Chapter 10: Changes in the Dense Forest

At some point, the cracks in his shadow had become clearly visible, and the eerie scene from last night surfaced in his mind once again.

Qian Cangyi could not help but wonder: if he let the cracks continue to spread, would the final outcome be that his own head, like the shadow’s, would detach from his body and fall to the ground?

"Shall we try that special exit first?" Ning Jing pointed toward the exit corresponding to the yellow tent.

"Yes, let's go," Star Wisdom said without further ado.

The five of them stepped onto the path again. For the first few minutes, the atmosphere was deathly silent, with only the sound of their footsteps echoing through the woods.

Qian Cangyi took off his backpack and lifted it; the weight had decreased by nearly a quarter. The food that should have lasted for half a month might now be consumed in a single day.

The faint sound started up again. This time, it seemed to come from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint its origin.

The five of them exchanged glances but remained silent, maintaining their original pace.

The sound grew clearer.

Then, a scream rang out—it was Ning Jing’s voice, or rather, the scream of Duan Ling.

Qian Cangyi could not help but feel curious; the intensity of this argument seemed to be on a different level than before.

"Are you going to tell me or not!" He Hongxin’s roar drowned out Duan Ling’s scream.

"He Hongxin, let go! You’ll kill her!" Mo An’s voice was filled with agitation.

Kill her?

Qian Cangyi could only think of one person: Yan Ruoxuan.

He Hongxin, who often played the role of the peacemaker, had chosen to use a life-threatening tactic in his blind rage. Yan Ruoxuan’s anger was merely a technique to gain more leverage in a conversation, but He Hongxin’s anger was genuine.

"Are... you... going... to... tell... me!" He Hongxin shouted, enunciating every word, punctuated by dull thuds of impact.

Then, with a metallic clang, everything fell into silence.

The five of them looked at each other.

Qian Cangyi subconsciously stepped away from Xiao Tian, and the other actors did the same.

"What are you doing? I’m not a murderer; I only work out to stay fit," Xiao Tian said, looking utterly helpless.

"We know," Star Wisdom nodded repeatedly, though his tone sounded more like a perfunctory dismissal.

"Come to think of it, those five—Yan Ruoxuan and the others—still reached this point. I’m curious, since their relationship is so poor, why do they even stay together?" After saying this, Soft Light frowned slightly, her lips pressed tight, her expression full of bewilderment.

"Exactly, why are they still together? If it were at school, it would be understandable, seeing each other every day. But here... this isn't school," Ning Jing said, looking around.

The stillness of the dense forest, rather than being comforting, only heightened the fear in everyone’s hearts.

Qian Cangyi began to seriously consider the question posed by Soft Light. Even though the movie world differed from reality, it was unlikely that people would choose to stay together the more they despised one another.

"There must be something binding them together," Star Wisdom said, turning to look into the deep, dark woods. "Perhaps our task in this movie is to figure out exactly what that is."

"Not necessarily," Xiao Tian shook his head. "Relationships between people aren't just good or bad; they are often reciprocal. Judging by the arguments, Yan Ruoxuan and Ning Jing have a better relationship, as do Mo An and He Hongxin. Zhang Sibo..."

"Yan Ruoxuan’s attitude toward Zhang Sibo is very poor. Did he do something in the past?" Star Wisdom pondered deeply.

"Maybe Ning Jing and Zhang Sibo get along well, and Zhang Sibo has a good relationship with Mo An and He Hongxin, or perhaps it’s for some other reason. In any case, they ended up together," Xiao Tian said, turning to look at Qian Cangyi.

Qian Cangyi nodded and said, "That is indeed possible. They might just be staying together to be with their friends, and as long as the others aren't too annoying, it doesn't matter. However, I still agree more with Star Wisdom’s view. After all, the conflicts between those five are already quite acute; there must be an external reason forcing them to stay together."

The five continued forward.

The path suddenly opened up, and they found themselves back in the clearing.

The entrance corresponded to the green tent, which matched the relationship in the table, but this was not the result they had hoped to see.

Qian Cangyi glanced at the yellow tent and asked, "Shall we keep going?"

Because they had entered through one path and exited through another when they first started, they had planned to walk every path, hoping to find a unique one that would allow them to leave. Walking it once might not be enough; they might need to go several times. Later, the five had each taken a different path, confirming that the one corresponding to the yellow tent was the most special. Now, they had walked it once.

"The direction of the shadows has changed; it should be afternoon by now," Star Wisdom said, looking up.

Qian Cangyi looked down at his shadow; the cracks showed no obvious change.

"It’s almost funny, isn't it? Yan Ruoxuan prepared so much food, but didn't bring a watch or a compass," Soft Light suddenly remarked.

"Actually, I don't think a watch or compass would help us anyway," Ning Jing sighed.

Soft Light smiled and said nothing more.

"Indeed, shall we try again?" Xiao Tian looked toward the exit leading to the yellow tent.

The five set off once more.

This time, it was the same path, and they heard sounds again, but the content was different.

"You—He Hongxin, you! You killed her!" Duan Ling’s voice trembled.

"I didn't mean to! I only wanted to scare her!" He Hongxin’s voice no longer held its previous rage.

"Why? Why would you do that?" Duan Ling’s voice grew louder.

"I said I didn't mean to! Are you deaf?" He Hongxin’s speech was rapid, sounding impatient.

"Alright, Duan Ling, there's no point in talking about it now. We should think about how to leave this place," Mo An said, stepping in as the peacemaker.

"Duan Ling, you and Yan Ruoxuan were close. Did she tell you anything in secret?" Zhang Sibo asked, his tone extremely cautious.

"No, I don't know either. Yan Ruoxuan said the surprise would only be revealed at the very end," Duan Ling said, her tone dejected.

At this point, the sound stopped abruptly.

Qian Cangyi felt a flicker of joy, as this was a new discovery. The content was not a repetition of the argument, but rather a progression; this meant that as long as they continued down this path, they might eventually see the ending.

"Let’s hurry; let’s see what happens to them next," Soft Light said, impatient, her mood entirely unaffected by Yan Ruoxuan’s death.

The five continued forward, and before long, they returned to the clearing.

Compared to before, the shadows of the five had grown longer; time was passing rapidly.

They stepped into the exit corresponding to the yellow tent again.

New content emerged.

"Strange. Zhang Sibo was clearly right behind us—where did he suddenly go?" He Hongxin’s words were filled with confusion and bewilderment.