“You can understand this place as a projection of the real world formed under certain conditions,” Jiang Cheng pointed at the shadow on the beach. “To make it easier to understand, you are the real world, and this place is your shadow.”
Fatty thought for a long time before saying, “So… Even though this place is not our place, the two worlds share a symbiotic relationship.”
“Symbiotic relationship…” Jiang Cheng thought about it and shook his head, “That implies that both parties coexist with each other, and one can’t survive without the other. But…” He looked at Fatty, “If I fire a bullet at your shadow, will you die?”
His example was easy to understand. The things that happened here would not affect the real world.
“Doctor,” Moments later, Fatty digested the information the former had given him. He frowned, “But… how is this different from what you said earlier? Even if you’re right and this is a projection of the real world, how does that affect anything?” Fatty blinked, worried that the Doctor might misunderstand him. He added, “I mean, can we draw any unique inference from that?”
“Since this place is a projection, there is a high chance it has to follow the rules of our world,” Jiang Cheng looked out at the wide ocean. “That is very important.” Jiang Cheng pulled back his gaze and turned to the other side, “We’ll check that side.”
Based on the plan earlier, Fatty and Jiang Cheng would search the shore while Su Xiaoxiao and Su An would handle the forest. The main goal of their mission was to search for water sources and food.
Their throats were parched. If not for the need to exchange information, none of them wanted to speak.
“Doctor,” Fatty, who hid in the shades, asked, “Could this be an abandoned island?”
Other than the giant forest, it didn’t seem like they could go anywhere. They couldn’t see the Su siblings near the forest. It was unclear if they had gone to hide or they had entered the unusual forest. Fatty didn’t get a response from Jiang Cheng. He followed his gaze and asked softly, “Doctor, do you think there’s an issue with this forest?”
“Then, what about Su Xiaoxiao…”
“Fatty,” Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes at the forest. “Do you remember the path the aged woman led you guys on earlier?”
Fatty blinked, “Do you mean before we found you and Chen Ran?”
“We encountered each other by the shore. The aged woman was in the water,” Fatty thought back, “Then, we walked around the shore. She was the one who led us to the cliff and told us to give climbing it a try…”
“In other words, she’d rather climb the precarious cliff than get close to the forest.” Jiang Cheng sighed. It sounded like he had confirmed something. He looked at the forest with a mysterious gaze.
Fatty lowered his voice, “Is there a problem with the forest?”
“There are problems everywhere. The lighthouse, the sea, the cathedral… but the forest is stranger and more dangerous.” Jiang Cheng replied, “That’s why the aged woman chose to avoid the forest directly since it is her second time here. I believe the batch of people who found their way here back then had encountered something in the forest.”
Hearing this, Fatty’s face shifted. The Doctor’s suspicion was not unfounded. However, he didn’t reveal everything. Back then, the batch of people must have encountered something inexplicable in the forest, and maybe only the aged woman survived. It would explain why the aged woman would choose to ignore the forest so firmly.
“Doctor,” Fatty’s face paled. He took a long time to squeeze the words out through his trembling lips, “Then… will Su Xiaoxiao and her brother die in there?”
“Not sure.” Jiang Cheng’s voice was emotionless, “However, I believe that even if they return, they will achieve the same result as we do.”
Fatty repeated Jiang Cheng’s words to himself. Then, he raised his head, “Doctor, do you mean they’ll come back with no food and water as well?”
“But… why?” Fatty couldn’t help but ask, “Is the goal of this mission to starve us to death?” Ever since he had entered the nightmare realm, Fatty had imagined his own ways of death, like being decapitated by ghosts or strung up to bleed to death. However, he had never considered dying from starvation or thirst. It was… too mundane.
He was pondering if he’d survive munching on barch.
Fatty looked at Jiang Cheng. For some reason, no matter what kind of situation they were in, as long as the Doctor was by his side, Fatty felt like they could survive everything.
Suddenly, he heard a coarse voice.
“Fatty,” the Doctor began again. Jiang Cheng’s voice made him feel unfamiliar. He thought he had heard him wrongly due to his nervousness.
“Do you remember what the aged woman said?” Jiang Cheng paused. “From yesterday night.”
Fatty thought about it. He said hesitantly. Things were so weird that Fatty remembered them quite well. “She said it is coming. She heard the voice, and then she claimed that everyone would die!” Fatty swallowed nervously. It scratched his throat, “She said there was something calling her. She should have died here with the rest of them!”
The images from yesterday night appeared in Fatty’s mind. The woman’s ghastly visage, her shrill voice… They cut on his nerves like a saw.
The pain gripped his head. Thinking about the woman’s condition, Fatty was drawn in by some unknown forces and slowly lost his mind like how the aged woman did.