The shop door was quite dilapidated, and Lin Yue merely gave it a gentle pull, causing it to crumble into pieces like foam.
Covering his nose, Lin Yue walked into the store amidst the dust, heading straight for the big iron object he had just seen.
No sooner had his hand touched the object, which hadn't suffered much damage despite the passage of time, when information quickly came through from the system!
[You have obtained an embedded steel plate fireplace]
Who would have thought, what he'd spent half the day trying to create, was actually found so easily in this Secret Realm?
Lin Yue thought of a possibility.
The significance of this Secret Realm's existence.
He surveyed the room, the flames on the torch in his hand continuously flickering.
Bai remained silent, obediently perched on his shoulder.
Those ruby-like eyes, however, were curiously examining everything around.
The tables, chairs, books, and papers were all decayed beyond recognition, and even metal objects were covered in rust.
However, he did see some dusty glass cups and porcelain plates, which he carefully stored in his inventory.
Not many things can withstand the torrents of time, yet glass and porcelain are easier to preserve than wood and metal.
Lin Yue didn't know exactly how many years into the future this Earth was, though it should be the Earth he knew.
He searched the store diligently, even going upstairs to look around.
Not finding anything else useful, he decided to retreat to the Shelter for now, planning to return another day.
Since he already found the fireplace, there was no need to search for a perforated steel mesh.
At that moment, Bai suddenly called out twice, and as Lin Yue prepared for battle, he discovered Bai had hidden behind him, biting down hard on his clothes, trembling all over.
"Bai?" Lin Yue trusted Bai's intuition, since this little one had correctly sensed the incoming giant rats several times.
If Bai was behaving now, it meant danger was approaching!
He quickly crouched in the furthest corner, while piling some blocks of wood in front of him, concealing himself almost instantly.
At the same time, he peeked through the gaps in the wood towards the second-floor window frame, which was now devoid of glass.
Outside was a layer of thick fog.
Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed, followed by a dark shape descending from the sky, landing on the window frame!
Lin Yue was astonished to find three monsters that he had never seen before!
They had deep red bodies, covered with wrinkled keratin skin, with a pair of wings on their backs that were veined with membranes.
Their powerful hind limbs ended in bird-like keratin talons, which were now gripping the window frame firmly, as their lizard-like bright yellow eyes continuously scanned the room.
Lin Yue firmly believed that their hard, cone-like keratin beaks could easily penetrate his small round shield and wooden armor with just one strike!
Moreover, as they turned their heads elsewhere, those insect-like slender white tentacles behind their heads were swinging up and down continuously!
What kind of monster is this?
It looked like a cross between a bat and a bird, resembling the conceptual image he'd seen of a winged dragon!
Yet those tentacles...
He exerted every effort to control his breathing, striving not to make any sound, even lowering his head to avoid looking, while Bai had shut his eyes and curled up motionlessly.
The danger posed by these unknown creatures was self-evident!
Lin Yue knew very well that if he rashly charged out, he would undoubtedly become food for these horrifying creatures!
Time passed slowly, and Lin Yue felt as though it was never this slow before.
He struggled to control his heartbeat and hoped that those creatures would leave soon.
After an unknown amount of time, the three creatures unfurled their wings, making another indescribably twisted scream, and flew into the sky, disappearing.
Lin Yue waited a while longer, until his legs almost went numb from squatting, before finally relaxing and sitting gently on the ground.
Bai returned to perch on his shoulder, appearing quite shaken, constantly looking around.
After resting for a while and confirming safety, Lin Yue then gently stood up, collecting the wood pieces one by one, and quickly descended to the ground floor.
His heart was racing like a motor running at full power!
"What exactly are those creatures? Did they originally exist on Earth?"
Lin Yue felt that compared to them, the mutant sheep he had encountered before were indeed like real sheep.
He recalled some people in the group saying that those who entered never came out, perhaps encountering these monsters.
Slipping out of the building, Lin Yue quickly returned to the lying building, and soon found the end of the ball of yarn, following it toward the Ancient Gate.
Of course, he remained extremely cautious throughout, constantly observing Bai's every move.
However, upon arriving at the Ancient Gate, he discovered that the corpse of the giant rat he had slain earlier was now completely missing.
On the hard asphalt road, only puddles of blood remained, along with frighteningly large claw marks!
Pushing open the Ancient Gate, Lin Yue breathed the air of the Desert once more, his tense spirit relaxing as he sat directly on the ground.
He wasn't nearly strong enough to contend with those two-meter-long flying creatures, let alone three!
At that moment, a crystal-clear snowflake gently swayed from his front, landing on his pants before melting into a droplet of water, disappearing instantly.
Lin Yue looked up to see more snowflakes falling from the sky, which had darkened without him noticing.
"It's snowing? Wait, why is it snowing so soon?"
Today is the fifth day; the disaster is supposed to come the day after tomorrow.
The snowflakes filled the sky, becoming more and more dense.
Yet upon reaching the ground, they quickly turned into water droplets, soaking into the soil.
Despite this, Lin Yue felt a trace of cold brought by the snowflakes!
Lin Yue originally thought that Bai, who liked to spew icy breath, would enjoy the snow, but surprisingly, the little creature directly burrowed into his pocket, not daring to even peek out.
"What's wrong? Isn't this your favorite weather?"
Lin Yue found it strange.
Something's not right.
He quickly headed toward the Shelter, and after removing his gear upon entering, he found Bai wandering freely on the table, as if nothing had happened.
However, for this Ice Lizard, the snowy weather most suitable for its activity did not attract its interest at all.
Instead, Lin Yue felt that it seemed to be afraid of the snow.
Could something be wrong with the snow?
Stepping outside, Lin Yue lifted his hand to catch a snowflake, and as it melted, he suddenly felt a slight burning sensation!
Thank you to the readers: 08a, Shen Feng, Dong Po Rou Duo, Xiao Fanzao for the rewards!
The novice author shamelessly asks for your continued reading, thanks everyone