It was snowing!
On a tall building in Xintang Town, Mengqi raised her hand and caught blue snowflakes.
Mengqi sat on the rooftop parapet, watching the convoy gradually recede into the distance.
Below the building, thorns gradually grew.
Finally, they formed a human figure made of thorns, complete with facial features.
"Why put yourself through this?"
Thorn Woman sat beside Mengqi and continued, "He isn't your real father."
"Just listen to me, and you can leave town!"
Thorn Woman even tried to touch Mengqi.
However, when she reached out, white light appeared around Mengqi.
"Daddy."
"He promised me he would come back for me!"
Mengqi's voice was utterly firm.
"Hmph!"
"He might not even survive."
"And don't forget, you took my fruit. Remember, you owe me a favor."
Thorn Woman snorted coldly.
The entire world was a hunting ground!
Humans.
They were merely insignificant witnesses, ultimately vanishing like windblown sand.
"Daddy!"
Mengqi ignored her and kept watching the departing convoy.
She was like an obstinate child.
Perhaps,
she had been a child all along.
Thorn Woman did not remain on the rooftop. She vanished in an instant.
The blood-red thorns and flowers on the walls proved she had been there.
Was it snowing?
In the refrigerated truck at the head of the convoy, Su Xi watched the falling snow and covered Su Chen with a quilt.
Before her lay a simple map her brother had drawn for her.
Su Xi had considered asking someone else to drive for her.
But.
Su Xi remembered that she could sense the refrigerated truck's Machine Soul.
She had a Sequence too.
Because of that, she could not help trying a few more things.
Su Xi absently touched her leg and continued driving.
Beneath the quilt, Su Chen had a very long dream.
In the dream.
He and Mengqi continued living in the Mirror Space.
He kept her company as a father.
In that space, he stood up and saw mirrors.
The buildings had windows.
Many different mirrors had also appeared in the amusement park: concave and convex mirrors, funhouse mirrors...
A world without mirrors now had many of them.
Su Chen stood before a mirror, somewhat dazed.
Why did people need mirrors?
So they could see themselves!
And Mengqi herself was a mirror, and she, too, wanted to be seen.
Yet she had been overlooked.
Everyone had been thinking about how to survive and how to get out.
Who could have imagined the answer was right beside them?
Yet he had seen Mengqi, the Mirror Spirit, and fulfilled her wish.
That had also accomplished his own goal.
The mirrors were less like mirrors and more like the heart. Without seeing the heart, one could not see the mirrors.
"I'll definitely come back!"
Su Chen looked at Mengqi inside the Mirror Space and spoke firmly.
He was not someone who liked making promises.
But that word, "Daddy," had ultimately given him a sense of responsibility.
Su Chen knew that using Anomalous Objects came at a price.
Mengqi had simply let them out.
There seemed to have been no price at all.
But Su Chen knew that was almost impossible.
Inside the truck.
Beneath Su Chen, the shadow that had originally clung to his body slowly began to move.
In the end, it actually sat in the cab.
Su Xi was concentrating on driving and did not notice the change in her brother.
A Pig-Killing Knife also lay inside the cab.
The Pig-Killing Knife, which had not entered the Mirror Space, had returned to the cab at some unknown point.
Behind the refrigerated truck.
Yang Defa followed the refrigerated truck, feeling a little worried.
After all, Su Chen had passed out.
The future had become impossible to control.
Still, this should have been good news.
Yang Defa remembered that Huang Wei and Su Xi had both been unconscious for a while before awakening their Sequences.
Hadn't Su Chen awakened long ago?
Two Sequences?
Some guesses arose in Yang Defa's mind, but he kept them to himself.
He gripped the steering wheel tightly.
The wipers swept away the blue snow, revealing clean glass.
Huang Wei thought of the unusual weather Su Chen had mentioned.
Heavy snow?
In the police car, Huang Wei saw blue snow for the first time, but felt no sense of beauty.
He felt only worry for the future.
After it snowed, the roads would be difficult to travel, and searching for supplies would become less convenient.
The snow was so cold!
Gao Yue and Fan Hui had gathered plenty of supplies in Xintang Town.
But they had barely collected any clothing.
Although they had kept the news about changing weather in mind, they had mainly gathered food and drink.
Now, they were already shivering from the cold.
In the middle of the convoy.
The yellow school bus also looked very conspicuous.
On the school bus, Xiao Zixia watched the blue snow falling outside the window, still somewhat dazed.
She was out?
Through the pager, Xiao Zixia had also gained a general understanding of the convoy's situation.
They had fled all the way to the town.
Survivors could share communal meals or become Individual Households.
She was gradually adjusting to the new environment and had also grown used to Huang Qi not coming out.
Xiao Zixia knew of Huang Qi's desire for her.
She was clever and had used that affection to keep Huang Qi under her control.
If that affection got out of control, she would cut it off without hesitation.
Huang Qi was gone.
Just as well.
Xiao Zixia felt no attachment whatsoever.
A long while later.
Xiao Zixia turned to look toward Xintang Town.
It seemed she had left something here.
Perhaps she would come back!
"I'll come back!"
His lips trembling, Su Chen murmured to himself and slowly opened his eyes.
Screech-
The truck suddenly stopped.
Su Chen sat up and looked out the window. By the headlights, he could see that the snow ahead was very thick, and the road was no longer visible.
The truck might have gotten stuck.
Su Chen looked at Su Xi in the driver's seat, a flash of apology crossing his eyes.
He saw that Su Xi was using her hands to press her legs down to drive.
The process was clearly somewhat difficult.
He had passed out.
With no other choice, his sister had had to do a great deal more.
Su Chen stroked Su Xi's head, then draped the quilt over her.
Then Su Xi was lifted into the passenger seat.
Had his sister gotten lighter?
Su Chen did not know whether he was imagining it.
"Sis."
"Rest for a while. I'm awake now!"
Su Chen reassured Su Xi, intending to get out and check the situation.
The Pig-Killing Knife?
After returning to the driver's seat, Su Chen immediately spotted the Pig-Killing Knife on the floor.
This thing really was something!
Su Chen picked up the Pig-Killing Knife, found a cloth, and wiped it down.
Then.
He checked the time.
May 13.
02:22.
He had been unconscious for around eight hours.
With so much time having passed, the intelligence should have refreshed.
Su Chen looked at the unfamiliar surroundings, intending to check his situation.
[Today's intelligence updated] [1. You took the wrong road and entered the hunting ground of No. 53249 Weird Entity Snow Demon.] [2. To escape the hunting ground, you must travel 30 kilometers south.] (Note: The route has been marked on the Escape Map.) [3. After three days, if the convoy has not been wiped out and has not left the hunting ground, the Snow Demon will track it down.] [4. Under the Snow Demon's ability, contact with Blue Snow will cause gradual memory loss. Memories will return after leaving the hunting ground.] [5. The Snow Demon's servants are lurking nearby. If you overlook them, you will be hunted.] [6. Some Fierce Beasts have gradually been spawned. They possess powerful offensive capabilities. Eating Fierce Beast meat can improve your physique.] [7. There is a coal mine nearby. It may help you leave the hunting ground faster.] (Note: The coal mine's location has also been marked.)
They had taken the wrong road?
Su Chen glanced at the escape route. They did seem to have veered off course.
They had originally been heading west.
Instead, they had veered straight toward the northwest.
A number over fifty thousand?
Good grief!
Su Chen no longer dared to imagine just how powerful this Snow Demon was.
Thirty kilometers.
That wasn't too far.
Even with so many Haunted Zones scattered between places.
It had only taken them most of the day to reach Xintang Town.
Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the second piece of intel.
The price of taking the wrong route.
It didn't seem that high.
The third piece of intel put him even more at ease.
Three days?
For the first time, he had three days.
Su Chen felt that was pretty good.
There was plenty of time!
However,
The fourth piece of intel caught Su Chen off guard.
Losing his memory?
Just looking at that piece of intel made Su Chen's scalp prickle.
So much of what people did depended on memory.
Without memories.
That was barely any different from being an idiot.
Forgetting how to drive?
Forgetting to leave?
So this was a real headache!
So this was where the catch lay.
Seeing the memory loss, Su Chen felt how troublesome a Weird Entity numbered over fifty thousand could be.
The next two pieces of intel.
The Snow Demon's servants.
Fierce Beasts.
The former didn't look like anything good.
As for the latter.
Fierce Beasts offered benefits, but they were definitely dangerous.
The seventh piece of intel concerned resources.
A coal mine?
Out in the snow, having coal to burn for warmth and cooking would be pretty nice.
He definitely had to check out the coal mine.
Su Chen checked the distance. It was only about 0.2 kilometers away.
Easy!
Having finished reading the intel, Su Chen was just about to use the radio in the vehicle to explain the situation to the convoy.
The vehicles had broken down. What was the problem?
"Woof, woof, woof~"
Suddenly, sharp barking came from Yang Defa's truck behind him.
"Roar!"
A roar came from the snow.
An enormous black bear stood up, nearly as tall as a truck.
This was no ordinary black bear, but a Giant Bear.
The Giant Bear was approaching the convoy.
Was this a Fierce Beast?
Su Chen knew that if he let it act unchecked, the entire convoy would suffer heavy losses.
"Don't get out!"
Su Chen gave his younger sister, Su Xi, that warning.
Although Su Xi had awakened a Sequence, she still had little strength.
He got out with the Pig-Killing Knife in hand.
He had just awakened a Sequence himself. It was time to put it to the test and see what he was made of.
Before you continue