"It's not that I won't participate, it's that we won't participate together," Carl explained. "Besides, is the exam more important than my sister's life?"

"I... They?" William stared. "Do you mean I have to go with you?"

"On what grounds?"

"Don't you want to live?" William reminded him. "If I recall correctly, you said you were going to be killed on August 11th."

"There's only one way to survive – to escape." "To where?"

"You mentioned how many monsters there are in this world. Even if we escape from here, we'll still encounter monsters."

"As long as the monsters here don't find out."

"We'll run to a place where no one knows us, and as long as we continue to pretend we haven't seen these monsters, they won't harm us. After all, they don't know us, so they won't know if we have 'owners.'"

William contemplated this and decided that Carl had a point. "But..."

"Don't be indecisive." Before William could continue, Carl interrupted, "Death is the only other option, so we might as well fight. Are you willing to be devoured by those monsters?"

"I'm not resigned to that," William replied, shaking his head. "I want to live and, if possible, find my birth parents."

"In that case, it's settled," Carl said. "I'll give you an address. Go back and pack your things at noon, and come straight here this afternoon. I'll meet you there."

"Don't bring any clothing or belongings. It's too troublesome. Bring money if you have any." The announcement signaling the end of the test sounded, and students in the building began leaving the examination room one after another.

Carl hastened to speak, "Remember, the monsters must not notice."

After reaching an agreement, the two of them left the school building one after another.

Noon passed quickly, and it was almost four o'clock in the afternoon when William arrived at the designated meeting place.

"Why did you take so long?" Carl furrowed his brow when he saw William's late arrival. William didn't reply immediately, his gaze fixed on the girl standing beside Carl.

The girl had a braid in her hair and big, innocent eyes.

As if aware of William's attention, the girl smiled shyly, revealing dimples on her cheeks.

"Is this our sister?" William asked.

"Do you want to die?" Carl scowled. "I asked you a question. Why are you so late?"

"It's easy for you to say," William muttered, pouting. "The monster escorted me to school and didn't leave until he saw me inside."

"I was afraid to leave through the school gate, so I hid in the restroom and sneaked out through the back wall after the afternoon exam started."

"The afternoon exam starts at three, and you're far away, so it's early for me to be here." "The monster? What kind of monster?" Lucy asked, curious.

"Games," Carl quickly interjected. "He said it was a game," Carl said as he moved William aside. "Did you tell your sister about the monsters?" William asked.

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Carl shook his head and replied, "No, she's still young, and I didn't want to scare her. Besides, my sister is quite simple, and if she knew, I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to pretend she didn't know, making it easier for the monsters to discover her."

"She's not that young," William looked back at Lucy.

"Where are you looking? Do you want me to gouge your eyes out?"

"No, I wasn't looking at anything," William quickly redirected his attention. "So, where are we going now? Are we taking a train?"

"No, no cars," Carl responded. "It's too conspicuous and can be easily tracked." "Why not take a train?"

"We'll go on foot."

"On foot?" William paused. "Are you kidding? Walking out of here on our own two legs?"

Carl nodded and explained, "Ever since I discovered the existence of monsters, I've been exploring safe routes out of here whenever possible."

"I've scouted almost all the areas around here. We'll walk through the Sifang Mountains, and on foot, we can reach the city in about five days. Once we're in the city where no one knows us, we'll take the bus."

At this point, Carl suddenly raised his head and gazed into the distance. He turned to look at William and whispered, "Someone's coming."

"Did the monsters find out about our escape so soon?" William tensed at Carl's words. But Carl shook his head and reassured him, "It's not a monster; it's a human."

"You scared me," William sighed with relief. "You wouldn't be afraid if you were a human."

"No," Carl's expression grew serious. "This place is remote, and it's far from any road. Almost no one comes here."

"Carl..." Just then, Lucy approached from the side.

Lucy didn't understand why her brother suddenly wanted to take her away, but she trusted him unconditionally. However, she remembered that she had an afternoon appointment with her classmates to go shopping, and she wanted to buy a gift for her brother.

"Should I wait here?" Lucy whispered to Carl.

"Go ahead and meet your classmates. We'll catch up later," Carl whispered back. While Lucy waited, Carl and William had a tense conversation.

"Carl, could that be one of your sister's classmates coming over?" William asked, his voice low. "Maybe," Carl replied, but his expression turned sour.

William noticed the change in Carl's face and inquired, "What's wrong with you?" "Behind that man, there's a monster following," Carl revealed.

"A monster?" Lin Hang was taken aback. "How did you not notice it earlier?"

"My range of perception is limited," Carl explained. "I can only sense targets within an 800-meter radius."

"800 meters?" William realized the gravity of the situation. "So the monster is very close to us now?" Carl reassured him, "Not necessarily. They might not be coming for us."

But then Lucy tried to call her classmate, and the phone of the man who was approaching rang. William connected the dots. "Wait a minute! In the timeline I've experienced before, you said you went back and found your sister among those monsters."

"That means your sister was killed while we were taking our exams," William deduced, a grim expression on his face.

William checked the time on his phone and added, "We should be taking the college entrance examination in the examination room right now. Could it be that the time when your sister was killed is now?"

Carl realized the urgency of the situation. "Cloud, let's go!" he urged, grabbing Lucy and turning to run. William followed suit. Lucy, however, suddenly remembered something.

"Brother, I suddenly remembered that I have an appointment with my classmates to go shopping together in the afternoon," Lucy whispered to Carl. "Because my brother's college entrance examination is over today, I want to buy a gift for you."

"Where were you supposed to meet?" Carl asked softly.

Lucy explained, "My classmate said she would pick me up on her electric bike. The location of the welfare institute is hard to find, so my classmates and I agreed to meet here."

However, when Lucy tried calling her classmate, there was no answer.

"Strange, why isn't anyone answering the phone?" Lucy wondered aloud.

Carl's expression grew serious. "That man who was coming here... he's following a monster!" "What? How did you not find it earlier?" Lin Hang was surprised.

"Why is that...?" William noticed the change in Carl's face. "Behind that man... a monster is chasing him!" Carl exclaimed. "You... what's wrong with you?" William questioned Carl.

"Lucy, don't be afraid. I'm here," Carl assured his sister, positioning himself between Lucy and the approaching monster.

However, when the electric bike arrived, it was Lucy's classmate who had come to meet her. She was terrified and said, "Lucy, there's a monster! A monster is chasing me!"

William heard a faint gasp, and then, a monstrous figure appeared before them. It had six long worm- like legs, sickle-shaped forearms, barbed tentacles on its belly, and large compound eyes. Its appearance was grotesque and eerie.

Lucy was frightened, and Carl stood protectively in front of her. William, however, noticed that something was off about this monster.

"Carl, the appearance of this monster... something's not right," William whispered.