The weather in the valley was truly bizarre. Just moments before, small hailstones had been falling, but soon after, it turned into a sunny day, and the temperature rose as well.
Wang Lan looked at the cliff over which the bus had tumbled. It wasn't very high, about a hundred meters.
"Jiajia, you stay in the bus and wait for me. I'll climb back up the way we came to see if I can flag down a vehicle."
"Brother... the cliff is so high..." Song Jia was actually scared of Wang Lan leaving. In such a perilous situation, children need adults nearby to provide a sense of security.
"It's okay, I can handle this height. Mr. Qin, could you please look after Jiajia for me?"
"Young man, are you a Star Martial Warrior?" the composed middle-aged man asked with a slight smile.
"Yes, but my strength is quite poor."
"Really? I never expected you to be a Star Martial Warrior. That's great..."
To ordinary people, Star Martial Warriors were like superhumans, their physical conditioning and abilities beyond imagination. Having a Star Martial Warrior nearby could provide them with security.
After leaving Song Jia in the care of these parents, Wang Lan dashed toward the cliff and began to climb it with his bare hands.
Luckily, this side of the cliff was not very smooth; the uneven rock face made climbing easier for Wang Lan. Using his hands and feet, he climbed rapidly, his physical prowess far surpassing that of an ordinary person.
Just as he reached halfway, a breeze blew past, and an even thicker fog suddenly rose above him. Wang Lan felt for handholds on the rocks, climbing up the cliff bit by bit.
Looking up at the sky from the bottom of the valley, the sun shone brightly. But after climbing the cliff, it was still so foggy he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. The climate here was too strange. Wang Lan had previously noticed that the hail falling from the sky didn't seem like ordinary hail but more like dry ice.
When the hail had landed on the bus windows, it had released a dense mist, but because it was raining, the mist had vanished instantly. Now, however, the fog in front of him reminded Wang Lan of dry ice.
Normal fog couldn't be as ethereal as this. In typical foggy weather, fog is perceived as still. But the fog before him was rolling violently, and he could even disperse parts of it by waving his hand.
Wang Lan found the uphill path the bus had taken, but the fog obscured his vision so much that he couldn't discern the direction and had nearly stumbled off the cliff again.
CRACK—
A crisp sound rang out as Wang Lan stepped on a broken wooden sign. He picked it up. An English place name was written on it in red paint, though Wang Lan could only recognize the word "town."
An English name? Dammit, did we travel through time? Wang Lan was shocked. Had the bus accidentally entered a wormhole?
In this world where Different Dimensional Spaces frequently opened, Time and Space Tunnels were not rare. At least every year, someone would inadvertently enter one and inexplicably appear hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away.
If we inadvertently entered a Time and Space Tunnel, then the lack of signal on everyone's cell phones would be normal. However, even Mr. Qin's military phone has no signal, and it's equipped with global satellite communication capabilities. That doesn't make sense. Also, it's still daytime, and the sun's angle matches the time on our watches. Logically, the distance deviation shouldn't be too great.
Wang Lan found where the wooden sign had been planted; below it was an arrow. This means there should be a town nearby. Finding it might allow us to contact the outside world.
Wang Lan followed the direction indicated by the sign, almost feeling his way along the edge of the path to avoid veering off course. Suddenly, he stopped. Before him was the very cliff he had just climbed.
If this sign is genuine, does it mean the town is the cliff? Is this a prank, or has something else happened? Or... was the sign destroyed because the town moved away?
Venturing into such heavy fog to explore would be extremely unwise. Not to mention the dangers, if I get lost, who knows when I'd find my way out?
After hesitating at the cliff's edge for a long time, Wang Lan finally decided to go back down and rejoin Mr. Qin and the others to discuss what to do.
Descending the cliff was much faster than climbing up. As he neared the bottom, Wang Lan glanced up. The cliff edge was enveloped in rolling fog, yet the sky above it was bright with sunshine. Truly bizarre weather, he thought.
When he found the bus, the children inside were still sobbing. Only a few injured adults remained, along with Mr. Qin, the only one who could drive.
"Brother..." Song Jia called out, pleasantly surprised, tears still welling in her eyes.
"Young man, did you find anything?"
"No, but I did find a wooden sign." Wang Lan handed the sign to Mr. Qin.
"Cricket Town? Is this overseas?" Mr. Qin was also shocked. Well, now... instead of reaching the Sky Curtain Lake Resort Area, did we just teleport out of the country?
"Mr. Qin, do you know this town?"
"There must be thousands, if not tens of thousands, of towns called Cricket Town around the world. Who knows which one this is? Since it's supposedly overseas, having no signal is normal. Moreover, I suspect this valley has a disruptive magnetic field, interfering with the satellite receivers in our phones. Did you find the town?"
"No. Visibility is still too low. I was worried about the fog, so I came back to discuss things with everyone. Where are the others?"
"They said they were going ahead to see if they could walk out of the valley, hoping to run into someone. But they've been gone for quite a while now..." As he said this, Mr. Qin looked worried.
"Mr. Qiu is leading them?"
"Yes."
"The entire valley is enveloped in dense fog. I'm worried they might risk venturing into it. If they get in and can't get out, it'll be dangerous. How about this: I'll go look for them."
"Alright. We'll have to trouble you then, young man."
"Brother... take me with you?" Song Jia quickly grabbed Wang Lan's clothes.
"If I take you, what if I lose you?"
"I'm the one who made you bring me! I'm more worried I'll lose *you*! I promise I'll hold your hand the whole time."
"Alright!"
Wang Lan couldn't stand Song Jia's pleading eyes. That look was an instant-kill tactic effective on everyone in his family. How could he refuse his adorable little cousin?
Leading Song Jia, Wang Lan set off along the path the parents had explored. He had thought the valley wouldn't be too large, but after half an hour of walking, dense forest still flanked them on both sides, and a seemingly endless gravel beach stretched out before them.
The scorching sun beat down on the earth. Song Jia's face was flushed red, and sweat dripped continuously from her cheeks. She kept sticking out her tongue to lick the corners of her mouth.
"Thirsty?"
"Yes, I forgot to bring my backpack."
"I don't have any water either. Should we look for a source? It's strange. Considering how far they've walked, the parents probably wouldn't want to go any further. They'd rather have Mr. Qin drive the bus over. Even with the broken brakes, he could still drive on this spacious beach."
"Brother, there's a bottle of mineral water!" Song Jia excitedly ran over and picked it up. "It's unopened, and the expiration date is good! We can drink it."
"Wait. Why is there a bottle of mineral water here?"
"Maybe one of the parents accidentally dropped it?"
"In this heat, no parent would willingly discard an unopened bottle of mineral water." He looked around but still saw no one.
"Brother, look! That looks like Li Xiuxiu's mom."
Song Jia's eyesight really was... incredibly sharp. Following her pointing finger, Wang Lan did indeed see a woman in red. He remembered her as one of the parents.
"Hey—"
Wang Lan took Song Jia's hand and, waving, walked towards the woman. The woman turned, saw them, and waved back.
"Over here..." the woman said.
"Why did you all go into the woods? You shouldn't enter forests in unfamiliar places," Wang Lan asked quizzically as he reached the woman.
"We were tired from walking, so we rested at the edge of the forest. I went in to relieve myself, and when I came out, I couldn't find the others. Little brother, have you seen them?"
Shaking his head, Wang Lan replied, "I came from the bus and didn't see anyone. How long have you been separated from them?"
"Only about ten minutes..."
AH—
Song Jia suddenly leaped up. A bloody ear lay next to her foot. It was fresh, the blood still wet.
Could they have had an accident...? Just as the thought arose, a sense of crisis struck him from behind. Wang Lan had no time to think; his body reacted instinctively. He shifted to the side and lashed out with a kick.
Li Xiuxiu's mother suddenly pulled out a fruit knife and attacked Wang Lan. Her speed was far beyond that of an ordinary person. If Wang Lan's movement technique skill hadn't reached Bronze Tier 1, he would have been hit.
"What are you doing?" Song Jia screamed. The next moment, intense fear filled her face.
The skin on the woman's face suddenly turned a vivid green, and her eyes bulged from their sockets like a lobster's.
AH—
Instantly, Song Jia turned deathly pale, gripping Wang Lan's arm tightly. "Ghost! Ghost!"
"Not a ghost, it's a Demon!" Wang Lan shook off Song Jia's hand, warily eying the Demon before him. The most critical issue now was that he was unarmed.
Strike first and gain the upper hand! With that thought, Wang Lan surged forward. Although he had only awakened as a Star Martial Warrior the day before, the system had provided "startup funds," ensuring his Basic Skills were not inferior to other Star Martial Warriors his age.
And Wang Lan had an advantage his peers lacked: Inch Strength Fist.
Inch Strength Fist was an ordinary martial art, one most Star Martial Warriors disdained to learn. In their view, having Star Martial Skills was sufficient; at most, they might also learn Basic Combat or Basic Swordsmanship.
But Star Martial Skills consumed Star Power. In contrast, an ordinary martial art like Inch Strength Fist, which could produce effects comparable to Star Martial Skills without consuming Star Power, could be a Star Martial Warrior's hidden trump card.
Wang Lan punched at the Demon's head, while the fruit knife in its hand stabbed viciously at his throat.
If he hadn't undergone the training to overcome his fear of death just yesterday, that knife strike would have been fatal. So, Wang Lan was fortunate. After conquering his fear, a life-and-death battle felt almost no different from training.
Wang Lan had also diligently trained in unarmed combat against armed opponents.
The key to unarmed combat against an armed opponent was to be quick, precise, and ruthless—to disarm them by surprise. Wang Lan instantly changed his move. A knife-hand strike chopped down on the Demon's knife-wielding wrist. Power surged from the edge of his hand, and the knife flew from the Demon's grasp.
Without the slightest hesitation, Wang Lan pressed forward again.
"Inch Strength—"
BOOM!
His fist struck the Demon's chest with a dull thud!
"Triple Force—"
Fingertips, knuckles, fist—the three stages of Inch Strength Fist exploded instantly. The Demon's red dress burst into shreds, scattering like butterflies.
Only then did the fruit knife, sent flying earlier, fall from the sky.
Wang Lan snatched up the fruit knife with lightning speed. Before the Demon could recover from his assault, he stabbed the knife into its throat and slashed sideways, opening a gruesome wound.