The Forest

Translator: Cinder Translations

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"You can think of this as a projection formed under certain conditions in the real world," Jiang Cheng gestured to the shadow beside the Fatty on the beach. After a moment of thought, he continued, "For example, you represent the real world, and here is your shadow."

The Fatty fidgeted with his lips for a while before stammering, "So... so this isn't our world, but the two worlds are in a symbiotic relationship?"

"Symbiotic relationship..." Jiang Cheng thought for a moment, then shook his head, denying, "A symbiotic relationship means both exist together for mutual benefit; without one, the other cannot survive. But..."

He looked up at the Fatty and continued, "If I shoot your shadow, will you die?"

The example was simple and easy to understand.

What happens in this world won't affect the real world.

"Doctor," After a moment, the Fatty had absorbed the information Jiang Cheng had given him. Looking at the doctor, he frowned and asked, "But how is this different from what you said before?"

"Even if you're right, and this is indeed a projection of the real world, what does that change?"

The Fatty blinked, seemingly worried that the doctor misunderstood his meaning, and added, "What I mean is, can we get any different information from this?"

"Since it's a projection, it's highly likely to follow the inherent laws of our world," Jiang Cheng looked out at the vast sea. After a long pause, he answered, "This point is important."

"Let's go," Jiang Cheng shifted his gaze, walked in a different direction, and said, "Let's check over there."

Before starting their exploration, the coastal area was assigned to Jiang Cheng and the Fatty, while the forest was tasked to Su Xiaoxiao and her brother, Su An.

Their main goal on this journey was to find food, especially water sources.

Having gone an entire day and night without drinking, their throats felt painfully dry. If it weren't for the need to exchange information, no one would have wanted to speak.

Of course, essential camouflage aside.

Jiang Cheng and the Fatty first walked around the cliff. The Fatty gently knocked on the rock wall with some stones he had found and discovered that what seemed like a sturdy rock wall had already been severely eroded by the sea breeze.

With a little force, pieces of rock would peel off.

It seemed that Liang Long's statement was correct—climbing up from here, especially without professional tools, was nearly impossible.

"Doctor," the Fatty, hiding from the sun in the shade, looked up and asked, "Could this be a deserted island?"

Apart from the vast, seemingly endless forest, it didn't seem like there was any way to move through the area.

They hadn't seen Su Xiaoxiao and her brother near the forest, and it was unclear whether they had hidden somewhere or truly ventured into the eerily silent forest.

Not hearing Jiang Cheng's response, the Fatty followed his gaze, licked his lips, and quietly said, "Doctor, do you think there's something wrong with this forest?"

"Mm."

"Then what about Su Xiaoxiao and the others?"

"Fatty," Jiang Cheng squinted towards the forest, suddenly speaking, "Do you still remember the path that old woman took you on?"

The Fatty froze, blinking and replying, "You mean the one before we found you and Chen Ran?"

"Mm."

"We met her by the coast. At that time, the old woman was in the water," the Fatty recalled. "Later, we walked around the coast, and then she led us to the cliffside, saying we should try."

"So, she preferred risking climbing the cliff rather than getting close to the forest," Jiang Cheng exhaled. The tone of his voice, more like a confirmation of a guess, rather than a question.

His gaze towards the forest became increasingly intriguing.

The Fatty lowered his voice, almost as if to confirm, "So, you mean there's something strange in the forest?"

"There's something strange everywhere here—the lighthouse, the sea, the buildings—but the oddities in the forest are bigger, and the danger is higher," Jiang Cheng replied, "That's why the old woman, after returning here a second time, chose to avoid it. I think the group that was stranded here long ago must have encountered something in the forest."

Hearing this, the Fatty's face changed gradually, understanding that Jiang Cheng's hypothesis made sense.

However, there was one thing the doctor hadn't said outright—the group that had been stranded here must have experienced something incomprehensible in the forest, resulting in heavy losses. Perhaps only the old woman survived.

This experience deeply scarred her, causing her to abandon further exploration.

"Doctor," the Fatty seemed to think of something, his face turning pale. His lips trembled, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a voice, "Do you think Su Xiaoxiao and the others... might all have died in there?"

"I don't know." Jiang Cheng's profile revealed no emotion. "But I think even if they can come out, it's probably just like us."

"Just like us?" The Fatty repeated Jiang Cheng's words quietly. After a moment, he seemed to snap back to reality and looked up, "Doctor, you mean even if they come back, they still won't find food and water?"

"Mm."

"But why?" The Fatty couldn't help but ask. "Is the purpose of this place just to trap us?"

Since encountering the bizarre nightmare tasks, the Fatty had imagined many ways he could die—such as having his head pulled off by a ghost, or his neck snapped, or even being hung up to bleed out.

But he never imagined that in this nightmare, one could die of hunger or thirst.

Well... he thought it was most likely thirst.

Because humans can survive a while without food, but without water, a few days is the limit.

He had already begun to seriously consider the possibility of chewing on tree bark.

After a long silence, Jiang Cheng remained hidden in the shadows.

For some reason, no matter what kind of dire situation they were in, it felt like as long as the doctor was there, they could make it through.

Just as the Fatty thought Jiang Cheng had fallen silent out of discouragement, he suddenly heard a slightly hoarse voice.

"Fatty," Jiang Cheng spoke again, but this time his voice sounded unfamiliar, even chilling. For a moment, the Fatty thought it was just a hallucination caused by mental strain.

"Doctor, I'm here."

"Do you remember what the old woman said?" Jiang Cheng paused, reminding him, "Last night?"

After thinking for a while, the Fatty hesitated as he recalled the bizarre scene. He still remembered it quite clearly: "She said it's coming, she heard the sound, and then she said everyone was going to die!"

The Fatty carefully swallowed a precious bit of saliva, his throat feeling painfully dry, "She also said something was calling her, that she should have died here, along with the others!"

The scenes from last night flashed in the Fatty's mind—the woman's twisted face, her sharp and eerie voice, like a serrated knife repeatedly cutting at his nerves.

The intense pain stimulated his head, and recalling the woman's state, the Fatty seemed to be disturbed by some unknown force, fully immersed in the woman's narration.

(End of the Chapter)

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Translated 4 Series, 1.65K+ Chapters and 2.01M+ Words.