Ticket Inspection

Connected by shackles, the three people who had been trapped inside the gaps landed together at a crossroads.

The dim sunset lingered at its last point, casting a yellow shroud over the streets in its fading light.

The composition of air is exactly the same as that of the human body surface.

However, it contains an additional component that is not a gas, something that is invisible and intangible, yet can flow on the surface of the skin.

It felt like suddenly throwing an ordinary person from a bustling, brightly lit area into the deepest morgue of a hospital.

Moreover, arms were reaching out from the freezer, touching the surface of the person's body.

No matter how much I struggled, I couldn't get rid of this touch; it was always there as long as I was in the corner.

[Fear Entity]

Many people, once hailed as geniuses and influential figures in the city's Investigation Bureau, are now stepping into a corner, ready to make their mark.

This "environment," so different from the Human World, will make it difficult for them to adapt for a long time.

The more you care, the stronger the influence of the Fear Entity will become, gradually leading to auditory and visual hallucinations, or even feeling that the streets are crowded with "people" when there is nothing there, making it difficult to exert your true strength.

Because You Zhen hadn't been to the corner for a long time, it took her a minute to quickly adapt, but her expression didn't change, and she had already completed the reconnaissance of the 100-meter range without any abnormal fluctuations.

Just as she had composed herself and was about to look at the two newcomers with the demeanor of a senior, intending to properly appreciate their disheveled appearance...

But first I smelled a whiff of smoke.

The scene before my eyes was completely different from the disheveled state I had imagined.

Yu Ze had already made a cigarette out of talisman paper and was currently smoking it with great gusto. While still having the talisman paper cigarette in his mouth, he also rolled one for Luo Di.

Meanwhile, Luo Di rummaged around in his coat pocket and finally pulled out the crow colt.

It seemed that Luo Di was more concerned about the crow than his own condition. After confirming that the crow could indeed adapt to the corner environment, he took a cigarette and started smoking.

There was no discomfort on their faces towards the Fear Entity; they seemed more like two seasoned veterans.

With the mental clarity brought on by the talisman-smoked cigarette, Luo Di began to observe his surroundings.

"This is... a corner?"

They are currently at a crossroads, a true crossroads, because it is perfectly symmetrical on all four sides.

The four directions—east, west, south, and north—are exactly the same, all corresponding to a rather old-fashioned train station, and even the cars parked inside the station are identical.

[██ Railway Station]

Several large metal characters stood atop the red brick exterior wall of the train station, standard Chinese characters. Although Luo Di had never been to this place before, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.

He had seen a train station like this once in a 1990s film about his motherland.

During junior high school, I also fantasized about leaving the Federated States and returning to my former motherland to live a happy life free from the intrusion of the outside world.

You Zhen was also observing, analyzing and providing explanations as she went:

"It seems that since you two are Huaxia Nation, the corner has chosen a shallow area that suits you... Don't be surprised, this is the corner."

You can think of the corner as the opposite of the world.

Its internal environment is a replica of Earth's environment from 1960 to 2000.

The interior of the corner is divided into blocks rather than being completely open like the Earth.

Different areas are independent of each other and separated from one another... Any individual who comes to the corner, whether human or monster, will randomly fall into an area.

There is one and only one Connection Port between different areas.

If we can't find an exit, we'll be stuck here forever.

The most important aspect of our exploration was to try searching the entire area to find the location of the "mouth".

This is of great significance for your future formal exploration and in-depth study of hidden corners.

"A world of block structures?"

Luo Di had already envisioned a very fitting scene in the first place.

It's as if the Earth's surface has been cut into cubes of equal size, each cube independent of the others and connected by only one line.

After a brief understanding, Luo Di returned his focus to the present.

Are all the train stations the same in all four directions?

You Zhen nodded. "Yes, the shallow space isn't particularly complex. It's just a mirror image right now, so choosing which train station to explore won't affect our subsequent exploration."

Luo Di's gaze drifted along the street into the distance, where it was enveloped in a Thick Fog once it extended beyond the train station area. He figured he either wouldn't be able to get out, or he'd get lost and end up walking back.

You Zhen continued, "Once you've settled in, you can begin your exploration."

Don't be fooled by the small size of our current "block." The sealed structure of the train station likely has extra space, and the area outside is more like a buffer zone.

Just as You Zhen was waiting for the two newcomers to ask questions and get used to each other, she suddenly realized that Yu Ze, who had been smoking just moments before, had disappeared.

He had somehow run more than fifty meters away and climbed into a car parked by the roadside, seemingly searching for something.

"Don't stray far from the team alone, it's dangerous."

With You Zhen's call,

Yu Ze quickly got out of the passenger seat, returned to the team with an apologetic look on his face, and held a magazine he had just found in his hand.

The mouth behind the sunglasses maintained a constant smile, as if he had found something good.

"These are the marks from the stitching, right?"

Yu Ze turned the magazine to the third page, where a jet-black stripe appeared on the paper, clearly not formed by printing.

Although there is no spatial sensing

But when Luo Di saw the black mark, he could sense something—a connection to the Human World.

Team leader You Zhen was stunned. "You... how could you find the mark directly?"

Yu Ze grinned foolishly, "Haha, I used to be a sensory member in the team, and I also liked fortune telling."

We're currently in the shallowest corner, just a thin membrane away from the Nexus. Therefore, I can easily calculate what's related to the seam; if it were deeper, it wouldn't be so easy to figure it out.

"Hmm... good~that way, we can leave anytime after 24 hours, and we don't need to bother recording the pattern of the marks."

Even if we encounter any danger, we can evacuate immediately.

The exploration begins.

The three-person team walked in the square in front of the train station, which was also full of various old-fashioned cars, but completely deserted.

There is no danger.

No agents were transformed into plants after being consumed by fear.

There was no sign of any monster activity.

The only impact is the ubiquitous Fear Entity.

Although Luo Di's condition was stable, the Fear Entity clinging to his body would always give him glimpses of strange hallucinations.

For example, when passing a car, you might catch a glimpse out of the corner of your eye of someone waving at you from inside.

When passing by a street lamp, you might catch a glimpse of something hanging from it in your peripheral vision.

Even so, Luo Di didn't glance at it again, since his tongue felt nothing. He silently enjoyed the stimulation, savoring the nourishment this fertile ground of fear gave his brain.

In front of the train station,

The seemingly large red brick building actually has only one entrance and exit, which is only large enough for one person to pass through at most. All other areas are completely blocked off with dense red bricks.

Moreover, this only entrance was covered with strips of yellowed and oil-stained windproof cloth, making it impossible to see inside the train station.

There were no glass windows around to peer into, and the entire building seemed to be rejecting prying eyes; to find out what was inside, one had to go inside.

Luo Di walked in front,

As I prepared to reach out and lift the windproof tarpaulin to enter the train station...

Between the strips of cloth,

A pair of bloodless, lifeless arms suddenly stretched out.

One hand holds the ticket-checking tongs, the other hand gestures as if to receive the ticket.

Even through the windproof fabric, pre-recorded loudspeaker audio could be heard:

"Please show your ticket and enter!"

Just as Luo Di was about to lift the cloth further to check the source of the arm, his tongue immediately curled up.

The unknown warning made Luo Di immediately stop what he was doing, as if something dangerous would happen if he lifted the lid.

Walking behind, You Zhen deliberately didn't give any hints, once again showed a surprised expression. She didn't understand why Luo Di chose to stop. Was it because he was wary and timid, or did he really sense something?

Luo Di had already turned his body to the side, looking at the ticket window not far away, and then turned his gaze to You Zhen at the back of the line.

"Let's go buy tickets... It seems that what's been replicated in this corner isn't just the environment, but also a certain degree of rules of life. If we don't follow them, there will be some trouble, right, Miss You Zhen?"

How did you figure that out?

"Intuition."