Midnight Movie Viewing (5):
The sudden light in the cinema was blindingly strong. Ying Yan only kept her eyes open for half a minute before they burned painfully.
She paused for a moment, blinking, and tears streamed down her otherwise expressionless face.
The soft charm of the Jiangnan water town scene now carried a trace of delicate vulnerability.
But Ying Yan, being an unromantic science student, had no poetic sentiments in her mind.
She quickly wiped her tears with the back of her hand, but her vision remained blurred.
Oh, she joked to herself, almost blind.
Just kidding—Ying Yan knew well that exposure to intense light could cause visual blur for minutes, even hours, so she didn’t panic.
She focused on listening to the surroundings, cautiously feeling her way, trying to gather as much information as possible.
In regular urban legends, early information gathering is crucial—it lays the foundation for understanding the rules later.
Even if her vision was blurry, or if she broke her arm or twisted a leg, as long as she had breath, she had to explore the space as much as possible.
Moreover, from her previous experience, these eerie spaces were least dangerous at first; the final “Q&A” stage was when the real hunting began.
After only a few steps, her shoulder brushed against a thin object dangling from the ceiling.
In her hazy, frosted-glass-like vision, it wriggled and curved like the black worms unique to the urban legend world.
—Those black worms weren’t very strong but were disgusting. If they found a way in through the nose or ear, they would reproduce inside the host, consuming blood vessels in a few days.
But this one looked different; she remembered black worms weren’t this long.
Still, Ying Yan took a few steps back, retrieved a pair of rubber gloves from her pocket, put them on, and carefully reached for the object.
The moment she touched it, she froze in surprise.
It wasn’t a worm, not supernatural, not even alive.
It was just a tangled mess of improvised electrical wires!
Putting aside her frustration, Ying Yan methodically explored the area.
She was in a square-shaped room, no doors or windows, under two meters tall, and less than five meters wide.
Numerous enameled wires hung from the ceiling, thinly insulated but intact—a good thing, or a stray current could have been lethal in this tiny room.
In the corners, two dome-shaped lights, smooth like half a peeled egg, hung quietly.
She searched for a switch or outlet for a long time but found nothing.
No switch? No problem—she wouldn’t force it.
Once her vision recovered, she scanned the room again, confirming she was alone; “Yu Xiaoli” and “Zhuang Gu” (masquerading as a mushroom) were nowhere to be seen.
She couldn’t deny a twinge of worry, but there was nothing to do—she could only hope they were lucky.
At least they weren’t stuck in a closed, narrow room: no doors, no windows, no food, no toilet, and all around was pitch black.
After confirming the walls, floor, and ceiling were solid, not something she could break through with a fruit knife before suffocating, Ying Yan sighed and decided to keep herself busy to avoid scaring herself.
She didn’t have claustrophobia; her mindset was steady, and she carefully untangled the wires from the ceiling.
This wasn’t a difficult task, just time-consuming and requiring utmost patience—which she had plenty of.
Everything else, she would handle as it came.
She trusted the eerie app wouldn’t design a trap with guaranteed death.
Elsewhere,
The frigid wind howled across the snow-covered mountains.
Feather-like snow swirled in the air, drifting onto beech trees and bare rocks, melting into jewel-like lakes.
The water was clear: pale blue, deep blue, light green, dark green, and forest green blending together into a mysterious, beautiful tableau.
But Yu Li had no mood to admire the scenery or enjoy a free “trip.”
She stood by the lake, her reflection showing a tall figure.
A cone-shaped fuzzy head, round floppy ears, covered in long brown fur, plump paws hanging by her sides—adorably clumsy.
Sigh~ she’d turned into a bear!
Yu Li touched her arms, thinking gloomily that her senior and brother probably wouldn’t recognize her.
After a while, she noticed the brown fur was dense, soft, and pleasant to touch.
She rubbed it a few times, and her worries melted away.
Feeling like she’d discovered a new world, Yu Li stroked her new fur while stepping cautiously forward.
Her immediate priority was to find enough food and reunite with her senior and brother.
The snow-covered mountains stretched endlessly, wind biting cold.
After walking for some time, Yu Li realized she was lost.
She lifted her head, trying to discern direction, but soon slumped in defeat.
Sun observation? She knew the theory perfectly but failed in practice.
With no better option, she chose a random direction, hoping for luck.
After walking a long distance, not a single living thing appeared, except a few grayish-white snow grouse, which her clumsy bear body couldn’t catch.
Exhausted, starving, legs aching, Yu Li felt her stomach acid churn as if it might digest her empty stomach.
Her gaze landed on a skinny snow leopard, green light flashing in her eyes.
Weighing the odds, she reluctantly let it go.
“Fine, you’re a higher-level protected species—this time, I’ll spare you!”
The snow leopard didn’t understand what the brown bear was thinking.
After scrutinizing her glossy, plump fur and finding no weakness, it abandoned attack and ran off.
Yu Li, unaware of her deceptive appearance, continued trudging, dragging tired legs and rubbing her growling stomach.
She wasn’t used to walking on all fours, moving upright all the way, leaving humanoid footprints without arches.
After another hour, a sweet aroma struck her nose.
Instinctively, she inhaled deeply, hoping to ease her hunger, and her legs led her to the source.
She discovered a beehive.
Not all snow mountains had them; in extremely cold or nectar-scarce areas, beehives were rare.
Yu Li was lucky.
Though the hive was built on a cliff-side pine tree, starving, she didn’t care.
She brushed away snow from the path, carefully climbed the rocks, and quickly swiped at the hive with her paws.
The bees were alarmed, swarming out with stingers raised, ready to defend their home.
Her thick fur absorbed most of the pain.
Yu Li endured the sting, grasping most of the hive with her paws and tossing it upward.
The hive tumbled across the snow, releasing a sweet scent.
She inhaled deeply, her furry face showing bliss.
Four paws gripping the tree, she prepared to retreat.
Suddenly, a bee stung her exposed nose, causing it to swell instantly.
A sharp cry echoed across the cliffside.
Luckily, Yu Li held onto the tree, or she’d be done for!
She recovered quickly and continued climbing cautiously.
Missing the hive, she accidentally confronted a sneaky snow grouse.
Eyes met; both confused.
Yu Li, now more aware of survival dangers, quickly subdued it, securing a meal.
After eating, she treated the bee sting using a rural method: first, removing the stinger—painful but done.
Second, cleaning the wound—skipped due to conditions.
Third, cold compress—she rolled into the snow, letting it numb the swelling for about twenty minutes.
She rose, clutching the remaining hive, staggering forward.
From the small animals’ perspective, the bear’s attempt at “fishing for trouble” had failed—they’d need another strategy.
Unknowingly, the sunset bathed the snowy mountains in warm orange light.
Though she hadn’t found the bear’s cave, she accidentally discovered the path down.
Far ahead, a red pavilion appeared halfway up the slope.
Its vibrant color, like autumn maple leaves, burned like a torch of warmth and hope.
Yu Li quickened her pace.
This wasn’t just a pavilion—it was a sheltered, warm haven!
A place to shield from the wind, gather information, and survive deadly challenges!
Excited, she tripped on a snow-covered pit, tumbling down—a perfect demonstration of “joy turning into misfortune.”