Master Zhu's car roared, but it made little difference. A machine could only do so much.
No matter how anxious or daring Master Zhu was, the car simply could not fly.
By the time he reached the outskirts of the Collapse Zone, he pulled over and jumped out.
He gazed across the vast expanse of land sleeping in darkness.
Familiar as he was with the Collapse Zone, he did not dare drive straight into its town. If someone had not gone in, nothing could have made him enter this place.
"Folklore enthusiasts. Folklore enthusiasts!"
Master Zhu gritted his teeth in frustration.
He breathed in the cold air he knew so well and started walking.
In his rush, he had forgotten to bring a flashlight.
He had to use his phone for light.
The beam swept into the darkness and vanished before it reached far. Master Zhu knew the sky would begin to pale before long.
But he could not wait another moment.
This was the coldest part of the day. Master Zhu could not tell whether the cold or something else was making him shiver.
He hurried to the entrance of the town and saw the pickup parked there.
His heart sank.
"This is bad."
He went over and touched the pickup's hood. It was cold. He shone his phone flashlight inside but saw nothing.
Then he lifted the cover over the truck bed and looked beneath it.
"Hm?"
The things left in the truck bed gave Master Zhu pause.
"Why does this look like equipment for a Ritual? Have those people come back? But they—"
He remembered what those people had been like.
Master Zhu hesitated.
He stood there thinking as cold air filled his lungs. Finally, he gritted his teeth. He had come this far, after all, so