[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies":3,"chapter-notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-98":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Notes on Kraft Anomalous Studies",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2283576,4467,"Chapter 98","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-98",98,"\u003Cp>As the road narrowed, travelers didn’t just feel they were penetrating the mountains—they felt they were sinking into drought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the journey’s start, near the Tobide River—the only murky yellow river—sparse low shrubs still dotted the slopes, but a week ago they had seen no trees taller than their heads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the journey’s end—at least as Kraft and William saw it—vegetation had grown so sparse that even a rarely traveled path could be clearly seen under the setting sun’s glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>William impatiently chose to depart at dawn, yet they were still dragged to the hour of sunset.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rocks littered the road with alarming frequency, nearly snapping the axles; after that, Peter dared not risk his driving on the sharp turns and always stopped to summon male passengers to push the obstacles aside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, these were not man-made barriers—the same stones were scattered across both slopes, likely rolled down from above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Initially, Kraft assumed the lack of plant roots to anchor the soil caused the rocks to loosen, but he soon noticed inconsistencies during the journey. The stones were unevenly distributed: some stretches were densely packed, piled in heaps within valleys, then vanished entirely after a short distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether by coincidence or not, when looking upward at the right angle, one could often spot circular dark patches hidden among the vegetation on the higher slopes, corresponding to the scattered rubble below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This stretch of alternating carriage and manual labor met an unsolvable obstacle at dusk: several massive boulders jammed the road, not fully blocking it, but making passage by cart impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The villagers seemed to have no need for animal transport—or no desire to connect with the outside world—and left the boulders lying where they fell, ignoring the sole route in and out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the sun already pressing against the opposite ridge, turning back was impossible; ahead, the distance was unknown—they were stranded on a narrow mountain path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We can’t go on like this, Peter. Unhitch the horses, get off and walk around.” A captain can’t be indecisive; William shouldered his pack and jumped down first, deciding to finish the journey on foot. “Leave the cart here—I’ll buy it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The budget still had plenty left; the real cost was time—diverting hours meant for hauling cargo, yet paying the sailors regardless. This broken cart added nothing to the tally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to losing a little money, he dreaded walking at night—or worse, spending it outdoors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hold tight, and if you can’t, grab the horse’s neck—I’ll lead it.” Knowing Yin Feng might not keep up, she received special treatment: Kraft helped her onto the horse, and Kup took the reins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The horse had been docile all along, but the steep slope on one side made Kraft uneasy. “If you fall, hug your head and scream—understood?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Feng nodded obediently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The party squeezed through the gaps between boulders, palms pressing against rock faces, grainy texture scraping their skin. The fracture edges were mostly straight; after brushing past a sharp vertical angle, they reached the other side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several shrubs lay uprooted on the ground, apparently pulled free some time ago—leaves and dry, soil-clumped roots all desiccated by days of scorching sun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kraft scanned the surroundings but found no source for them, nor any reason why human or animal would uproot and abandon shrubs here. “William, have you ever seen anything like this before?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What? Of course—I’d ditch half the cargo on my ship just to reach port before the storm catches us.” William pulled out torches as he spoke. To lighten load, they carried only small torches—each person had one or two. If they had to walk at night, they’d have to take turns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, not that—I mean this terrain: caves, falling rocks, things like that.” Kraft rubbed a leaf dusted with soil between his fingers; it retained slight resilience, crumbling unevenly into fragments. “And these plants—what kind of animal here would uproot them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shrubs in this arid climate must have deep root systems to draw water; pulling them directly from the soil required strength beyond most humans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not that I know of. Maybe the rocks dislodged and pulled them out?” William turned to Peter, the guide, who was dutifully leading the horse toward the center of the path. He looked back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sand rats? About the size of a fist.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Impossible.” Kraft lifted the entire plant and found its root system still mostly intact—few fine roots broken, not torn violently from the earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sailor picked up the roots to inspect—saw nothing. Unnoticed, the sun had sunk further. Most suffered some degree of night blindness; in the dimming light without torches, visibility was poor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Forget it. Light our torches while we still can—two at a time. If we don’t reach somewhere before dark, we’ll have to try finding a place to spend the night.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The party numbered only eight; one torch at the front and one at the back sufficed. William and Peter led, sailors guarded the rear, and Kraft’s group—unfamiliar with wilderness—were placed in the middle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They walked the final minutes under the dying sun’s glow; shadows rose from the valley floor, surging over jagged rocks, climbing the steep slopes, swallowing the path up to their ankles, visibly erasing the last sliver of light from the mountaintop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sun set; the party plunged into the dark night, surrounded by rolling hills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone fell silent, walking close to the mountainside, focused. The torchlight barely reached beyond arm’s length; a misstep in conversation could send someone tumbling off the steep outer edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had seen the boulders’ edges by day—they were the valley’s teeth, capable of slicing and piercing anyone who stumbled, exacting a permanent price for a moment’s carelessness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>William’s vision was no better. When Kraft, standing in the middle of the line, saw sweat bead on William’s forehead as he took the second torch, he realized William was pushing forward only by sheer will—not wanting to spend the night outdoors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rhythmic, light footsteps became the environment’s theme—even the horse matched William’s pace. Only when someone tripped on loose stones did the rhythm briefly break.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Admittedly embarrassing, but the otherworldly soul was unusually sensitive to footsteps, having developed sharp discrimination skills from late-night bedroom activities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With enhanced memory, memorizing the entire party’s footfalls was effortless—but now no one came to catch him anymore, and his late-night reading had shifted to thick tomes and lecture notes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the skill hadn’t degraded with his arrival; it had improved, sharpened by his more acute hearing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the orderly rhythm, Kup, leading the horse, noticed Kraft ahead suddenly break sync—shortening his stride and increasing frequency, deliberately disrupting the cadence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The abrupt shift threw off Kup’s own rhythm; he nearly tripped over his own feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Quiet.” Kraft cut short explanation, glancing back toward the path behind the torchlight’s glow, then sharply altered his step again.\u003C\u002Fp>",1137,"2026-06-20T02:15:55.761Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","c0d748846b8526c541774fcaca8f576943514ffa31063a1bdd77f6908a88af65","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-99","notes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-chapter-97",406,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnotes-on-kraft-anomalous-studies-cover.jpg"]