"Are we going to be able to go back after this?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"Where is this, Yangzi?" Xiao Yun asked.
"You ask me, who do I ask?
Those mermaids earlier couldn't tell us where we were.
We only know this is Val Mountain and Val Lake.
I don't see any lake water anywhere," Guo Xuyang replied.
"Shouldn't we hurry and find Lu Liang?
He's alone and might encounter some danger," Xiao Yu said.
"We'll go up, he's up there," Guo Xuyang said, turning on his phone's flashlight to illuminate their climb up the mountain for the two of them.
The mountain wasn't steep, but there was no path.
There were countless unknown plants, occasionally snagging Xiao Yun and Xiao Yu's pajamas, offering glimpses of beauty.
Both of them had stumbled here in a daze, having not changed clothes.
Guo Xuyang was in no mood to appreciate the scenery, only focused on lighting the way for them from behind.
Though the mountain didn't appear high, it took them nearly half an hour to climb.
This was only because Lu Liang had seen the lights and came down to meet them.
"Are you alright?" Lu Liang asked as the three of them climbed up.
"We're fine. I fell to the foot of the mountain earlier.
This mountain didn't look high, why did it take so long?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"You looked close, so I came to meet you, and it still took me a long time.
Everything here is bizarre.
I came straight to the summit and wanted to turn back, but there was a cliff behind me," Lu Liang said.
"It seems we've left Earth," Guo Xuyang stated.
"What?" the other three asked in unison.
"I don't want to believe it, but that's the reality.
I don't know if we are on a planet or in some space.
Earlier, I saw a group of mermaids surrounding Xiao Yun and Xiao Yu, making noises.
When I asked, they said this place was Val Mountain and Val Lake," Guo Xuyang explained.
"Notice something, we can't see the moon or stars here at all."
The three looked out and indeed, there were no stars or moon, only a faint light that allowed them to vaguely see the mountains and trees before them.
Guo Xuyang gazed into the distance, his sight piercing through layer after layer of obstacles, as if endless, yet he could find no direction towards Earth.
There was nothing they could do.
The four could only wait for daylight.
After an unknown amount of time, a giant star slowly rose into the sky.
It wasn't the sun; it emitted a cold radiance that shone upon this land.
Everything seemed to awaken, and the sounds of various birds chirping, animals roaring, and other unknown creatures faintly reached them.
Xiao Yun clung tightly to Guo Xuyang's embrace, shivering in just her pajamas.
As the light rose, she felt an intense cold, a chill seeping into her body.
"What's wrong? Are you cold?" Guo Xuyang asked, hugging Xiao Yun.
"Yes. It's especially cold," Xiao Yun nodded.
"And you two? Are you cold?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"We don't feel anything," Xiao Yu and Lu Liang replied.
"Why is that?" Guo Xuyang wondered, clearly feeling Xiao Yun trembling in his arms.
"What did you dream about yesterday?" Guo Xuyang asked Xiao Yun.
"There was a voice calling me, telling me to come here. So I came," Xiao Yun said.
"That voice sounded like yours, saying you were trapped and asking me to come rescue you."
"You were calling me to come?"
"Yes, it was you.
You said you were trapped and asked me to come save you.
When I heard that, I was very worried and got up to come immediately."
"Then close your eyes and sense it, where is that voice?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"After I arrived here, I couldn't hear it anymore, and then I was surrounded by mermaids."
"Try listening carefully again."
Upon hearing Guo Xuyang, Xiao Yun closed her eyes. After a moment, a voice came through.
"I'm here, it's so cold. Hurry and get me out."
Xiao Yun shivered and her eyes snapped open.
"I heard it. He said it's very cold and wants me to get him out."
"Where is it?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"Over there," Xiao Yun pointed in a direction.
"Let's go and see," Guo Xuyang said, taking the lead.
There was no sense of direction here, east, west, north, or south. They could only walk in the direction Xiao Yun pointed.
They walked for a long, long time. The star was about to disappear, and the sky began to darken.
The four of them still hadn't found the place.
Along the way, they encountered all sorts of creatures.
There were birds, beasts, things swimming in the water, crawling on the ground, flying in the sky, but none of them were creatures seen on Earth.
This wasn't just some space; it had to be a planet.
Guo Xuyang still didn't know what kind of planet it was.
He hadn't expected there to be a connection between Earth and such a planet.
Could this be a so-called spacetime tunnel? Or perhaps a black hole?
He couldn't figure it out, so he gave up trying to understand.
They needed to find the source of the voice that attracted Xiao Yun first.
As long as they found this voice, all their questions would be answered.
After walking for an entire day, Xiao Yun could no longer walk. Her feet were covered in blisters.
"Yangzi, I really can't walk anymore. Let's find a place to rest."
Guo Xuyang used his senses and discovered a hut-like structure not far away. He then led the three of them towards it.
"It looks like someone lives here," Lu Liang said after peeking inside.
"Yes. Finally, we might encounter some signs of civilization," Guo Xuyang said, stepping inside.
The inside was filled with thick grass. Guo Xuyang moved the grass down and spread it on the ground.
"Alright, we can get a good night's rest tonight."
"Yangzi, I'm hungry," Xiao Yun said after lying down.
It was better that Xiao Yun mentioned it; only then did the others realize they hadn't eaten all day.
They had been so tense all day that they seemed to have forgotten about eating.
"There's nothing here to eat," Xiao Yu said.
"Why don't I go catch some animals and see if I can find anything?" Lu Liang suggested.
"You guys rest, I'll go take a look. I'll be back," Guo Xuyang said and went out.
He extended his senses as far as possible, spreading them out in the surroundings.
Not far away, he found a small animal that resembled a wild rabbit.
"Collect," he murmured.
The rabbit-like animal was collected into his mind.
His senses continued to extend outwards, and he successively found wild chickens and wild boars, all of which he collected into his mind.
He didn't know how long they would be on this unnamed planet, so he collected all the small animals he could into his mind.
There were seventy to eighty of them in total.
In his mind, there were also instant noodles and various beverages that he had collected previously.
He hadn't expected them to be useful.
If he had known they would come to such a desolate place, he would have collected more food into his mind.