Dawn After Darkness

　　Ruan didn't say anything.

　　Lin: "There were two people who went into the temple alone. Are they... both dead?"

　　Ruan said, "I don't know."

　　Right, who knows the answer to this kind of question?

　　Lin stood up in the snow and extended his hand to Ruan: "Let's go home."

　　Ruan smiled and took Lin's hand.

　　About an hour later, when everyone gathered at the house, the number of people had decreased again.

　　As Lin had predicted, none of the people who had entered the temple alone had survived. 

　　The woman with the axe had taken their lives.

　　"She took all the bodies back." Someone described what they had seen. "The bodies were cut in half. She was laughing as she picked them up and dragged them into the temple."

　　"So the carpenter tricked us?" Xiao whispered hoarsely. "If we had really done what he said and entered the temple, wouldn't we all have died?"

　　"We wouldn't have died." Chi said wearily. "At least half of us would have survived. Things like this don't usually lead to complete annihilation. At least half would have survived."

　　"It doesn't matter if half of us survive. Who knows if she'll come back?" Ruan recovered quickly. 

　　She was already leaning back in a chair, leisurely cracking sunflower seeds. 

　　She was even beautiful cracking seeds; it could even be considered elegant. 

　　"Even if she killed one person a day, we'd be in trouble."

　　Everyone fell silent.

　　"Now that we've prayed at the temple, can we start making coffins?" someone asked.

　　Chi nodded. 

　　"I'll talk to the carpenter tomorrow. But I have a feeling things aren't that simple."

　　Of course, it wasn't that simple. 

　　The well still wasn't filled. 

　　Filling a well might not be difficult in the real world, but in this world, it was dangerous enough to be fatal.

　　Who knows what might come out when we fill the well?

　　But that was for tomorrow. 

　　Today, everyone had been chased by that thing all night and had witnessed their companions' deaths.

　　Both mentally and physically, they were at their limit.

　　So everyone left early, preparing to get a good night's rest.

　　At least tonight, they didn't have to worry about dying.

　　Lin lay in bed and saw Ruan lying beside him.

　　"Thank you today," Lin said. "You're so amazing. I actually have less stamina than you."

　　When they ran for their lives today, Lin was the first to run out of energy. 

　　Looking at Ruan's state, he even suspected that she could have hopped all the way home.

　　"A man with poor stamina won't do." Ruan said in a deep voice.

　　Lin: "..."

　　Ruan: "Don't you agree?"

　　Lin: "..." Agree with your head.

　　Ruan turned her head and looked at Lin with a smile: "Do you think we'll be able to get out of here alive?"

　　Lin shook his head to indicate that he didn't know.

　　Ruan said, "What will you do first if you get out alive?"

　　Lin thought for a moment: 

　　"If I get out alive, I'll go back to my hometown and get married?"

　　Ruan: "Do you have a girlfriend?"

　　Lin laughed: "Where would a designer who works overtime get a girlfriend?"

　　They chatted for a while and slowly fell asleep. 

　　That night, Lin didn't have a single dream. 

　　He seemed to have become accustomed to the cruelty and ruthlessness of this world.

　　The next day was a sunny and bright day.