Red Lantern

"What was that sound? Could it be the Beast Horde?"

Lin Shan was filled with uncertainty and alarm. He wanted to run, but had no idea which way to go. The deafening sound seemed to come from every direction!

Boom, boom, boom-!

An enormous black shadow roared toward him amid thunderous crashes. Only then could Lin Shan vaguely make out what it was: a gigantic ship!

Its height alone exceeded ten meters. As it roared past, the fierce wind it stirred up scattered the Ash Fog for nearly a kilometer around it.

Beneath the Giant Ship, Lin Shan was as insignificant as an ant. The ship did not look like a product of human craftsmanship; its overall structure was extremely simple. Something seemed to be writhing aboard it, but he was too far away to see clearly.

When the ship drew closer, Lin Shan finally saw what was aboard. All kinds of scarlet, soft-bodied creatures writhed together in clusters: round, flat, elongated, and others with misshapen forms... The mere sight made him want to vomit.

Lin Shan was far too small to attract the Giant Ship's attention. It roared straight past him, and the gale it whipped up flung him more than ten meters away, slamming him into the ground!

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Lin Shan struggled to his feet, thinking that was the end of it.

Then another Giant Ship appeared in his field of vision. Unlike the previous ship, this one was empty and extraordinarily dilapidated, with an eerie, sinister air. Despite racing along at such speed, it made not a sound and did not stir even the slightest breeze.

Before he could finish that thought, the Giant Ship swept out of the distance and flashed past his eyes. Lin Shan suddenly shuddered. He saw the ship pass straight through the trees, unlike the previous vessel, which had crushed and destroyed them... This was a Ghost Ship!

A chill of horror rose in his heart. Looking again in the direction the two Giant Ships had gone, he had the faint impression that the ship in front was fleeing for its life.

"...If something on that scale happened to enter the circle, we so-called Pioneers of the Human Race would be wiped out in minutes." Lin Shan shook his head with a bitter smile.

After that scare, he got up and continued onward. Only the final eight kilometers remained before he reached his destination.

Suddenly, he sensed something was wrong. His surroundings began to turn cold and sinister... He knew that feeling all too well.

His heart trembled. He knew there must be some eerie entity nearby. Fortunately, he had not entered its attack range.

Just as he was about to take a detour, a red glow suddenly appeared ahead, rather like a large red lantern. Its light was warm, making him unable to resist the urge to draw closer.

Lin Shan fought desperately to suppress that alluring urge. He calmly backed away, trying to leave the range of the eerie entity's influence.

As Lin Shan retreated, a red human figure suddenly coalesced in front of him! His heart jolted, and he took off, about to run away.

The instant he started running, the red figure lunged at him. Its hands passed straight through his body.

In an instant, a bone-piercing cold engulfed Lin Shan. His consciousness began to blur, and everything around him sank into darkness.

Moments later, he lost consciousness completely. Just before he passed out, only one thought remained: My life is over.

"My head hurts!"

After an unknown length of time, Lin Shan woke in a daze and shook his agonizingly painful head.

He discovered that he was still in the same spot, and the red lantern ahead was still there.

"I'm not dead?"

This time, he made no rash moves. He summoned the Parchment in his mind and found it covered in densely packed writing. This was the first time the Parchment had volunteered information.

Parchment: [Whether this was good luck or bad, you triggered the Red Lantern's attack mechanism, and the Red Lantern eroded you. She did not intend to kill you, but inadvertently worsened your curse. Your actual remaining survival time is now only ten days. You are about to die. Even finding Ashatu will do you no good. Ashatu is a transcendent life-form; nothing short of Transcendence can affect him. Still, your luck is something to marvel at. You have encountered a Spectral Object that is friendly toward the Human Race. As long as you do not trigger its attack mechanism, it will not attack you on its own. With the correct method, you can even attempt to control it with a mortal body. Obtaining the method for controlling the Red Lantern requires a payment of five years of lifespan.]

"A Spectral Object friendly toward the Human Race. Not an eerie entity, but a Spectral Object. That's rather thought-provoking. The Parchment probably counts as a Spectral Object too."

Lin Shan muttered inwardly. He had no other choice now, so he could only write on the Parchment:

Lin Shan: "Pay."

Being alive at all was already good enough. How could he still worry about his lifespan?

Parchment: "Perhaps you can try walking straight over and taking hold of her, using your own blood as the lamp oil she burns. Remember, never turn your back on her, and never even think of running away. You will die! Every Spectral Object has negative effects... Exercise restraint."

Apparently, this Spectral Object's killing mechanism was turning one's back or running away. He had just done both... He also noticed that the Parchment had used "she" rather than "it," which made his scalp prickle. And that negative effect mentioned at the end-the Parchment had actually left it unexplained... Perhaps there was a possibility that it did not know either...

Lin Shan took a deep breath, keeping himself calm as he slowly approached the Red Lantern, step by step. When he came within ten meters, the blurriness caused by the Ash Fog vanished, and his vision began to clear. He could distinctly see the lantern, and... the red figure holding it.

It was the silhouette of a woman, standing quietly with the lantern in her hand. Her entire body consisted of indistinct red shapes, like a child's careless doodle. She seemed to be staring at Lin Shan as well. He knew that if he turned his back now, a fatal strike would surely follow.

Meeting the red figure's gaze, he slowly approached and only stopped when he stood beside her. There was none of the sinister chill that had seemed to freeze his blood when he faced the Specter Thread Fish, only a slight coolness. That was probably related to the friendliness toward the Human Race mentioned by the Parchment.

Lin Shan examined the lantern before him, and his heart gave an involuntary jolt. He had studied medicine before. Although his professional skills had been mediocre, he could still tell at a glance that this lantern was made of human skin... The supporting framework inside was probably fashioned from polished human bones as well.

Looking again at the red figure beside him, he thought she looked exactly like someone who had been flayed... Surely the materials had not been taken from her body...

Forcing down his discomfort, Lin Shan gripped the lantern's handle. In an instant, his field of vision expanded tremendously. The surrounding Ash Fog was as good as nonexistent, and he could see more than a hundred meters away.

But the instant Lin Shan took hold of the handle, the red figure merged directly with him.

Cold. Numbness. His body grew so stiff that he could barely feel it.

Lin Shan felt his body being taken away. He was not controlling the Red Lantern-the Red Lantern was controlling him!

Lamp oil!

Feeling himself gradually lose control of his body, Lin Shan realized what he had missed. The Parchment had said he needed to provide blood as lamp oil!

With all his strength, he raised his right hand, put his index finger into his mouth, and bit down hard. The taste of blood spread through his mouth.

He pulled out his finger and held it above the lantern.

"Drip, drip..." Blood slowly dripped into the small cup inside the lantern. Lin Shan immediately felt control over his body gradually returning.

Only after filling the little cup did Lin Shan stop. By then, he had regained complete control of his body. Not only that, but his vision expanded again, allowing him to see straight through the Ash Fog for nearly two hundred meters.

The Red Lantern probably had other abilities that he had yet to discover. Even expanding his field of vision alone was already formidable; it would let him avoid many dangers in the Ash Fog ahead of time.

"Whew. I survived." Lin Shan breathed a sigh of relief.

He had encountered so many dangers after covering only four kilometers out of ten. This world truly left people no road to survival.