Shen Hai stood at the mouth of the alley without entering.
He stared thoughtfully into the deep, shadowy alley.
Although it was true that he had been engrossed in thinking about the rules just now, given Xu Tingfang's personality, if she wanted to enter the alley, she would definitely have told him and only dared to enter after getting his approval.
And from what Shen Hai knew of her, Xu Tingfang had some quick wits, but she lacked a grasp of the bigger picture and wasn't particularly brave.
Even if she wanted to enter the alley, she would have followed him inside.
In other words, either something in the fog had dragged her in, and she was now in the fog.
Or she had entered the alley of her own accord.
And in either case, he hadn't heard Xu Tingfang's voice.
It was quite possible that she hadn't seen him when she left the mouth of the alley, or that she had indeed made a sound and called out to him, but some supernatural force had kept him from hearing her.
In other words... this alley could only be cleared alone. It didn't allow two people to enter at the same time.
Interesting.
Shen Hai looked at the rules on the sign beside him again.
[Do not touch the walls.]
[Once you enter, don't stop walking.]
[Don't look back.]
He pondered for a long time, his gaze lingering longest on the rule [Don't look back].
Shen Hai had been thinking all along that perhaps this rule wasn't an either-or question.
It wasn't entirely meant to protect the players, nor was it shielding the supernatural entity.
Perhaps... it did both?
This rule was neutral.
If players didn't look back, nothing would happen to them.
At the same time, not looking back