Outside the Window

The man in the checkered shirt shouted as he dodged toward the largest crowd. He was one of only two people present who had witnessed the whole thing.

The other was the youth with the lip piercing, who had been watching the white spread all along.

He furrowed his brow, fighting the nausea churning in his stomach. He quickly turned around, grabbed the third-to-last paintbrush from the box, and shouted breathlessly, "Don't stop! Or we'll all die here!"

He thrust the paintbrush in his hand hard against the unpainted patch of the window, which was already mostly filled in.

The oil paintbrush in Ben Yu's hand was nearly used up, and the sky's base color was almost complete. He didn't dare waste time, so he reached for the second-to-last brush in the box.

But the rose-red paintbrush he picked up wouldn't color the shared "canvas" no matter what he tried. Yuan Ling reached for the last brush too. The two exchanged a glance: neither of their second brushes could add color.

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

Countdown: 00:03:01

There were only three minutes left on the countdown in their palms. The white was spreading faster and faster. Half the room had already turned pure white, leaving behind only faint outlines and that shocking crimson.

Though they had no idea what exactly had happened, they still huddled tightly by the increasingly lifelike window, flustered as they clutched the last two paintbrushes, which everyone had already tried using.

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

His gaze was vacant as he kept his distance from the area being erased behind him.

Zheng Wuyou looked at the two remaining paintbrushes, as if she had thought of something.

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

Once he had steadied himself, the man saw the paintbrush that had suddenly appeared in his hand and reacted as if he'd seen something terrifying.

He screamed in terror and flung the brush away, then collapsed to the ground as if it were a vengeful spirit coming to claim his life.

The youth with the lip piercing reacted quickly and caught the paintbrush as it flew through the air.

He couldn't stand men like that. He hauled the man to his feet, ignoring his struggles, and slapped him across the face.

Then he roughly shoved the paintbrush into the man's hand, guided his arm, and painted the only two remaining uncolored stones on the window.

As soon as the silver-gray brush touched the uncolored area,

"Whoosh—"

A cool breeze carrying the faint scent of fresh grass blew in through the window and brushed across everyone's faces, bringing a little relief and comfort to their taut nerves.

The clouds outside the window had been crooked and lopsided, but now they gradually grew rounder, floating freely across the sky.

The clumsy, angular edges of the oil-painted strokes slowly disappeared, and the scene became softer and more natural.

The flock of sheep, painted yellow on the grass, lowered their heads and began nibbling at the newly grown tender shoots.

Their figures stood out vividly against the green background.

Yet the faded wildflowers remained stubbornly rooted in place, at odds with their surroundings.

As if they could distinguish objects by color, the sheep avoided the few colorless flowers, as though they knew those flowers didn't belong in their world.

Countdown

00:00:54

At some point, the fading outlines behind them had spread all the way to their feet, just one step away from the gathered crowd.

Worry filled Zheng Wuyou, and she couldn't help glancing back in every direction.

The sight before her stunned her.

The only part of the entire world that still retained its color was the area where they stood.

Everywhere else had turned into a vast expanse of white, like the dazzling summit of a pristine, snow-covered mountain.

Staring at the whiteness for too long even made people wonder if they would go snow-blind.

Even the vivid blood-red color from before had been swallowed up by the aggressive white, without a trace left behind.

The endless whiteness pressed down on them, as if it were about to swallow them whole.

Zheng Wuyou couldn't help taking two steps back, trying to escape the eerie white world.

Only when her back bumped against Yuan Ling's—who was standing with her back to Zheng Wuyou—did she snap out of it as if waking from a dream.

The youth with the lip piercing didn't know what the end of the countdown meant, but he was sure it couldn't be anything good. He reached out through the increasingly lifelike window.

Once he had confirmed that another world lay beyond it, he grabbed the man in the checkered shirt by the scruff of his neck and shoved his head toward the window.

The man in the checkered shirt struggled wildly. His eyes were wide, bloodshot veins starkly visible. He braced both hands against the window frame, his veins bulging, and screamed hysterically, "No! I don't want to go first! Help!"

The noise was getting on everyone's nerves, especially in a situation that called for calm thought.

The dark-skinned athletic man was fed up with his dithering. Frowning, he used his powerful hands to pry the man's fingers off the frame, then braced himself and climbed out the window.

Everyone stopped moving and nervously leaned out to look at the grass below.

The dark-skinned athletic man stood up, casually brushed the grass off his clothes, and gestured that the ground was only about two meters below and they could jump down.

Next, the old man from the Daiwu family class leapt out and caught his wife below.

Zheng Wuyou and the others followed right after.

Seeing that the others had landed on the grass unharmed, the man in the checkered shirt gathered his courage and glanced back at the white behind him.

It had already reached his feet. He forcefully shoved the youth with the lip piercing away.

The youth watched him climb onto the window ledge, looking like someone beyond help. He saw the man avoid looking down, his brow furrowed.

At this rate, once the man finally climbed over, the youth would be nothing more than a stepping-stone for him.

Countdown

00:00:10

The youth with the lip piercing glanced at the countdown and didn't hesitate. He planted both hands on the man's checkered shirt and vaulted over him.

He landed heavily on the grass with his back to it, but at least he wouldn't have to face whatever happened when the countdown ended.

The man in the checkered shirt wasn't so lucky. The shove had left half his body sprawled on the window ledge, while the other half hadn't made it up yet.

In that position, he couldn't find a good foothold.

He watched the black outlines of the window disappear, replaced by the endless stretch of white beyond.

In his panic, his left foot swung backward, hoping to push off the last remaining strip of the window frame and send him tumbling outside.

But he'd forgotten how dramatically the spread accelerated as time ran out. By the time he started falling this way, his left foot had emerged only a fraction of a second too late.