Outside the Window

The man in the checkered shirt shouted as he dodged toward the most crowded area. He was one of only two people present who had witnessed the entire event.

The other was the youth with the lip piercing, who had been observing the white encroachment.

Frowning deeply, he suppressed the nausea churning in his stomach and quickly turned, picking up the third-to-last paintbrush from the box. He gasped, "Don't stop! Or we'll all die here!"

He forcefully jabbed the paintbrush in his hand toward the window, which was already mostly filled with color.

Ben Yu's oil brush was running out of paint, and the base color for the sky was mostly complete. Not daring to delay, he reached into the box for the second-to-last oil brush.

But he found that the rose-red oil brush he picked up couldn't apply color to the 'canvas' they were completing together. Similarly, Yuan Ling reached for the last oil brush. They exchanged a look; the second brush in each of their hands couldn't apply color.

It was as if... each person could only use one brush.

Countdown: 00:03:01

The countdown on their palms showed only three minutes left. The white consumed at an increasing speed. Half the room had already turned pure white, leaving only faint lines and the shocking crimson.

Though they didn't know exactly what had just happened, the few people still huddled tightly by the increasingly vivid window were desperately trying to use the last two paintbrushes, which each of them had already tried.

The man in the checkered shirt stood stunned a short distance behind them.

His gaze was vacant, keeping a distance from the area being erased behind him.

Zheng Wuyou looked at the remaining two oil brushes, seeming to have an idea.

She snatched the silver-gray one from Yuan Ling's hand and shoved it into the man in the checkered shirt's hand, then quickly pushed him toward the window, saying, "If you want to live, paint!"

Once he steadied himself, the man saw the oil brush suddenly appear in his hand. He looked as if he'd seen something terrifying.

With a scream of pure horror, he flung the oil brush away and collapsed to the ground, powerless, as if it were a vengeful spirit.

The youth with the lip piercing, quick as lightning, caught the flying paintbrush.

He couldn't stand seeing a man like this. He yanked the man up from the ground, ignoring his struggles, and slapped him across the face.

Then, he forcefully shoved the paintbrush back into his hand and, bracing his arm, smeared color onto the only two uncolored stones on the window.

As this silver-gray brush touched the uncolored area, "Whoosh—"

A cool breeze carrying the faint scent of grass blew across everyone's faces, bringing a moment of cool relief to their taut nerves.

The clouds outside the window, originally crooked, gradually became round and floated freely in the sky.

The clumsy edges of the oil brushes gradually disappeared, and the picture became softer and more natural.

The sheep, colored yellow on the grass, began to lower their heads to nibble on the newly grown tender grass.

Their figures appeared exceptionally lively against the green background.

However, only the faded wildflowers stood defiantly in place, out of sync with their surroundings.

The sheep, as if distinguishing objects by color, avoided the colorless flowers, as if they knew these flowers did not belong to their world.

Countdown

00:00:54

The lines that had disappeared behind them had, at some unknown time, spread to their feet, just one step away from the gathered crowd.

Zheng Wuyou's heart filled with worry. She couldn't help but look back and around.

The scene before her shocked her.

Only the area where they stood retained its color in the entire world.

Everything else had turned into a vast expanse of white, like the summit of a pure white snow mountain, dazzling and blinding.

Staring at this white for too long even made one wonder if they would get snow blindness.

Even the previously vibrant blood-red had been swallowed by this aggressive white without a trace.

This endless white exuded an intense pressure, as if it would devour them.

Zheng Wuyou couldn't help but take two steps back, wanting to escape this bizarre white world.

It wasn't until her back hit Yuan Ling's back, which was also facing away from her, that she snapped back to reality as if waking from a dream.

Though they didn't know what the end of the countdown meant, the youth with the lip piercing, certain it wouldn't be good, reached toward the increasingly vivid window.

After confirming that there was another world outside this window, he grabbed the man in the checkered shirt by his tense nape and shoved his head toward the window.

The man in the checkered shirt struggled frantically, bloodshot veins showing in his wide eyes, his hands bulging with veins as he pushed against the window frame, screaming hysterically, "Ah! No, I don't want to go first! Help!"

The noise in his ears was truly distracting, especially in a situation that required calm thought.

The dark-skinned athletic man, annoyed by his dawdling, frowned and used his strong hand to wrench the man's tightly clasped fingers off the window frame. With a push from both hands, he leaped out the window.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and nervously leaned out, looking down at the grass below the window.

The dark-skinned athletic man stood up and casually brushed the grass off himself, indicating that the height here was only about two meters, making it a direct jump.

Next, the old man from the Daiwu family class flipped and jumped down, catching his elderly wife below.

Zheng Wuyou and the others followed suit.

Seeing that the few of them had landed safely on the grass, the man in the checkered shirt mustered up the courage to look back at the white behind him.

He found it had already reached his feet, so he shoved the youth with lip piercing who was holding him away with all his might.

The youth with lip piercing watched him climb up the window in a state of utter uselessness, his brow furrowed as he dared not look down.

He knew that once the man finished climbing at that speed, he would become his stepping stone.

Countdown

00:00:10

Glancing at the countdown, the youth with lip piercing didn't hesitate. He placed his hands on the back of the man in the checkered shirt and pushed off, flipping over him.

Although he fell heavily onto the grass with his back to it, at least he didn't have to face the consequences of the countdown ending.

But the man in the checkered shirt wasn't so lucky. The push caused him to lose strength in half his body, leaving him slumped on the windowsill, while the other half hadn't yet made it up.

This position made it difficult for him to find a point of support.

He looked at the black lines on the edge of the window disappearing, replaced by an endless expanse of white.

Panicked, his left foot below kicked backward, trying to use the momentum to roll himself out the window as the last bit of the window frame remained.

However, he forgot about the speed of the spread that increased dramatically with time. Just as he was falling, his left foot came out a mere fraction of a second too late.