from in front of him into the boundless sky.

The earth seemed to grow more and more distant before his eyes, his small body like a drop in the ocean.

"Thump~"

"Thump~"

In the quiet, Bai E heard his heartbeat slowly calming down.

A seed of fear had taken root deep within his heart without him knowing when.

Escape?

Go ahead and flee.

You can escape from the present, but not from within.

Once the seed is sown, all acts of escapism become the best nourishment for fear.

Perhaps on the road…

Or maybe back at camp…

In the future… perhaps tomorrow… maybe when waking up the next morning…

He would regret why he abandoned everything because of the unknown fear.

Escaping?

[Under your firm will, you have successfully passed a "mental check".]

[You have successfully passed a check in the field of occultism, Occult +0.1.]

Only when his self-consciousness awakened from the endless fear did the success notification quietly pop up on the panel.

This passive confrontation could happen at any moment, and the notifications on the panel could not be taken as a preventative source of information.

Bai E lifted his head, his gaze empty as he looked ahead.

In the silent darkness, it seemed as if a pair of malicious eyes had formed, quietly watching him with amusement…

Fear was not entirely his own.

In that brief instant just now, Bai E sensed the fear imposed on him by other wills—

A group of ragged refugees, with dry and hardened sticks in hand, struggled to climb to the top of one of the Wind Erosion Caves.

The desolate gray wilderness stretched to the horizon like a backdrop in front of them.

The city's glow couldn't shine into the wilds…

It was as if the glow deliberately drove these gray figures out of their borders.

With such a vast world, there was nowhere for them to go.

What about the future?

What about life?

Every child who fell asleep in the dark caves with the whisper of the wind had swallowed bewilderment and fear along with the cold and hunger.

The demon that germinated from fear had already shown its fangs, reaching its roots into the hearts of every living being that came here.

The farther you flee on land, the more the seed blossoms.

Physical escape was meaningless if one could not face it head-on, as no matter where one went, one would ultimately succumb.

"Huff~"

Bai E exhaled gently, as if expelling all fear from within with that breath.

Turned off the engine, got out of the car, closed the door.

Bai E slowly completed these actions, taking steps towards what lay ahead…

The unknown cave awaited quietly in the darkness.

To be a fool who challenges the windmill.

Rashness, closer to courage than caution…