Chang Sheng stood up and walked toward the door.
Looking at the faint light of dawn outside, he felt somewhat conflicted.
It was already the morning of the third day.
There were still eighteen hours left until he completed the full three days of survival.
He did some rough mental math. If he set off from the old residence at the mountaintop, it would take him at least six to seven hours to reach the end of the path!
And that was under normal circumstances. He had to keep in mind that a specter was blocking the way.
Therefore, he would have to take a detour along the way, which would inevitably take even longer!
Based on the route his puppets had previously taken, he estimated that at his own pace, it would probably take at least three additional hours.
Thus, he had to prepare himself for a journey of at least ten hours!
Which meant...
“At most, I can only stay at the old residence for another eight hours,” Chang Sheng calculated in his head.
“But... staying here doesn't seem to serve any purpose. The specter has been guarding the path and hasn't come to attack me here.”
He felt a slight struggle in his heart.
“Should I just set off right now?”
At that thought, he couldn't help but shake his head.
“No.”
“I'm simply too exhausted right now. My physical stamina is severely depleted, and I'm in no condition to hike along mountain paths for an extended period.”
Chang Sheng knew he needed rest.
Otherwise, he was genuinely afraid he might just fall fast asleep and die right on the side of the road.
“Then... should I stay in the guest room of the old residence and sleep?”
Chang Sheng shook his head again. That wouldn't work either.
After all, the ten-hour travel estimate was just his own analysis and was by no means one hundred percent accurate. What if he encountered other unexpected events along the way?
Wouldn't that mean he might fail to reach the end of the path within the required time?
What if he missed the window to clear the dungeon?
He weighed his options back and forth, ultimately deciding that setting off first was the best course of action.
Chang Sheng resolved to leave the old residence. However, instead of bidding farewell to the NPCs, he quietly climbed over the compound wall, taking all his puppets with him.
Since he was planning to leave anyway, there was no point in leaving any puppets behind in the old residence.
As for what the NPCs here would do after he left...
He didn't care.
After spending two days with them, he had indeed realized that these two NPCs were not simple, but he could also confirm they were living people who had nothing to do with the specter.
Of course, the fact that Zuo Lin'an looked exactly like the specter did indeed leave him filled with doubt and suspicion.
But that only proved that the person who had transformed into the specter was once a relative of his.
It didn't represent anything else.
Although he found it strange, he had neither the mood nor the time to investigate things unrelated to his main quest.
In such a chaotic world, the biggest reason he had been able to survive safely until now was because he never poked his nose into other people's business.
Zuo Lin'an stood up and walked outside, looking up at the sky as it began to brighten.
At that moment, Feng Xingyun happened to walk in from the courtyard.
“Young Master, the guest is gone.”
Zuo Lin'an waved his hand.
“He went down the mountain and took all his puppets with him.”
Feng Xingyun was slightly surprised.
“He just left like that?”
Zuo Lin'an nodded.
“Who would have thought? He didn't connect the dungeon's plot to finding the path of survival at all.”
Feng Xingyun let out a smile.
“It seems I'll soon be getting another companion.”
Chang Sheng led his puppets, quickly finding the stone steps and heading all the way down.
According to his estimation, it would take him ten hours to reach the end of the path.
However, when he actually set foot on this journey, he was astonished to discover that he had still underestimated the difficulty of taking a detour.
It was easy for the puppets to walk because they were inanimate objects. Furthermore, they were small, made of wood, extremely light, and could help each other.
But right now, Chang Sheng was alone.
When encountering impassable terrain, the puppets couldn't help him.
They simply couldn't pull a heavy, grown human.
On top of that, he hadn't slept properly since entering the dungeon, and he was already thoroughly exhausted.
He had no choice.
Along the way, he had to stop and rest repeatedly.
Every time he stopped, he had to sleep for a little while to recover his stamina and mental energy.
Otherwise, he was afraid he would collapse onto the ground and fall asleep right there.
In this manner, by the time he reached his destination, seventeen hours had already passed, with more than seven of those hours spent sleeping.
He was also incredibly grateful that the specter still hadn't attacked him while he was asleep.
Looking at the familiar white mist ahead, Chang Sheng let out a long sigh of relief.
“I finally made it.”
It was a good thing he had set off early instead of sleeping in the mountaintop old residence.
Otherwise, by the time he woke up, the three-day limit might have already passed.
He took a few steps forward and plopped down onto the ground. Pulling out his phone to check the time, he saw that there were still forty-five minutes left before he completed the survival quest.
“Not bad.”
Chang Sheng put away his phone. The moment he relaxed, his eyelids began to grow incredibly heavy.
Yet, he still forced himself to stay awake, refusing to let himself drift off.
Time passed minute by minute.
The surrounding darkness and silence felt like an endless lullaby, constantly urging him to fall into a deep sleep.
However, whenever he felt like he was about to fall asleep, he would bite himself hard.
Just then, he raised his arm once more and bit down fiercely.
The pain caused cold sweat to break out all over him.
“Hiss!!”
Fortunately, the time had finally arrived.
As the final second ticked away, he received a dungeon notification.
【Congratulations on successfully surviving for three days. Please find the path of survival within one hour, otherwise you will remain in the Withered Forest and Barren Mountains forever. 00:59:59】
“One hour?”
Chang Sheng frowned slightly when he saw the notification.
He stood up and looked around, trying to find any trace of the path of survival.
But after observing for a long time, the surroundings remained exactly as they had been before, without the slightest change.
“How can this be?”
“Could it not be in this location?”
It was currently the middle of the night, and the surroundings were pitch black. If the path of survival were slightly further away, he indeed wouldn't be able to see it.
Chang Sheng then had all his puppets disperse to search the surrounding area for the path of survival.
But as time slipped away, he found that there seemed to be nothing around.
“That's impossible...”
A wave of panic welled up in his heart.
Yet, no matter what, if it wasn't there, it simply wasn't there.
Half an hour passed. The puppets had searched a massive area nearby, but they still hadn't seen even a glimpse of the path of survival.
Chang Sheng's face fell, and he collapsed onto his knees on the ground.
He clutched his hair with both hands, his eyes bloodshot.
“No!”
“How is this possible?”
“It's clearly here! It absolutely has to be here!”
“Otherwise, why would the specter block the way?”
Even now, he was still convinced that the path of survival was here.
“No, there's still time. I can't give up just like this.”
“Keep searching, I will definitely find it.”
Yet, no matter how far he walked, and no matter how hard he searched, he still couldn't find it. As time ticked away, the despair in his eyes grew increasingly dense.
Until finally...
Chang Sheng could only stand in place, staring blankly at the countdown hovering before his eyes.
One minute left...
He had already given up, standing there completely motionless.
Thirty seconds.
...
Three... Two... One!
【The countdown has reached zero! The path of survival has closed! Player Chang Sheng has failed to clear the dungeon and will remain in the Withered Forest and Barren Mountains forever!】
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