Chapter 105: Lost in the Snow Mountain 08

Chapter 105: Lost in the Snow Mountain 08

The faces of all the players inside the tent turned grim.

Kong Siming remained seated in the corner, lost in thought. The players didn't dare to disturb him, fearing that he might undergo another mutation if he couldn't handle the stress.

They lowered their voices and discussed in hushed tones like thieves.

"What's up with this notification? Didn't Y University Mountaineering Club enter the mountain on the morning of the 11th?"

Why did the news say they had been out of contact for over 24 hours by midnight on the 11th?

Moreover, in Member No.1's climbing diary dated July 10th, it was written that Zhou Li had gone up Mount Toromond alone the day before, which was the 9th.

The members of Y University Mountaineering Club were entering the mountain on the 11th to look for her.

There was no mention of Zhou Li being dead.

But in the notification, it said that the mountaineers went up the mountain to pay tribute to Zhou Li.

Ding Li frowned tightly. "And what about that search and rescue team that entered the mountain?"

The search and rescue team entered the mountain early on the 11th, and now it was late at night on the 12th.

Mount Toromond wasn't very high; in a day and a night, the search and rescue team would have thoroughly searched the entire mountain.

Yet, they hadn't seen any sign of the search and rescue team.

Ding Li felt as if his head had turned into mush.

Mi Yang clenched his jaw. "Is there a possibility that we can't fully trust Member No.1's notes?"

"Cognitive confusion, perceptual errors, inability to identify maps."

Mi Yang's face was grave.

"If this mountain can bewitch people's consciousness, then what Member No.1 wrote in his notes could also be completely chaotic."

Perhaps it wasn't even the 12th right now.

Perhaps everything written in the climbing diary was just Member No.1's own delusions, and the real situation was exactly as the news said.

"Member No.1 and Zhou Li were lovers, weren't they?" Mi Yang analyzed.

"After Zhou Li died, Member No.1 couldn't accept the truth. In his disoriented state, he was tainted by the snow mountain and wrote those notes. The instance took the notes as props to confuse the players."

However, Qin Fei didn't agree. "Look at the time on Kong Siming's phone."

The screen clearly showed that it was indeed July 12th, 11:54 PM.

"Cen San Ya said that the direction the compass points is correct."

In various different instance worlds, contamination was everywhere.

Dizziness, loss of control, these were the lowest levels of contamination.

Under such levels of contamination, the contaminated person could easily realize that something was wrong with their mind.

A slightly higher level of contamination could completely alter a player's thoughts.

Players deeply immersed in contamination would form a self-consistent logic, making it difficult to escape the contamination without external intervention.

An even higher level of contamination could change the external appearance of objects. Electronics were most susceptible to this, such as radio communications, cell phone signals, and screen displays.

But the compass they took from the mountaineering club's bag worked normally.

This meant that the contamination level of Mount Toromond was far from reaching that level.

The time displayed on the phone should naturally be correct.

"The chat records in the mountaineering team group do correspond with Member No.1's notes." Qin Fei switched the phone screen to the messaging app.

On the morning of the 11th, the mountaineering team group was indeed discussing entering Mount Toromond.

Around nine in the morning, they arrived at the foot of the mountain smoothly and took a group photo at the base.

Qin Fei zoomed in on the photo.

When the players first saw this photo a few minutes ago, the faces were still quite blurry, except for Kong Siming's features, which were clear.

Now, all the faces were distinct.

They were unmistakably the faces of the players.

"There are very few chat records in the group on the 9th and 10th, basically missing, and in Member No.1's climbing diary, the content for these two days is vague and unclear."

Qin Fei gently spun the black crystal ring on his ring finger. Somehow, this had become a habit when he was thinking.

Perhaps something had happened during these two days that they didn't know about.

"In any case, our most pressing task right now is still to get down the mountain as soon as possible."

There was nothing on the snow mountain, and Kong Siming was the only one who wouldn't give them any information even if they beat it out of him.

If the players wanted to know what had happened in the past two days, they had to find other NPCs somehow.

Suddenly, some noises came from outside the tent, as if Wen Ren Liming was talking to someone. Then, someone shouted:

"Come out quickly, something's happened!"

The tone was short and urgent, laced with unmasked panic.

Qin Fei tossed his phone into his personal space and turned to walk outside.

Wu Meng and Ying Huo were standing outside.

The night's blizzard had stopped, but the temperature outside the tent remained bone-chillingly cold.

The moment Qin Fei stepped onto the snow, his body involuntarily shivered.

In this snowy mountain, no matter how well-dressed the players were, as long as they weren't in the tent, their health points would slowly and continuously drop.

But Qin Fei preferred to stay in the snow.

He loosened the watch on his wrist, and beneath it, faint bluish-black marks began to appear again. The wind, mixed with snow particles, stung his skin, yet it also caused his zombie transformation value to decrease by 2 points.

"Player's Zombie Transformation Progress: 6%"

Qin Fei half-lowered his eyes, acting as if nothing had happened, and silently walked towards the large tent.

Everyone inside the large tent had come out.

Dawn Squad gathered together, while Jack the Ripper stood not far away, seemingly listening to them speak, but his eyes kept glancing over at Qin Fei.

That icy gaze was darker than the night itself, and the two large axes in his hands reflected cold light as he shifted positions.

Mi Yang glared at Jack, positioning himself in front of Qin Fei.

He had now become quite proficient at being a protective parent, all thanks to the pressure from his innate skill.

Whenever Qin Fei felt any threat in the instance, Mi Yang would immediately feel it tenfold.

When Qin Fei was glared at, Mi Yang felt like someone had put a knife to his neck; he couldn't suppress the surging killing intent in his heart.

Mi Yang shot a fierce glare at Jack the Ripper.

This damn guy could have taken any mission, but he had to take Butterfly's, and right off the bat, he was opposing him.

So annoying! Damn it!

The Snow Mountain instance was already annoying enough.

Mi Yang liked instances with clear and straightforward objectives; he hated those with ambiguous and confusing setups.

Not to mention, this instance came with a persistent debuff, from the weather and temperature to the plot, all of which added invisible anxiety to the players.

And in such an annoying instance, he had to expend energy dealing with rats in the gutter.

Mi Yang wished he could kick Jack the Ripper to death!

On the other side, the expression on the face of the man, who was as sturdy as a small mountain, stiffened for a moment.

In fact, Jack himself was also confused.

Why did this Mi Yang have to come and stir up trouble when he was causing problems for Little Qin?

As far as he knew, the only intersection between these two was that R-level confrontation match last time.

The confrontation match lasted only two days, so how did Mi Yang become so devoted to Little Qin?

Jack the Ripper thought Mi Yang was sick, and quite seriously so.

Sparks flew as their gazes met, but Qin Fei, the true party involved, had somehow slipped away from the center of the conflict.

He walked over to Dawn Squad, and when Wu Meng turned around and saw him, he gave a bitter smile. "You're here."

Then Wu Meng beckoned him to follow behind the tent. "Come with me."

They circled around the tent, and the snow beneath their feet showed several rows of messy footprints, proving that this path had been trodden many times in a short period.

"Look," Wu Meng stopped behind the tent.

This direction faced the road he and Qin Fei had just walked along.

At the originally empty end of the snowfield, a pitch-black, boundless forest stood quietly.

Qin Fei's eyelid twitched. "How—"

He was momentarily speechless.

How did this forest grow legs and move over here??

Wu Meng wore a worried expression. "I noticed something was wrong half an hour ago."

Half an hour ago, another member of Dawn Squad wanted to go to the bathroom.

After Wu Meng and Ying Huo's encounter, this time they directly mobilized everyone, leaving Jack the Ripper in the tent.

The group set out together, and not long after leaving the tent, Wu Meng saw a flash of red light in the distance.

Upon closer inspection, there was nothing there.

Wu Meng thought he must have been seeing things.

The team members returned to the tent after taking care of their personal matters and continued studying the notes of Team Member No.1.

But in Wu Meng's mind, the image of that red light flashing kept replaying.

The same light, he had seen it before leaving the dense forest.

"I was feeling really upset, so I went out for another look," Wu Meng said.

It would have been better if he hadn't looked, for when he did, he got a terrible fright.

What was once an empty expanse at the edge of his vision had, unbeknownst to him, turned into a dense forest.

"In the evening, before setting up camp, Ying Huo and I actually went on patrol outside," Wu Meng said.

The distance they walked then was roughly the same as when they were with Qin Fei.

This was the first time, and back then, there was no sign of the dense forest.

The second time, at almost the same distance, the dense forest appeared in front of them and Qin Fei.

Then came the third time.

And the fourth.

The dense forest was getting closer and closer to their camp.

Qin Fei's expression grew increasingly serious. "What about the moth you caught?"

Wu Meng pursed his lips, understanding the implications of the other's words. "The moth, we thought of that too, so after discovering that the dense forest could move, I threw the glass jar containing the moth to the edge of the forest."

They risked their lives, approaching the dense forest cautiously.

Sure enough, after getting within a certain distance of the dense forest, someone in the group fell victim again.

Fortunately, this time there were more people, and everyone was tied with ropes, allowing them to return safely.

Anxiety that could not be concealed flowed from Wu Meng's eyes. "It didn't work. As you can see, the dense forest is moving closer at an accelerating pace. I'm worried..."

He feared that if they couldn't come up with a countermeasure, the dense forest might directly surround the camp.

Would players then be chased by a forest? The very thought seemed absurd.

Qin Fei nodded.

He mentioned the moth merely to rule out some possibilities.

In fact, based on the timeline, the approach of the dense forest had little to do with the moth.

Before Wu Meng caught the moth, the dense forest was already moving toward them.

"I remember you said that before being contaminated by the dense forest, you heard a voice calling your name."

Qin Fei half-closed his eyes, the orange glow filtering through the tent fabric onto his body, dyeing his face, paler than the snowfield, with a warm hue.

Wu Meng was taken aback for a moment before confirming, "Yes."

"Actually, we considered this possibility earlier, but—"

Wu Meng hesitated for a moment, raising his doubt. "But, if the dense forest is a punishment for players whose names are called, why are you unaffected?"

After all, this person in front of him had been called by name far more times than he and Ying Huo combined?

After all, this guy could be said to be well-known; everyone knew he was Little Qin, the one pursued by butterflies.

To say nothing else, even the members of their squad had called him that countless times behind his back.

Or did the negative effects only occur when the name was called face-to-face?

Wu Meng stared at Qin Fei, his expression odd.

Qin Fei, however, smiled lightly, seemingly unconcerned.

"How do you know I didn't hear the voice from the dense forest?"

The young man spoke casually.

Indeed, the dense forest's movement speed was increasing. During their conversation, it seemed to have moved closer yet again.

Red light suddenly flared bright and then quickly extinguished, flickering in the darkness like an eye opening and closing repeatedly.

Wu Meng was puzzled. "But you clearly showed no reaction at the time?"

Back then, both he and Ying Huo had fallen victim. If it weren't for Little Qin's swift and accurate response, giving Ying Huo two slaps and kicking him, they wouldn't know where they'd be dead now.

Qin Fei seemed to find something amusing, his mouth curving upward as he gently wagged his index finger.

"I also heard the dense forest call my name, unfortunately, my mental immunity is just too high. The dense forest simply can't do anything to me."

He was telling the truth.

His mental immunity was so high that even the system couldn't measure it. Even facing a source of contamination, his sanity points wouldn't drop at all.

What could that rotten forest do to him?

The members of the Dawn Squad were lone wolves, barely speaking to other players in instances. It was the first time Wu Meng had encountered someone so shamelessly boasting about themselves. He stuttered in surprise, "Ah, i-is t-that s-so?"

Qin Fei raised his eyebrows. "What else? Do you think I have such charm that the dense forest would show mercy on me, targeting only the two of you?"

Wu Meng: "…"

I didn't mean it that way.

Wu Meng's headache had already been bad enough, and after Qin Fei's gentle yet barbed remarks, even his temples throbbed in unison with the pain.

Although they had finally resolved one of their doubts, it had led to the worst possible outcome.

"We're left with nowhere to run," Wu Meng said, his smile uglier than a cry.

The rule about not calling out names was only discovered long after the instance began.

All the players had already exchanged their names by then.

None could escape its clutches.

Chaos erupted from behind the tent, interrupting Wu Meng mid-sentence. Listening closely, it seemed that Diao Ming was shouting loudly.

"I don't care why, but you have the responsibility to protect me."

Wen Ren Liming's voice sounded, only to be cut off again by Diao Ming: "You should go check out that forest as soon as possible. What good is hiding here?!"

Wu Meng's face darkened at this. "Tch, a C-rank player thinks he's something special. It's just a contract for hire. What can he do if we break it?!"

Indeed, the player agreement possessed the power to bind them within the instance, but circumventing the rules to kill someone was far too easy.

Wu Meng couldn't understand what that audacious civilian was ranting about.

Back at the trading market, if he hadn't approached them upon hearing their team's name, they wouldn't have taken on his lousy job.

"Morality, rules, once you accept a task, you can't just kill people!"

Wu Meng stood in the snow, inhaling and exhaling deeply, pulling down his collar in an attempt to extinguish his anger with the cold wind.

Qin Fei: "…"

Ah Hui was right; these people were indeed a bunch of idiots.

Was it possible that their rule of not cooperating with anyone in instances was established because they had been deceived before?

The commotion behind the tent continued, and Wu Meng could no longer hold back. He dashed over.

Qin Fei stood alone in the snow, gazing quietly at the dense forest in the distance.

Under the deep, ink-like sky, straight trees stood tall in the snow, their twisted branches entwining like tentacles, connecting the entire forest together.

Staring at it for too long, Qin Fei felt as though the forest was alive.

It seemed to harbor countless unseen eyes lurking in the shadows, watching the warm campsite, emitting vague whispers that unsettled the mind.

It was both a call and a curse.

Qin Fei recalled the photo he saw on Kong Siming's phone.

At the edge of the ancient wooden door carved with patterns of eyes and moths, pure black shadows stood erect.

They were identical to the trees in the dense forest.

Could that temple be hidden within the forest?

Qin Fei lowered his gaze, his expression inscrutable.

"Fei—hey you!"

Mi Yang's shout came from behind the tent.

Qin Fei turned around and returned to the front of the camp, where everyone, including Kong Siming, stood together.

The lights inside the tent were still on, but sleeping bags and waterproof mats had been packed away and placed beside the players' backpacks.

Everyone looked ready to flee at any moment.

Wen Ren Liming stepped forward, his expression weary. "We found this near the tent earlier."

He waved, and Ying Huo handed him a glass jar containing none other than the compound-eyed winged moth that Qin Fei had seen more than once.

This moth was larger than the one Wu Meng had caught last time. Its gray wings flapped up and down in the glass bottle, making a soft pattering sound.

Perhaps due to its inability to adapt after leaving the snowy ground, its round, bloated body was continuously oozing a light brown liquid that dripped to the bottom of the bottle, forming a small puddle.

Qin Fei remained silent.

He now understood why everyone was so tense.

The compound-eyed winged moth had flown into the camp.

This meant that the dense forest was right before them.

Now, Qin Fei didn't even need to turn around completely to see the shadows of those trees on either side.

This forest truly intended to surround them.

Like a beast opening its mouth, dripping with saliva, ready to devour its prey.

The trees possessed reconnaissance abilities, could think, and move.

Even in the bizarre world of instances, this was considered an extremely rare type of monster.

"Gathering everyone here, we want to discuss whether we should leave tonight?"

Wen Ren raised his hand to wipe his face, feeling as if he wasn't awake enough. He grabbed a handful of snow from the ground.

"Although rule number two states that we should avoid traveling at night as much as possible, if we continue staying here, being surrounded by the dense forest is inevitable."

The sixth rule concerning the dense forest had been tainted, leading to contradictions.

But any player with eyes could see that the dense forest was fraught with danger.

Once it swallowed you up, it would be extremely difficult to escape.

Diao Ming stood in the snow, his face filled with anxious agitation. "What's there to discuss? We should leave immediately!"

Of course, Diao Ming hoped that the Dawn Squad would volunteer to investigate the woods, but they were unwilling, and he couldn't force them.

Moreover, if they really went in and died in the woods, wouldn't his protection fee have been paid in vain?

Comparing the two options, Diao Ming only wanted to run away immediately.

For once, Diao Ming said something sensible, and he looked at Qin Fei and the others.

Qin Fei had no objections. "I'm fine with anything."

In fact, Qin Fei felt that this dense forest must hold an extremely special position on the snowy mountain, and they might not be able to avoid it.

It seemed inevitable that they would eventually have to fight.

However, the players were currently completely ignorant about the snowy mountain and the dense forest, so running now wasn't a bad strategy.

Since Qin Fei had no objections, Mi Yang had no objections either, and neither did Ah Hui and the others.

Seeing how reasonable these few people were, Captain Wen Ren secretly sighed in relief.

Although they refused to cooperate with others, in a highly dangerous instance like the Snowy Mountain, the more players that survived, the better it was for everyone else.

"Let's go, hurry up," Diao Ming rubbed his hands as he turned around to dismantle the tent. The shadows of the trees grew longer and longer, looking like ghosts with their fangs bared. Diao Ming didn't want to stay here another moment.

However, just as he pulled open the tent zipper, a sudden scream erupted.

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!"

The cry was heart-wrenching.

Due to the special nature of the Snowy Mountain instance, the players had kept their voices low throughout the day, afraid that loud noises might trigger an avalanche. Diao Ming's yell was like a bolt from the blue, shocking several people into widening their eyes.

What was going on??

Diao Ming quickly rushed out of the tent, and behind him, a strangely shaped monster followed closely.

The monster was taller than a person, with a body length of about 1.9 to 2 meters. Its belly was swollen, while its limbs were extremely slender, bending at odd angles at the joints.

All four limbs touched the ground, making it almost impossible to distinguish between hands and feet. It crawled across the snow at incredible speed.

The players were shocked!

They had only left the tent for about ten minutes. When did this monster sneak in?!

This thing was humanoid yet not quite human. Its face was extremely ugly, with a head as large as its body, connected by a thin neck that hung in front of its chest.

Sparse hair grew on its head, its eyes protruded, and what should have been a mouth was replaced by a four-parted proboscis. As it opened and closed, liquid continuously flowed down its body.

As it ran, it emitted strange hissing sounds, echoing through the vast snow-capped mountains, creating a peculiar buzz.

Without hesitation, Wu Meng threw the saber in his hand!

What appeared to be an ordinary handle was actually connected to his palm by a chain. Even from a distance, Wu Meng could still control the direction of the blade. Rolling on the snow, the sharp tip of the saber had already pierced the monster's throat in an instant!

"Ho—ho—"

This monster, which resembled a human in form, had weaknesses similar to those of humans. After its neck was injured, its speed slowed significantly, and soon it lay on the ground, emitting only low moans.

Everything happened in a flash.

From the time Diao Ming lifted the tent flap, led the monster out, and then Wu Meng took action to eliminate it, only a dozen seconds had passed.

The players gathered in front of the tent had all been stunned by the sudden appearance of the monster. Wu Meng was the quickest to react and the fastest to act, but Diao Ming, who had been chased by the monster, never looked back once.

Even though the monster had fallen, he continued to charge forward without hesitation!

Diao Ming's eyes were bloodshot, and his legs moved so fast they left afterimages. In front of him was a large snow slope extending downward, but he ignored it, turning his direction and dashing madly into the nearby dense forest!

Wen Ren shouted in alarm, "Stop! Stop! The monster is already dead!!!"

But Diao Ming was completely deaf to his calls.

That whirlwind-like figure disappeared into the dense forest.

"Fool!!!"

Wen Ren was so angry that he twisted the cheap steel pipe he had bought from the player mall into a 90-degree angle!