"Let's plant our feet on the ground!"
Aileen stood atop a dark, massive rock, straining to hold the kitchen knife with both hands.
She struck a pose she thought looked impressive against the cold night wind, shouting out into the empty valley below.
Yu Sheng poked the doll's head with a finger, nearly sending her tumbling off the rock, "Stop making such a racket. We haven’t found Hu Li yet, and if you keep this up, you might attract 'Hunger' too early."
"It's not like that thing relies on hearing," Aileen said, huffing as she jumped down from the rock.
She tightened the strap of the frame she was carrying, then looked around, "… It really is desolate here. And just like you said, it feels eerie and sinister, like the sky is covered by something."
"Be careful," Yu Sheng glanced at the petite Aileen, who seemed barely capable of combat.
Although he knew this doll had many strange abilities, he still felt compelled to remind her, "If something really happens, prioritize your safety—I'm not afraid of dying, but your temporary body might not withstand any damage. We can't be sure your soul can survive."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of myself. To be honest, 'Hunger' doesn’t pose much of a threat to me," Aileen replied, tilting her head, "Dolls usually aren't affected by mental coercion, and more importantly—I'm not going to feel hungry."
"True, you're not going to feel hunger, but you do seem to get greedy often. I have to show your face when I take a sip of water."
Yu Sheng muttered, glancing at the collection of large plastic bags they had brought.
Relieved to see them there, he felt the cautiousness he had shown while entering was worthwhile.
He had managed to bring all his "supplies" through the gate, ensuring a smooth start.
Bending down, he picked up the food that felt heavy to an ordinary person with ease, then looked ahead.
The collapsed old temple stood quietly in the night, looking almost the same as when he left.
"Let’s head over there. Hu Li should be nearby; I can feel it," Yu Sheng said softly, stepping into the darkness.
Just then, Aileen's voice rang out behind him, calling out, "Hey, wait! Slow down! I can’t keep up!"
Yu Sheng turned around to see the 66.6 cm tall doll dragging the kitchen knife in one hand while using the other to balance herself, waddling over the large rocks like she was climbing hills, trudging through the gravel-strewn valley bed.
What a sight! She had to crawl over obstacles that a normal person could simply walk past, or take all day to go around...
Yu Sheng watched in silence, letting out a sigh.
He squatted in front of Aileen, "Why don’t you just sit on my shoulders—don’t say ‘go’!"
Aileen instantly lit up, running toward Yu Sheng with her kitchen knife held high, "Hey! You're the best!"
Yu Sheng shouted, "Put that thing away! Just change the direction of the blade!"
Goodness, seeing a doll with blood-red eyes charging at him with a knife in the murky night was a bit too horrifying.
Yu Sheng wasn't afraid of death, but he was definitely afraid of certain things...
...
"What are we even doing here?" Li Lin shivered in the woods as the cold wind swept over, an increasing sense of unease wrapping around him, "Isn't this the boundary area?"
"Otherworld, Night Shade Valley, current depth L-3, gradually sinking to L-4. Danger assessment... based on recorded data, at least level three," Xu Jiali's voice came from beside him.
The big man, nearly two meters tall, had connected a portable deep probe to his eye without anyone noticing and was scanning the surroundings as he recited the memories fast, "This area is classified as a 'Wilderness'—we're in big trouble."
Li Lin’s eyes grew wider as he recalled information he had come across in training under Xu Jiali's prompt.
Wilderness-type otherworlds were large, with no clear boundaries or exits.
To leave, one must meet specific conditions or be at a specific time and place; a depth of L-3 meant they were almost completely isolated from reality, governed by irrational rules.
Prolonged staying caused a high chance of mental and cognitive erosion and interference; level 3 danger indicated obvious malice, with something lurking here that would actively attack and try to kill intruders—the threat was deadly and could not be avoided simply by "following the rules."
In such a level of otherworld, one typically needed at least an entire team of specialists, a dozen fully armed operatives with heavy gear.
And they would only be on a reconnaissance mission—meaning the goal was to gather intelligence and withdraw alive, not confront the entities here, which would require even more manpower or more experienced specialists.
Li Lin glanced at Xu Jiali; including him, there were only two specialists here.
One was a diver, specialized in confronting entities, but due to the suddenness of the situation, he hadn’t brought much equipment.
Next to them was a minor teen "spiritual detective" that took odd jobs for extra cash, supposedly skilled at reconnaissance.
What a disaster.
“Give the food in your hands to that little girl over there," Xu Jiali suddenly broke the silence, his face serious, "Li Lin, you and I will use this."
Snapping out of his gloomy thoughts, Li Lin immediately followed the seasoned officer’s orders without hesitation, handing over two bowls of instant noodles to the still-confused Little Red Hat.
He then took the item Xu Jiali passed to him.
It was a needle-free injector filled with a faintly glowing green liquid.
A sanity-blocking agent.
Li Lin stared in shock as he watched Xu Jiali place the injector against his arm.
"The entity generated here is 'Hunger,' prone to mental attacks," the big man said calmly, "You should know what's coming just from the name—let’s take a shot first. The side effects are more significant than an inhaler, but at least for forty-eight hours, it’ll ensure you don’t lose your judgment."
Li Lin nodded with a "hiss," injecting the sanity-blocking agent into his body.
Meanwhile, Little Red Hat reacted as soon as she heard the name "Hunger," stepping forward, "Wait, you two should eat now. Your bodies are still ordinary; I can withstand much more—besides, I've got snacks..."
"Listen to me," Xu Jiali interrupted, his nearly two-meter tall body towering over the slender girl as he looked down at her with intense seriousness, "I know your situation."
Little Red Hat opened her mouth but decided against saying anything.
Xu Jiali patted her shoulder, his deep voice carrying a reassuring strength, "This is also for us—your wolf pack is our greatest hope against the entities. You need to stay strong."
Li Lin watched as Little Red Hat squatted beside a rock, silently eating the now cold instant noodles.
Turning to look at his colleague, he felt a touch of uncertainty.
Xu Jiali shook his head lightly, lowering his voice, "If she falls into hunger, her wolves will eat her."
In the night, the wolf pack whimpered restlessly in the forest.
In the biting wind, a malicious "gaze" spread throughout the valley.
In the ruins of the old temple, Yu Sheng and Aileen searched cautiously.
The suffocating stench was becoming even stronger, almost like it had a consciousness, invading their nostrils and making them nauseous.
Aileen even stopped breathing altogether.
Yu Sheng envied her a bit.
"Are you sure that fox is around here?" Aileen asked, one hand gripping the kitchen knife, the other clutching Yu Sheng’s hair as she perched on his shoulder, peering out into the darkness, "I can’t see anything..."
"Sure," Yu Sheng replied casually, "I have a faint connection with her, established by blood—there’s one with you too, though you might not notice it."
"Is that so?" Aileen looked at him skeptically, then lowered her gaze to her own hands as if pondering the "faint connection" he mentioned.
Just then, they heard a soft rustling sound from among the ruins, interrupting Aileen's thoughts and Yu Sheng's movements.
They both turned to look toward the source of the noise.
A white figure cautiously emerged from behind a collapsed wall.
A silvery fox tail swayed gently in the night, its fluffy ears quivering in the wind.
The fox spirit girl peered wide-eyed at the figures standing nearby, and once she recognized who it was, a joyful smile broke across her face.
"Benefactor!"
Hu Li darted out from behind the crumbling wall, sweeping through the debris like a gust of wind, spinning around Yu Sheng a couple of times before stopping right in front of him, full of pure joy and a hint of disbelief, "You really came! Benefactor, is it really true?"
"Yes, yes, it’s me, it’s real," Yu Sheng laughed back with equal joy, and immediately put the things he was holding on the ground, "I brought you lots of delicious food. You won’t have to go hungry from today onward."
(End of Chapter)