Luo Yu looked at the bone whistle, then at the man’s face.
She looked at his face again, then back at the bone whistle.
Fine, she would blow it. The whistle sounded, and soon a wolf’s howl responded from afar.
Luo Yu studied the vast sea of mist beneath her feet, hesitating as she tested her step.
The mist was cool, damp with moisture. There didn’t seem to be any danger.
She tested her leg again, confirmed nothing happened, and finally relaxed. She grabbed a branch, ready to climb down.
At that moment, the man spoke unexpectedly, “You’ll die.”
It didn’t sound like a lie. Luo Yu blinked and slowly climbed back onto the branch.
She tried to ask cautiously, “You know this mist?”
The man just stared at her without a word.
Unable to read his thoughts, she pursed her lips and decided to keep asking, “When will the mist clear?”
“The things under the tree… they seem to be gone.”
“Can you hear the wolves? I need to find the pack.”
Still no response.
Was he playing with her? Luo Yu frowned at him. He was the one who asked her to blow the whistle, wasn’t he?
She had thought he wanted to help her.
Wait…
In a flash of realization, Luo Yu suddenly understood what he meant from his silence.
“You… Can you help me?” she asked earnestly, fingers nervously clutching her clothes.
If she understood correctly, that was it.
The man wanted her to ask for help directly.
“Please…” Luo Yu stammered, feeling embarrassed, but since she had started, she forced the words out, “Please?”
To show respect, she even used the formal form.
Her request was received perfectly. The man finally moved, seemingly greatly pleased, and raised his delicate brows, “Yes.”
Phew—what an awkward person. Luo Yu exhaled in relief.
“How do we get across?” she asked anxiously. The wolf howls had already become faint with the delay.
“Can you disperse the mist? But there is still a large swamp below… Do you know the path through it? If you have patrolled here before…”
“Shh.”
The man placed his index finger over her lips, stopping her chatter. His broad hand moved up, covering her eyes.
“Close your eyes.”
Luo Yu hesitated, then gently shut them.
Feeling her eyelashes brush his palm, the man removed his hand and took the bone whistle from around her neck.
He held it in his mouth and took her wrist. A crisp whistle sounded, and the sea of clouds dispersed.
The misty expanse extended beneath their feet.
Luo Yu could see nothing. Her only sensations were the strange texture beneath her feet and the warmth of the man’s palm. The only thing she could rely on was the man guiding her.
Everything was extremely quiet, only the whistle and the wolf howls interweaving, forming a unique, surprisingly pleasant melody.
Luo Yu could not resist and lightly tugged at the man’s palm.
“Hey…”
The whistle paused for a moment.
“Don’t speak.”
In the darkness, the man’s voice was cold and distant.
Luo Yu lowered her head. Fine, she would stay quiet.
But where had they gone?
Luo Yu could not see, and her sense of time dulled. She felt like she had walked for ages, the path beneath her stretching endlessly.
The wind rustled leaves across her arms.
Had they reached the forest? Was she stepping on the cold, damp swamp?
Her imagination ran wild. Vivid images of the swamp and forest played in her mind.
She “saw” herself walking through the swamp, shadows of trees around, led by a figure whose form was unclear.
Her feet sank into the mud, just barely.
The swamp water seeped up, soaking her clean shoes.
If it were any deeper, her feet would be fully submerged, then calves, thighs, hips, and waist.
Luo Yu could not stop this worsening vision.
Something familiar was awakening in her memory, as if…
It had really happened.
She helplessly fell toward the bottomless swamp, flashlight beams stabbing the dark.
The man stood at the edge, coaxing her in a low voice, lips curled in a mocking, taunting smile.
She remembered his dangerous red eyes.
She remembered his face!…She remembered.
Red eyes, the dorm supervisor’s attitude, the overly coincidental encounters, the inexplicable indulgence and pampering…
All the pieces of her lost memory came together. The truth revealed itself.
Luo Yu did not know what role the man played in this game, but she was certain of one thing—
Danger!
That night, she had used her fascination and infatuation with beauty to “trick” him into temporarily trusting her and sparing her.
But what if there was a next time? Could she bluff her way through again?
Luo Yu broke into a cold sweat. She froze her foot and instinctively tried to pull back her hand.
The man, as if anticipating it, immediately tightened his grip on her wrist and pulled her closer.
Luo Yu stumbled and fell toward him.
“You remembered everything?” His voice was in her ear. Though smiling, it carried a threatening tone.
“Scared?”
Scared…
Luo Yu suddenly opened her eyes.
In her line of sight, the barbed wire fence had several gaps. In front of her, a massive wild wolf stared at her with round, harmless green eyes.
As for the thick mist, the sea of clouds, and the enigmatic man—
They were gone, vanished as if they had never existed.
Her hand ached from pressure. She looked down and saw the red cord around her wrist and the bone whistle tied to it.
The wolf growled softly.
Luo Yu raised her arm, dangling the bone whistle in front of the wolf’s eyes.
“Come, let’s talk.”
She stepped forward fearlessly. “Surely you’re not alone. Where are your companions?”
The wolf nudged the bone whistle with its nose, sniffed around her, then turned toward the deep mountains behind, pausing to look back and howl twice, signaling Luo Yu to follow.
The truth was within reach. Luo Yu secured the bone whistle and followed the lone wolf.
Was she afraid?
Hmph, she was not.
No matter what the NPC intended, once she completed the game, she could permanently leave this world.
No matter how strong he was, he could not escape the world to follow her elsewhere.
And she was about to finish the game.
Thinking this, Luo Yu curved her lips proudly. She even thought of a mischievous plan: how to tease that man one last time before leaving this world.