Loneliness-Induced Madness

Linsey: "Is anyone there? Can anyone chat with me?"

Linsey's air friend. "Aren't I here? You're not alone."

Linsey: "But you're not real, you're just a product of my imagination."

Linsey's air friend. "Maybe I'm not real, but my existence comforted you, isn't that important?"

Linsey: "Maybe you're the Squirrel I just ate, squeaking inside me right now?"

Linsey's air friend. "Could it also be the coyote you ate last week?"

"Or the coyote from the week before last, or the one before that..."

Linsey:

"Enough!"

"Just bring me anything, and talk to me!"

In the deserted wilderness, Linsey was having a conversation with himself, then he clutched his head and screamed hysterically.

After shouting, it's time to run.

Linsey raced through the wilderness like a blazing fire, waving her hands wildly and without rhythm, completely unleashing her true nature.

Half an hour later.

He tossed the Tree Spirit Wreath on his head into the air, his eyes fixed on the trajectory of the pink azalea as it fell through the air.

At the perfect moment, Linsey leaped high into the air and bit the Tree Spirit Wreath in one bite.

Then she lay down on the ground, savoring the taste of the flower petals in her mouth while counting the clouds in the sky.

"Hmm... how long have I been gone?"

"Four months or five months?"

Linsey opened her backpack and looked inside. There was a gray-white stone icon in the inventory, with a stack count of 137.

"137 days."

Linsey loosened the flower wreath, took out a stone, and licked it with her tongue.

After he set off, he would pick up a stone from the surrounding area and put it in the timer every night before going to bed.

This also means that he has been traveling alone for four and a half months.

Even their willpower was slightly enhanced during this torment.

For the first two weeks, he crossed a plain; then he came across a vast lake basin, which took him a month to traverse; next was a rugged road connecting a mountain range to a basin; finally, he crossed a swamp and came to the wasteland before him.

Linsey encountered no danger along the way, and ordinary Devil Beast were no match for him.

Perhaps we should rephrase it.

In a world where temperature is severely affected by altitude, Devil Beast will choose suitable altitudes to live more comfortably.

Linsey's style of walking across the landscape without any regard for the terrain is like this.

It did indeed reduce the chances of encountering some dangerous Devil Beast.

What followed was intense loneliness.

Linsey had experience living alone and having little contact with the outside world in his previous life. But as a modern person, he can play games, communicate directly with other friends through social media platforms, and always find ways to pass the time and alleviate loneliness.

Now, however, he is truly embarking on this journey alone.

As social creatures, humans suffer from months of loneliness, which is truly unbearable.

He even wanted to catch a grouse or a rabbit to keep him company.

But the wild animals in this world also follow the habits of Devil Beast. Apart from the occasional coyote that Linsey encounters while hunting, she doesn't even have the chance to keep a pet for the time being.

"Ah! Uh—oh—!"

Linsey made unintelligible sounds.

A soft, fluffy white cloud drifted across the sky at that moment, blocking the sunlight and casting a shadow on Linsey.

He waved his hand, calling back the Snow Wolf that had been keeping watch for him in the distance, and then vigorously ruffled the head of the summoned creature.

Although this summoned creature has no intelligence.

But the touch from her hand still gave Linsey a sense of reassurance.

After wriggling on the ground like an earthworm for a while, Linsey perked up and began preparing her lunch.

He ate the Squirrel he met yesterday in one sitting.

Today's barbecue is made from the coyote brisket left over from last week.

Having been away from the Hidden Borderlands for more than four months, he had only consumed 12 Meat Biscuit. He would never touch such a reserve of food if he had it available.

Fifteen minutes later, Linsey finished her lunch.

The perfectly roasted coyote meat enhanced his attributes, and he stood up energetically, clapping his hands with his non-existent air friend.

Then, while opening the map, he continued his journey eastward.

Linsey hasn't encountered any geographical problems yet. One of the books he took with him when he left the Hidden Borderlands was the Expedition Team's records.

With the help of the sun in the sky and a compass.

Linsey is certain that she has been on the right track.

"Beyond this wasteland lies another low-lying basin, beyond which lies the rift valley of the Black Mountain World, where the journey will be very difficult. Then comes the largest mountain range in the Black Mountain World, an endless mountain range situated in the center of the world, with other terrain features occasionally found in the gaps between the mountains..."

Considering the terrain he was about to face, Linsey continued forward.

Something seemed off about him, and his subconscious was reminding him not to make the same mistake as before.

"..."

Linsey suddenly stopped.

The Snow Wolf beside him followed its master's movements, stopping abruptly beside him and standing guard majestically.

Linsey glanced around.

Every inch of the wasteland was permeated with loneliness and desolation.

The sunlight shining on the earth resembled a patient struggling to smile after a long illness.

The sparse vegetation occasionally reveals a vibrant green hue, but as it sways in the wind, it seems to whisper of helplessness, emitting the only white noise in the wilderness...

"Wind!"

"By the way, what about the sandstorm?"

Linsey's expression changed.

His current location is at a low altitude, so the temperature should be high.

A few days ago, while traveling, whenever the wind blew, no matter how strong or weak, a thin layer of sand would rise from the ground.

Now that there's wind, where's the sand? Linsey crouched down, dug her fingers into the ground, and found that the soil she dug out, though dry, wasn't so coarse that it could be crushed with a finger; it also had a certain stickiness and a darker color.

Linsey suddenly realized.

He quickly removed the heat and cold resistance equipment from his body.

"Has the temperature dropped here?"

Linsey frowned.

The terrain of this wasteland is relatively flat, and even tends to slope downwards.

The changes in elevation along the way could not possibly have caused such a significant temperature difference.

There are two possible reasons for this abnormal phenomenon.

He was walking in an area with abnormal temperatures;

Or perhaps it's because it's quite close to the swamp mentioned in the records, and the moisture from the swamp has slightly eased the temperature and soil conditions here.

"Let's go see what's going on up ahead?"

Linsey was quite cautious as she traveled alone.

He canceled the summoning of the Snow Wolf, instead sending the bats to scout ahead, while he himself took out his binoculars to observe the situation.

The telescope did not detect any further information, and the change had no impact over a short distance.

Fortunately, the bats flew back from the sky shortly afterward.

It reported to Linsey using special sound waves:

"Cold, icy, plains!"