"Woo~~"

A chill ran through my body, causing me to shiver as I slowly opened my eyes. Before me was a dark and gloomy sky, with fine rain falling from the boundless black clouds above. No wonder I felt so cold. I shivered again; my leather jacket was already soaked through and clung tightly to my skin, sending waves of bone-chilling cold straight to my heart.

Wait a minute... Leather jacket? I remember wearing sportswear! And just now, wasn't I at home? How did I end up in this godforsaken place?

I broke out in a cold sweat and sat up, carefully surveying the surroundings.

A thin layer of mist hung in the air, limiting visibility to just over 100 meters. The ground beneath me was damp grassland; judging by what little could be seen around me, it seemed likely that this was an open wilderness or even a prairie. The flat expanse before me consisted only of two things: tenacious wild grasses and exposed hard earth - viewed from above there were only two colors visible: green and brown.

It really is a dream!

I muttered under my breath while still feeling groggy; rubbing my eyes before lying back down heavily.

Wake up quickly! I still want to continue playing Diablo...

For some time...

The rain in the dream seemed to grow heavier by the moment; its icy touch made it impossible for me who had been trying hard to fall asleep any longer pretend that everything was alright.

Where on earth am I? Just moments ago, wasn't I playing computer games at home? How did I suddenly end up here?!

I abruptly sat upright and frantically tore at my hair as fear and panic filled every fiber of being within me. With anxious eyes scanning across this vast wasteland where there's no shelter nor food available- not even somewhere dry to hide from the rain, I recalled countless time-travel novels that I had read online. Was it possible that I too was responding to the call of this trend and had become a member of the time-traveling army?

No way!

I pleaded with God with sorrowful eyes; how could anyone survive in such an open wilderness without shelter or food?

Feeling the bone-chilling cold on my body, the unknown leather jacket stuck to me like ice. Every gust of wind made me shiver violently. My stomach also began to protest. I realized that time travel was not as beautiful as I had imagined it to be. The warmth of home and the food in the refrigerator, things that I had taken for granted, were now dearly missed.

Tears mixed with rainwater streamed down my face uncontrollably. I couldn't fight nor did I have any wisdom; how could I survive in this godforsaken place? No! I am not a savior nor do I aspire to rule over others. God, please let me go back!

Several blinding lightning bolts split through the dark sky, mocking my weakness and ignorance.

After a long while, dazed and confused, I stood up from the ground like a puppet without soul awareness. The growling of hunger reminded me of reality's cruelty: if staying here meant certain death then there was only one way out.

I numbly surveyed my surroundings; although heavy rain cleared away thin mist but visibility remained low on this deserted grassland - where could I go?

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Finally driven by an intense will to live, step by step forward towards an uncertain future - perhaps a city or maybe a man-eating beast awaited ahead or even just endless emptiness until death - but still hopeful enough to keep moving forward.

I don't know how much time passed before my feet became increasingly numb and eyes blurred beyond recognition; realizing that my body had reached its limit already... unless there is some miracle waiting ahead.

I looked around and saw that the heavy rain still shrouded everything in a boundless white mist. The only sound was the squelching of my feet on the muddy ground and grass. After hesitating for a moment, I finally couldn't resist the hunger anymore. I knelt down on the ground, stunned for a moment before tremblingly grabbing a handful of green grass from the ground, shaking off the mud from its roots and ignoring any remaining dirt as I quickly stuffed it into my mouth with rainwater.

The bitter, sour, and fishy taste gradually numbed my taste buds. Even chewing on sand no longer felt uncomfortable like it did at first. As tears of bitterness streamed down my muddy face, I continued to pull up clumps of grass from the ground and stuff them into my mouth.

Once upon a time, I had casually thrown away one-third of McDonald's food leftovers into trash cans...

Once upon a time, I had poured all unexpired milk down the drain...

"Ugh..."

Finally unable to bear the sandy fishy taste filling my mouth any longer, I began dry heaving violently. But fortunately at least now there was no feeling left in my stomach; it seemed that some strength had returned to my legs too.

It was somewhat an improvement amidst despair but if I didn't find shelter soon enough then freezing to death would be inevitable. So using every bit of energy left in me by stepping heavily forward with each footfall despite their weightiness.

After who knows how long passed by when suddenly through pouring rain appeared an indistinct figure within sight!

"Hey!"

Ecstatically shouting out loud while waving both hands vigorously without caring whether or not this person could hear me or even if they were just an illusion - such joyous relief after enduring loneliness along with hunger plus constant threat of death made me feel so powerful again that even steps became light-footed once more.

Waving my hands and running towards that black shadow as fast as I could, it was hard to imagine the joy in my heart at this moment. When someone is enduring loneliness, hunger, and constant threat of death - how terrifying it can be once they are finally liberated! My whole body was filled with strength as I strode towards him confidently. Closer and closer until that rain-soaked figure seemed to have noticed me too; turning around slowly to face me.

"Over here! Over here!" Waving my hand vigorously without caring whether or not he had any hostile intentions or if we spoke different languages.

The shadow seemed to have noticed me and began walking slowly towards me step by step. His slightly hunched back made me realize he must be an elderly person.

I didn't wonder why an old man would linger in such a wilderness during heavy rain; joy had already made my head dizzy.

Finally seeing the figure clearly, I wiped away the sweat from my eyes just as the old man also lifted his head slowly allowing for a sight that would remain unforgettable for life.

That was not an old man at all. The face that was lifted up was shocking - the bald head had been cut in half, and yellow-green brain fluid kept overflowing with rainwater, flowing into the eyes, mouth, and those eyes. The left eye had turned white while the right one fell out but still connected by a thread of flesh and blood. Even from the empty eye socket, you could see the flesh inside it. The lips on his chin were beginning to rot, revealing half of his teeth which constantly rubbed against each other as if trying to smile. His dry body seemed dehydrated even in such heavy rain; it looked like pieces of meat stuck together that could fall off at any time with two big holes on his belly and right thigh. Disgusting maggots crawled all over its rotten organs and muscles.

"Ugh..."

I vomited again, spitting out even the grass and mud I just ate.

This is clearly a living corpse!!

The corpse grinned as if smiling at me while slowly raising its bony hands towards me.

"Ah..."

Full of fear turned my only hope into despair causing me to take several steps back before sitting down on the ground then scrambling up like crazy without direction until I ran...

I don't know how long I've been running for; intense running drained my last bit of strength until finally falling into a small muddy pit where splashing mud gradually engulfed my senses.