After saying that, he coughed a few times, then lifted the swaying kerosene lamp again and walked outside.

　　The snow had stopped, but the wind was still blowing.

　　The howling wind slammed against the door and the treetops, sounding like human wails.

　　"It's begun," Chi said softly.

　　As soon as he finished speaking, a strong wind blew outside, slamming the half-closed door against the wall with a loud bang.

　　With a crack, the seemingly sturdy wooden door was directly smashed into pieces.

　　Everyone in the room was silent, and finally Chi spoke first, "It must be about making coffins."

　　"How could this be, how could this be!!" A cry of despair rang out in the room.

　　 Lin turned his head and saw that a man in their group was having a breakdown, "This is a crazy world - how can we possibly survive, who knows how to make coffins, we're going to die, we're going to die here!!"

　　Chi seemed to have seen this kind of scene countless times, and his expression remained unmoved.

　　The man who was having a breakdown roared, smashing everything on the table onto the floor, tears and snot streaming down his face.

　　"There were thirteen people when we first arrived, and two died on the first day... ,I've never encountered anything like this before!!"

　　"Alright!" Chi said impatiently, "Are you going to die just because you're crying? What are you freaking out about, do you think you're the newcomer? "

　　But the man's mental breakdown wasn't really a strange thing.

　　 It was an alien space different from the normal world, with all sorts of terrifying omens, making it hard for anyone to remain calm.

　　"Let's first discuss what to do," Chi said, "The village headman said he wants to make coffins, that must be the key."

　　Lin said, "Excuse me, what do you mean by key?"

　　Chi glanced at him, "It's the thing used to open the door, after we come in, we need to find the key to get out based on the clues provided by the people inside, and then find an iron door to leave here."

　　Lin said, "Is there a time limit?"

　　Chi sneered, "Of course, before everyone dies."

　　So that's it, Lin felt a little relieved, at least there was a way to get out.

　　What he was most afraid of was that kind of unsolvable horror.

　　Unable to escape, unable to shake it off, no matter what you did, it was all in vain.

　　"The clue is the coffin," Chi looked at the weather outside, "Let's go find the people in the village who do woodworking and ask around."

　　"Okay," Xiao said, "I'll go with you."

　　Lin raised his hand, "I want to go too."

　　Chi nodded indifferently, "Alright."

　　Unknowingly, he had become the leader of the entire team.

　　He instructed, "You guys check the building, see if there are any useful clues."

　　At this time, Ruan came forward and gently pulled on Lin's sleeve, whispering, "I'm scared, I want to stay with you."

　　Although this girl was indeed quite tall, but she was so beautiful that it made people feel a bit pity for her.

　　Lin nodded, "Alright, but I can't guarantee I can protect you."

　　Ruan smiled, "It's okay."

　　She flipped her hair back, "It's reassuring to be with you."

　　Lin thought, this girl knows how to flirt.

　　So the four of them took advantage of the early daylight and quickly went out.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

　　Along the way, Lin asked Chi about some details of this world, learning that the ghosts and monsters here don't generally kill people indiscriminately.

　　But there are exceptions, if you encounter a high-difficulty world, the ghosts and monsters will be uninhibited, and they can act whenever they want.

　　If you encounter such a situation, it will be a nine-out-of-ten chance of death.

　　"What is the meaning of this world's existence?" Lin asked the question he was most curious about.

　　Chi looked at him deeply after hearing this question, "You'll know when you're alive and back home."

　　"Oh."

　　They learned the address of the carpenter in the village from the villagers.

　　The snowy road was really too difficult to walk on, and it took them almost an hour to get there.

　　Lin took the opportunity to observe the village.

　　The village wasn't big, surrounded by dense forests.

　　 It was fine during the day, but as soon as it snowed, the roads out were basically cut off.

　　There weren't many people in the village either, you could occasionally see two or three people walking on the roadside.

　　 Logically speaking, it would be special to encounter strangers in a place like this, but judging from the villagers' expressions, they didn't seem curious at all about Lin and his companions' arrival.

　　The carpenter's house was at the east end of the village.

　　When they arrived outside, they saw a faint light from an oil lamp inside.

　　Chi stepped forward and knocked on the door.

　　 After a moment, a short old man appeared behind the door.

　　He was probably in his sixties or seventies, with sparse hair, wearing a tattered gray padded jacket.

　　His face was covered in wrinkles, his eyes were cloudy, he said, "Do you have any business here?"

　　"It's too cold outside, can we talk inside?" Chi asked.

　　The old man didn't say anything, but turned around and opened the door.

　　The four of them outside filed in.

　　The house wasn't big, and it was very messy.

　　Lin observed the surroundings and noticed that the window had a broken hole.

　　 Someone had roughly nailed a wooden board to the window frame, simply blocking the wind.

　　"Old man, we were invited by the village head to make coffins." Chi said, "But we don't know much about this, I heard you're the most famous carpenter in the village, can you give me some advice?"

　　The old man gave Chi a cold look, "To make a coffin, first you need to chop down a tree,, send the wood to me, then go to the temple to pray, and then you can start making it."

　　Chi caught the keyword, "Go to the temple to pray?"

　　The old man nodded, "There's an ancient temple beside the village, here, making coffins is bad luck, you have to pray first, pray, pray."

　　He repeated the word "pray" countless times, making people uncomfortably uneasy.

　　"What about after you pray?" Chi said.

　　The old man didn't say anything.

　　Chi said, "hey?"

　　The old man still didn't speak.

　　After repeated questioning by Chi, the old man smiled.

　　The smile looked extremely sinister in the reflection of the firelight.

　　He lowered his voice and said, "When you're still alive, come back and ask me then."

　　Chi's face turned green.

　　Ruan didn't hold back at all, she said, "Don't be like that, old man, it's so cold out, what if you die before we're done?"

　　The old man sneered, "This old man has a tough life."

　　Ruan: "I think you'll only be tough when you're dead."

　　The old man: "..."

　　Everyone else: "..."

　　Lin thought, why are you so proficient at this, is it really okay to be so disrespectful to NPCs?

　　Normally, people would be a little scared when they encounter someone with such a terrifying aura, but looking at Ruan, she rolled her eyes without any problem at all.

　　"Alright, alright." Lin said, "Don't force him if he doesn't want to talk..."

　　Ruan said, "How can we not force him? If we're the ones who die first, we'll just accept it, but what if he dies first?"

　　As she said this, she rolled up her sleeves and looked around the room, finally stopping at a stick as thick as her arm.

　　Lin cursed in his heart, thinking, are you really going to use violence?

　　This is a horror world, is it really okay to use violence against NPCs?

　　Who knew that before Ruan picked up the stick, the old man caved first.

　　He said angrily, "After you pray, go fill a well, and then the coffin will be done!"

　　Ruan: " Li, he's glaring at me~"

　　Lin: "... You were much scarier than him just now."

　　Chi didn't expect this kind of operation either, he and Xiao were both stunned for a moment.

　　They had been polite to everyone they had met in this world, afraid of offending them, who knew that Ruan wasn't playing by the rules at all.

　　And she got the final answer so easily - although this answer might not be entirely correct.

　　They had been here for almost a day, and Chi had only just learned Ruan's name.

　　 Yesterday, he saw Ruan crying her eyes out, and he thought that Ruan wouldn't be able to survive in this world for long, so he didn't even ask her name.

　　But after Ruan's impressive performance just now, Chi felt that she wasn't as vulnerable as she seemed.

　　"Weren't you scared just now?" Chi asked her.

　　Ruan's answer was convincing, she said, "Scared? Why be scared? It's one thing to be afraid of ghosts, but being afraid of people is too pathetic. 　Besides, this kind of person is clearly a key NPC, if he really dies, our information will be cut off, then how can we survive until the end?"

　　The three of them were speechless, they actually felt she had a point.

　　At least they had gotten crucial information from the carpenter, everyone felt a little more at ease, so they decided to go back and tell everyone.

　　Although it was daytime, the sky was covered with a thick layer of clouds.

　　 It wasn't snowing, but a biting wind was howling.

　　Ruan was wearing her long dress, with two thick padded jackets over it.

　　She followed behind Lin, her frail and thin appearance seemed like she could be blown away by the wind at any moment.

　　Lin felt sorry for her, so he reached out and pulled her, letting her walk in front of him, and blocking the wind for her.

　　Ruan was touched, she blinked her beautiful eyes and asked Lin, "You're so nice."

　　Lin said, "You're welcome."

　　Ruan said, "Are you nice to everyone?"

　　 "...Have I ever been this nice to Chi? It's because you're pretty." He joked, "You're just pretty."

　　Chi, who was walking in front, said, "I heard that."

　　Ruan, hearing this, showed a thoughtful expression, "So as long as I'm pretty?"

　　Lin thought she was just playing around, so he said randomly, "Of course you also have to be tall."

　　 "Oh..."