Chapter 59: Deadlock!

……

In the lush little woods, Gu Zixu was treading with light, cat-like steps, moving through them.

Her calm eyes occasionally scanned the surrounding trees.

On the trunks of these trees, one could occasionally see traces that were clearly left by humans.

She was currently exploring by following these traces.

Sunlight spilled through the gaps in the leaves; the sky seemed to have cleared up, and the Mist after the rain filled the air.

The tiny, translucent water droplets in the Mist split the direct sunlight into thousands of beams, weaving a curtain of light that fell upon the green plants, reflecting a verdant glow that seemed to contain vitality.

But...

There was not a single sound.

The entire little woods were deathly silent; not a single living thing could be seen, not even an insect.

Only the rustling sound of the young girl crossing the grass lingered...

……

"Ugh—"

The sound of rapid, labored breathing caused by severe pain and blood loss lingered in his ears.

In the darkness, Ding Mo felt the warm blood flowing through his fingers, and his heart grew heavier.

The monstrous shadows at both ends of the corridor, the smiling giant faces, were constantly closing in.

If things continued like this, he would likely have to experience what just happened all over again in a few minutes.

By then, Ding Mo would likely have to abandon the injured Zhang Yunfan and use the "Curtain" to escape alone.

Although he did not want to do this, for the sake of survival, he had no way to die together with Zhang Yunfan.

But firstly, the act of abandoning a teammate would only leave him increasingly isolated and helpless, ultimately forcing him to bear all the danger alone.

Secondly, even if he used the "Curtain," Ding Mo was not at all confident that he could escape the clutches of these Guaishou—

One had to know that inside the "Curtain," the range of movement was less than one meter around his body!

And a failed attempt meant dying a miserable death on the spot.

Ding Mo did not want to pin his hopes on the good luck he had when he counter-killed Chu Chenfeng.

He had to find the behavioral logic of these bizarre things!

"One more time!" With a thought, Ding Mo pulled down the "Curtain" again.

This was the second time within an hour!

Two-thirds of the 9-minute limit still remained!

Watching the light of the Flashlight distort on the "Curtain," Ding Mo's mind began to race as well.

First, following the previous line of thought, review from the moment they entered the Snack Shop...

While thinking, Ding Mo supported Zhang Yunfan and used the medical supplies he carried, provided by the Processing Bureau, to help him with simple bandaging and stopping the bleeding.

The snacks in the Snack Shop, the notes, the water bottles... the Lucky Cat...

What exactly did they violate to attract the attacks of these "things"?

Could they make a correction to resolve the current crisis?

But soon, the "one and a half minutes" passed, and Ding Mo still could not think of what the connection between them was.

Could it be that there really was no connection? Why would it be like this...

Although Ding Mo was unwilling to admit it, his thinking had already fallen into a deadlock, stagnating and marking time.

He looked up at the two smiling faces looming in the darkness. Ding Mo struggled to suppress the sense of bizarreness in his heart that was affecting his thinking, forcing his mind to start turning again.

Could it be that my line of reasoning is wrong? It wasn't because of the Snack Shop, but something we did after we came out?

Ding Mo thought of that bottle of dirty water they had brought out.

Was it because Zhang Yunfan drank the "water"!?

If that were the case, then he would likely have no choice but to abandon Zhang Yunfan.

But immediately, Ding Mo thought again that the two of them only discovered that those things in the center of the Shopping Mall were gone after they went downstairs.

There was a time gap in between.

There were two key points in time:

One, if the problem occurred when they entered the Snack Shop, then clearly the conclusion of "drinking water" was incorrect;

Two, but if the problem occurred after they left the shop, this conclusion clearly had the possibility of being true.

"No, that's not right, I don't need to think about whether it's a problem of drinking water..." Ding Mo suddenly shook his head violently.

If it were because of "drinking water," then there would be no hope of breaking the situation at all. His goal was to find hope for breaking the situation through the cause of the events,

rather than just confirming the cause.

Since this cause could not be confirmed, and confirming it would not break the situation, it had no value in being pondered.

"Since that's the case..." Ding Mo abandoned this line of thought.

In a very short amount of time, his thinking speed was limited; he had to carefully allocate his thoughts.

But just as he thought to this point,

The time for the "Curtain" ended once again!

The "mannequins" in front and behind were once again "stealthily" closing in like ghosts without him noticing!

Time...

I need time!

Ding Mo gritted his teeth and pulled down the "Curtain" again!

He clearly felt that there was some resistance to the action this time, as if his exhausted muscles, although having received the command, were seeing their functional capacity constantly decline.

The remaining time for "Curtain" is only 3 minutes!

Light and shadow twisted once more, and Ding Mo continued to ponder along his previous train of thought.

Since drinking water was not a factor, then it must be something that happened before or after the Snack Shop.

What exactly did we do at that time?

Ding Mo pondered, suddenly pulling a slip of paper from his person, crumpling it into a ball, and throwing it away.

Afterward, he let "Curtain" disappear for the time being.

But...

It was still a failure; the "Dummies" did not seem affected in the slightest.

Re-engaging "Curtain," the remaining duration is 2 and a half minutes!

What on earth did we do?!

No... no... no! Ding Mo rejected one idea after another that popped into his mind.

He finally realized that they seemed to have done nothing at all!!

But, that shouldn't be...

No... should it?

Ding Mo's pupils suddenly constricted!

Should! That's it, it should!

Is there a possibility that it is precisely because they did nothing that this happened?

No! It should be said that it is because they did not do something... Ding Mo looked toward Zhang Yunfan.

At this moment, the transparent barrier surrounding them began to shake—this was the omen that "Curtain" was about to reach its limit, with only one minute remaining!

Gritting his teeth, Ding Mo deactivated "Curtain."

He had to save the remaining minute.

Although it was cruel, if this plan failed, he could still rely on this one minute to fight for his life against these two "Dummies"!

If he used up all his Time Stop, he wouldn't even have a final chance to struggle for his life.

Looking at Zhang Yunfan, whose consciousness was becoming somewhat blurred from the pain, Ding Mo suddenly roared:

"Quick, stand up, pick up the Flashlight and look at them!"

Ding Mo recalled the scene of them hiding behind the door just a moment ago.

"Uh...?" Zhang Yunfan looked at Ding Mo, who was stooping to pick up the Flashlight he had dropped, and was stunned for a moment.

Although he didn't understand why, he ultimately endured the pain, hissed in a sharp breath, and did as he was told.

Soon, two beams of light from the Flashlights swayed slightly, shining onto the "Dummies" not far away.

Ding Mo and Zhang Yunfan, the two of them back-to-back, holding their Flashlights, stared at the three-meter-tall figures respectively.

"..."

After a while, Ding Mo discovered that they had indeed stopped moving!

It was effective!

But,

Before he could even show a hint of joy, in that split second of distraction, the "Dummies" had moved closer again!

!!

It still wasn't enough; the situation had only eased slightly and had not been fundamentally resolved.

Could it be that it failed... No!

"Focus your attention!"

Watching the "Dummies" that stood motionless the moment they were stared at by a person,

Ding Mo immediately realized something and shouted:

"They are afraid of us!"

To be precise, they are afraid of attracting human attention!