Chapter 10: Blooming Again

Erin felt it was ridiculous that Yu Sheng could live in an "anomaly" for so long without realizing it—but Yu Sheng thought this whole world was ridiculous.

"So, according to you, this world is full of 'anomalies,' right?" Hiding in a corner of the ruined temple, Yu Sheng chatted casually with Erin in his mind. "It's just that most people can't reach them? Because they can't observe them?"

"Something like that, but whether the whole 'world' is really like that... actually, I'm not quite sure," Erin said. "After all, the world is huge, right? But at least within the bounds of 'Boundary City'... anomalies appear very frequently, so this place is also called the 'Borderlands' or something... I don't know the specifics. I've been in the painting too long, and my mind is a bit fuzzy."

"Borderlands?" Yu Sheng raised an eyebrow, feeling a vague sense of déjà vu at the name, but then he noticed another piece of information Erin had just revealed—

She had specifically emphasized "within the bounds of Boundary City"—so, this vast city that seemed endless actually had an "outside"!

He hesitated for two or three seconds, then couldn't help asking, "What's... outside Boundary City?"

"Outside Boundary City? Maybe more cities? Maybe... the ocean?" Erin's answer was vague. "I don't remember either. I really have been in this painting for too long. I only remember a little bit about this city..."

She suddenly stopped, then asked with some confusion, "Don't you know? You've never left Boundary City?"

Yu Sheng's mouth twitched, and he fell silent.

How would he know! He'd only been here two months—not only hadn't he been outside Boundary City, he hadn't even figured out the bus routes four blocks from his own home!

But after a long silence, he decided not to bring it up—he wasn't ready to reveal this secret about himself to a "cursed painting" he'd only just met.

"I've never been out. I'm kind of a homebody... Anyway, let's not talk about that," he said, brushing it off. "Let's focus on getting me out of this mess. How do I get out of this so-called 'anomaly'? And... anomalies can be exited, right?"

Erin thought for a moment on the other end, as if sorting through her confused and hazy memories from long imprisonment, before finally replying: "Anomalies... there are many kinds. Sometimes it might be a house that doesn't exist on any map, sometimes it might be an extra platform on a bus route, sometimes it might even be a forest, a country you can step into by opening a closet door—basically, smaller anomalies usually have relatively fixed and obvious exits, or follow specific rules to return to reality. But the larger the anomaly, the more complicated the situation."

She paused, then continued, "I can't really remember the specifics. There should be a complete classification system for anomalies, with some kind of 'depth' classification and 'danger level' classification standards, but I've really... been in this painting too long..."

Her voice trailed off, sounding a little disappointed.

Yu Sheng wanted to make a sarcastic remark, thinking that this puppet had rambled on and on without any useful information, but after hearing her quiet mutter at the end, he shut his mouth and didn't argue with Erin like before.

She was trying her best to help—she had just been sealed away for too long.

"Let's look around. We'll find the exit eventually," Yu Sheng shook his head and looked up at the valley outside the ruined temple. "This place looks pretty big. At least as far as I can see, there are mountains on both sides and a forest in the distance. According to you, leaving... might not be easy."

"Mm," Erin hummed. "You can first check the area around your 'original landing point' after entering the anomaly. Look for anything that seems out of place with the surrounding environment—something you feel instinctively shouldn't be there. Usually, the exit of an anomaly is near that. If there's nothing nearby, find a high place and see if you can spot any mirror-like reflections or hear continuous wind sounds...

"But even if you find something like that, don't rush to touch it. It could also be a trap leading to a 'deeper layer.' I can't... explain it clearly. You have to rely on your instincts."

"Instincts?" Yu Sheng couldn't help speaking up.

"...Yes, strictly speaking, what you need is 'inspiration'—a kind of spiritual intuition. Trained investigators learn this perception method. I know you haven't been trained, but right now there's no other choice. You'll just have to tough it out.

"But don't worry too much. Spirituality exists in all intelligent beings. Even untrained ordinary people have it; it's just not activated. If you're careful, you can feel the warnings and omens that come from your own essence. If you really encounter something you can't judge, tell me, and I'll... try to help."

Yu Sheng agreed, slowly emerging from his hiding corner and cautiously walking toward the ruined temple's main door—that unsettling feeling of being watched and that hunger were still surrounding him, and even seemed to have permeated the surrounding air, becoming part of the entire valley. But he gritted his teeth and stepped out anyway.

Because, based on the information Erin had given him, he had to find an "exit" as soon as possible to get out of this place—waiting in a corner wouldn't make a door open in front of him.

Meanwhile, trying to relieve his tension, he chatted casually with Erin.

"You said the place I've been living in is an 'anomaly.' How did you figure that out? I don't think there's anything wrong with my home..."

"I could sense it," Erin replied. "It's that 'inspiration' I mentioned. I can clearly feel that there's something off about that building—of course, on the surface it all seems normal... I don't know how that works."

"Still going by feelings..." Yu Sheng shook his head. "So, according to you, every day I go home and step through the door, I'm entering an anomaly, and when I open the door to go out, I'm leaving the anomaly? Then my home is really a 'good anomaly'—free to come and go, harmless."

After two or three seconds, Erin spoke softly: "...Opening the door and going out doesn't always take you where you want to go, does it?"

Yu Sheng's expression froze instantly, recalling how he had gotten unluckily trapped here in the first place.

He thought he knew what was "off" about his "home."

Come to think of it, the fact that he had lived peacefully in that big house for two whole months was already a miracle in itself!

As they spoke, he had returned to the open space in front of the ruined temple—his "landing point" when he first entered this anomaly.

"There's nothing here," Yu Sheng said after carefully checking the area, confirming that there was no "incongruous key object" like Erin had described. "Looks like it's not that easy."

"Yeah, that was to be expected," Erin sighed. "Then try to walk a bit further outward, but remember, don't touch anything that's glowing or suddenly moves in front of you. Also, unless absolutely necessary, don't eat or drink anything in the anomaly..."

"I know... Would it be better to search during the day?" Yu Sheng asked, looking up at the sky that seemed perpetually covered with a murky veil. "It feels eerie moving around at night in the wild."

"Anomalies often defy common sense. Daytime isn't necessarily safer, and... there might not even be a daytime," Erin said immediately. "I suggest you find the exit as soon as possible. If you drag it out, things might change on your end."

Yu Sheng pursed his lips, then reluctantly walked further away.

And just as he stepped out of the temple grounds—he heard a sound.

At first, it was just a faint, indistinct breathing sound.

Yu Sheng instinctively looked toward the direction of the sound and saw a wisp of white mist slowly dissipating in the air, as if some invisible giant beast had just exhaled a puff of foul air.

He heard the sound, and so the giant beast's breath was born.

He saw the white mist, and so the existence of the giant beast began to be confirmed.

Shadows emerged in the air. A shadow nearly three times Yu Sheng's size was slowly taking shape before him, accompanied by heavy breathing.

Now, he could see the giant beast's outline—the giant beast existed.

Yu Sheng's heart tightened instantly. A tremendous sense of crisis crashed down upon him, even heavier than the pressure from that frog in the rain!

And just as he felt his heart clench, the shadow solidified.

It was something Yu Sheng had never seen before—a bear? A lion? An eagle? Or a tiger and a snake? Countless grotesque, bizarre, yet seemingly familiar limbs were stacked on that huge, ugly ball of flesh, as if many wild animals had been melted together in a cauldron, then mixed into a single mass and crawled out. This nauseating monstrosity used its swollen limbs of varying sizes and shapes to support its massive body, looking down at Yu Sheng, and in those haphazardly layered eyes... was filled with hunger.

Yu Sheng slowly looked up, meeting the beast's gaze.

Without any hesitation, the beast lunged down—at the critical moment, Yu Sheng ducked low, narrowly dodging past one of the beast's huge jaws.

And then fell into its other gaping mouth.

Sharp teeth slammed shut, instantly tearing away a small part of Yu Sheng's body. But at that moment, the searing pain seemed to turn into a distant, numb illusion. Everything in front of him slowed down. He saw a snake-like limb stretch out from behind the beast, another huge mouth bite onto him, tearing at what remained below his chest—he saw his own heart again.

His heart was beating slowly, then disappeared into the snake's maw.

"Fuck you!"

Yu Sheng squeezed out a curse from his throat. He knew he seemed about to die again, but he felt he couldn't just let it end like this.

When the last bit of muscle in his body could still contract, he mustered all his strength to turn his head and bite down hard on something beside him—he didn't know what part of the beast it was, and he didn't know what biting it would accomplish, but he just knew he had bitten it.

At least he'd tear off a piece of flesh before dying.

Yu Sheng used up all his strength in that moment. He fiercely tore at the beast, and the beast tore at him. Blood and flesh, claws and fangs, food and diner...

Just before his thoughts sank into complete darkness, Yu Sheng forced out one last thought in his mind—he spoke softly to Erin, who was far away somewhere: "Erin..."

"Huh?"

"Nothing important. I'm hanging up."

Erin was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding.

And then Yu Sheng died.