Volume 1, Chapter 21: Attack in the Night

With about five minutes left to reach the safety lock, night fell!

It was a true darkness here, shifting from light to shadow in an instant, without the slightest transition. Yesterday, although he had also been cutting it close, he had only reached the threshold of the safe house just as the time expired. Therefore, while he could vaguely sense that the nights here were peculiar—as if some nameless terror emerged within the gloom—he had not experienced it so directly.

But today, Lin Yifan finally felt it firsthand.

The moment darkness fell, a thick fog rose rapidly from the ground. In less than a minute, it had swallowed the entire forest. After nightfall, it was already so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face, with only faint, blurred shadows visible; now, with the added fog, even those shadows had vanished. He could only see a chaotic blur before him.

Yes, it was not absolute darkness, nor was it merely fog—it was chaos. A chaos where nothing could be discerned. When human vision is stripped away, panic inevitably rises from within. Lin Yifan took a deep breath and bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, forcing himself to remain calm and face the situation.

He looked up toward the horizon. He had checked his orientation when he set out, knowing this direction was the west. Last night, he had seen a moon in the southeastern sky, though it was a sinister crimson, filled with an ominous aura. Regardless, it should serve as a reliable reference point.

Indeed, that blood-red moon was already hanging in the firmament. Even though the earth was blanketed in dense fog and Lin Yifan stood right in the middle of it, logic dictated that he shouldn't be able to see the moon at all. Yet, there it hung—blatantly and openly in the sky—radiating an ominous energy that made his skin crawl.

Not daring to let his mind wander, Lin Yifan checked the position of the blood moon and prepared to push forward. However, he had only taken two steps when he felt the path beneath his feet was wrong. The path he was walking on was one he had cleared himself during the day, blow by blow with his axe; both sides were flanked by thorns and briars, leaving no other way to go. If he were moving in the right direction, he should have stayed on that path. But now, after only two steps, he was already trampling over thorn bushes.

Clearly, his direction was wrong. Yet, he had checked against the blood moon—how could it be wrong?

Lin Yifan stood still, frowning at the blood moon, but its position remained unchanged. It seemed that using the blood moon for navigation was not a viable method. He stepped back to his original position. With no better options, he had to play the blind man, carefully feeling his way forward based on the sensations beneath his feet. Fortunately, he had carved this path himself, and no one knew it better than he did. He scavenged for a wooden stick, using it to tap the ground ahead to confirm the terrain. It was much like a blind person using a cane; though slow, his progress was steady.

The journey was only supposed to take five minutes; even at a crawl, he should be able to feel his way back within half an hour. After walking for about twenty minutes, Lin Yifan felt a wave of relief. He noticed that as he grew closer to the shelter, the density of the fog had decreased, though it was still impossible to see his own hand. The stifling, suffocating feeling caused by the heavy fog had finally dissipated somewhat.

However, just then, he suddenly sensed a disturbance behind him!

"Rustle, rustle, rustle."

The faint sound of footsteps crunching on dead branches and rotten leaves echoed. In this silent, desolate place, it sounded like a thunderclap exploding in his ears. He spun around violently, but the darkness and the lingering mist made it impossible to see a thing. Yet, judging by the sound, the owner of the footsteps was approaching him, and the distance was closing.

Lin Yifan immediately tossed his half-burnt torch into his ring space, then carefully placed the box containing the charcoal on the ground. He drew his axe with his right hand and pulled an arrow with his left. If one looked closely, the arrowhead glinted with a faint oily sheen—the venom of a king cobra. He had taken the time last night to coat two arrowheads with the snake venom as a final trump card. The venom was terrifying; a single bite could bring down an elephant, let alone a smaller animal. It was the perfect insurance.

He didn't know what was approaching, so Lin Yifan did not dare to be careless, bringing out every resource he had. By now, the footsteps were right upon him! Yet, Lin Yifan still could not see what it was. He could vaguely sense the danger, but because he couldn't see, there was nothing he could do other than stay on high alert.

"Whoosh!"

Following the sound of something cutting through the air, Lin Yifan instinctively swung his axe toward the left with all his might.

"Awoo!"

A shrill, miserable howl erupted instantly!

Lin Yifan finally realized what had approached him. It was a wolf! His hair stood on end, his vigilance reaching its peak, every muscle in his body coiled to the limit. Wolves were pack animals! If one had appeared, a pack was surely nearby. Even if there was only one in front of him, a pack would certainly be patrolling the area.

He was in grave danger. Even if he finished off this wolf, he would eventually have to face the rest of the pack. Even if he retreated to his shelter, the crisis would not be resolved. His Level 2 shelter was just a wooden hut; it wouldn't stand a chance against a pack. He needed to upgrade his shelter to Level 3 in short order to have any real protection.

But this was not the time for such thoughts; he had to deal with this wolf first. Otherwise, he wouldn't even make it back to his shelter, and what use would a Level 100 shelter be then?

Lin Yifan took a deep breath and carefully brought the axe to his nose, catching the heavy scent of blood. The wolf was wounded! His strike had cut it, and the wound must be deep, otherwise, there wouldn't be so much blood on the blade.

Even so, Lin Yifan dared not let his guard down. The wolf's footsteps had ceased, and even its breathing was inaudible, leaving him with no way to judge its current position. He stood his ground, waiting, but the wolf did not attack a second time. However, he knew for certain that the beast had not gone far. It was still nearby, watching him with predatory intent.