Chen's shrill roar was deafening, so loud that even Yang, who was quite a distance away, could hear it!
Yang wasn't that far from Chen, less than two kilometers.
He could hear the roar clearly!
"Whose voice was that...?"
The rage and grief in the roar were chilling.
Yang's first thought was - that's a ghost!
He immediately took off running, racing through the maze of paths, his sole focus to get as far away from the source of the roar as possible.
As he ran, the roar continued, his heart pounding with terror.
Then, he recognized... it was Chen's voice!
Could it be... had he encountered a ghost?
He pushed himself harder, increasing his speed.
All along, Yang had been conserving his energy, avoiding exhaustion.
But the roar threw his plan off.
Fear of the "ghost" being near forced him to expend almost all his remaining energy in a few minutes.
When he stopped, he was gasping for breath, his body weak.
He must have run over two kilometers.
Even for him, with his excellent athletic record, he had reached his limit.
He needed a break before he could continue.
"The 'ghost' ... wouldn't still be nearby, would it?"
Yang looked around nervously, even peering up at the sky.
Thankfully, the "ghost" wasn't chasing him.
He breathed a sigh of relief...
If the voice had been Chen, it meant... someone had already been found?
And judging by the shrill roar... being found by the "ghost" didn't sound good at all!
Just imagining it made Yang tremble.
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So soon... someone was found!
Of course, he didn't know that Zhang had been found even earlier.
To confirm, Yang called Chen on his phone.
But the message on the other end was: "Sorry, the number you dialed is not in service..."
Not in service? What did that mean?
Chen couldn't have left the mountain.
That meant...
"Calm down! Stay calm! Don't panic!" Yang took a few deep breaths, trying to reassure himself. "It's nothing... It's probably just a coincidence. The 'ghost' happened to run into Chen. It wouldn't happen again... it couldn't."
But no matter what he did, he couldn't suppress his fear.
Yang was no longer able to maintain his composure.
He kept wiping the sweat dripping from his forehead and decided to change his plan.
He would keep moving erratically, trying to minimize the chance of encountering the "ghost".
Twelve hours... it felt so long!
So many things could happen in that time!
Even if the mountain was huge, it was hard to guarantee he wouldn't run into it somewhere.
The weeds on the ground seemed to be getting thicker, and the path was becoming rougher.
As Yang walked, he suddenly stepped into thin air, falling into a pit!
Luckily, the pit was only ten meters deep.
Yang only sustained a few injuries, and the soil was relatively soft, so his leg didn't break.
Could it be a trap for animals?
Yang immediately looked up at the opening above, knowing there was no way he could climb out.
The pit was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person.
In other words... if the "ghost" happened to pass by and see him...
He had to call Tang or Zhang to rescue him!
He immediately pulled out his phone, but was stunned to see it was broken!
Would he be trapped in this pit until midnight?
It wasn't a good hiding spot.
If it were covered from above, making it invisible, that would be different.
But as it was... anyone passing by could see him!
And the pit was so small, there was no place to hide.
It was surrounded by dirt and rocks, offering no protection.
Digging a hole?
He stood up and tried to dig with his hands but quickly gave up.
He couldn't dig very deep with just his hands, even if he dug until nightfall.
And even if he dug a hole and squeezed in, he wouldn't be able to hide!
He tried to climb up, but there was nowhere to get a foothold... it was too smooth!
He climbed for five minutes, but hadn't even gone up a meter.
A rope?
He had a thick, long rope in his backpack, maybe it could be useful.
But... without tying the other end to something, he couldn't climb up!
He needed someone to hold the other end for him.
He couldn't get out alone...
Driven by a fierce will to survive, he continued to try and climb up...
An hour passed...
Two hours passed...
Three hours passed...
As the sky began to be swallowed by darkness, Yang felt almost hopeless.
He looked at his watch.
It was six o'clock, only six hours left before the end.
Fear overwhelmed him.
He didn't even feel hungry anymore.
What to do?
What to do?
What to do?
"Whoever dug this hole, I'll curse their ancestors!" Yang cursed, losing his composure.
His phone was broken... the rope was useless... he couldn't climb up...
Now, he could only pray that the "ghost" wouldn't pass by.
At least... the moon wasn't very bright tonight.
Would the darkness help him escape?
But then Yang thought... what about midnight?
How could he get back to the apartment if he couldn't get out?
If he couldn't return to the apartment, the game of hide-and-seek with the "ghost" would continue indefinitely!
Endless... just the thought sent chills down his spine!
If time went on forever, the "ghost" would eventually find him!