“Achoo!” Xu Deyi sneezed. He walked to Gao Ming’s side while rubbing his hands. He used Gao Ming to block the wind. “It’s so cold. Let’s head back inside.”
“I fear it’s not safer inside the manor.” Different nightmares posed different dangers. Without hesitation, Gao Ming shared his findings with Bai Feng. They both turned to the fourth floor.
“The things outside want to get into the manor. The owner’s warnings should be without malice.” After the snowman disappeared, Gao Ming thought everything looked unsafe. “Should we go back?”
“The first day should be the safest. We shan’t waste it.” Bai Feng frowned as she took in the shivering Xu Deyi. “The three of you can go back first. I’ll take a look around. We’ll gather in the kitchen before dark. If I don’t return, you need to be careful.” Before Gao Ming could say anything, Bai Feng turned and left. She moved rapidly as if the cold winds didn’t affect her at all.
“Her physique is scarily impressive.” Gao Ming noticed something. Bai Feng’s confidence not only came from her experience but also from something else. His hand went subconsciously to his heart. Gao Ming touched something hard. The walkie-talkie followed him into the game. “Perhaps Bai Feng has something similar. It can be used in the nightmares to affect them to a certain degree.”
Gao Ming noticed this when they were in storage. Jiang Miaomiao’s silly brother and Zhi Ge appeared to possess superhuman power. They could move heavy objects easily in the dream.
Silly’s power could be explained through his extended stay in his sister’s dream. However, Zhi Ge was a normal person. His unusual performance meant that he had gained some benefits from other nightmares.
“In that case, the brain realm games are not simple. It can really strengthen one’s mind and ability.”
Xu Deyi shivered nonstop. Silly’s ears and face were red from the chill. However, Gao Ming barely seemed to be affected.
“Let’s go back. I’m about to die from the cold.” Xu Deyi’s lips turned purple. His hair and brows were stuck with snow.
“Okay.” The three walked around the courtyard. They returned to the manor without even leaving the front gate. Strangely enough, once they entered the manor, the temperature rose instantly. Even though it was still cold, it was not bone-chilling anymore.
“I feel alive again.” Xu Deyi shook off the snow on his clothes. He started to help Silly pack away the backpack. Soon, their stomachs started to grumble. The three rushed into the kitchen. Xu Deyi didn’t put on the apron and started to move the ingredients out of the fridge.
“Silly, start the fire!” Xu Deyi was hungry and cold. “You’re lucky. I attended culinary school before I joined the mafia.”
Flame rose in the stove. The warmth made the temperature go higher. Xu Deyi and Silly’s frozen faces slowly returned to normal. Footsteps came from outside the kitchen. Zhi Ge’s group rushed in. They were angry because Xu Deyi used the kitchen without informing them. “How are you back so soon? Did you even search the outside?” Qian Jin was shocked.
“Fuck! Do you know how cold it is outside?” Xu Deyi had been dissatisfied with them for a long time already. “If you want to go outside, feel free. I’m cooking.”
“The food belongs to everyone. If you want to cook, wait for everyone to come back first.” Zhi Ge’s tone was sharp. He believed Gao Ming’s group was a burden. “Where’s Bai Feng?”
“She left to explore on her own,” Xu Deyi answered impatiently.
Since Bai Feng wasn’t there, Yao Yao and Zhi Ge’s tones became more arrogant, “We don’t know how long we’ll be trapped here. We need to ration out the food.”
Yao Yao swiped the chicken Xu Deyi was cleaning. She glared at Silly, who added firewood to the stove. “Stop wasting the wood! The fire is big enough!” The two teams already didn’t like each other at first. Qian Jin wanted to be a peacemaker, but he also thought Silly was useless.
Qian Jin glanced at Gao Ming and stepped forward. “You can cook the chicken. When Sister Bai returns, we can eat together.”
“Did you find any clues inside the manor?” Gao Ming didn’t want to have a conflict with them, not because he was scared, but because he thought it was pointless.
“Then, who gave you the right to mock me?” Xu Deyi took back the kitchen and ignored them.
The snow fell on the windowsill. The glass frosted over. The fragrance of the chicken soup wafted through the kitchen. Night arrived. The manor door opened at the last moment. Bai Feng stumbled into the lobby wet.
“Sister Bai!” Yao Yao welcomed her. The way she treated Bai Feng and Xu Deyi couldn’t be more different. However, Sister Bai ignored her. She sighed in relief when she entered the kitchen and realised everyone was fine.
Xu Deyi scooped her a bowl of soup. He cleverly added more chicken for her. “Have you been to the east lake? How is the situation there?”
Standing beside the fire, Bai Feng ignored the chicken soup. She didn’t change out of her wet clothes. She said seriously, “I have three bad news.”
“Three?” Everyone lost their appetite.
“One, I can’t find the way to leave, and the storm is getting heavier. We might be trapped here.
“Two, the owner is lying. I’ve been to the east lake. There is no water sports equipment. There is only an abandoned graveyard. Therefore, this place is not a normal holiday villa, even in the summer.
“Three,” Bai Feng sighed, “I found handprints and footprints in the snow outside the manor.”
“Footprints and not shoeprints?” Gao Ming confirmed.
“It looked like they were left behind by people walking on the snow barefooted.” Bai Feng was worried. “The footprints, I can understand, but why handprints? Are people crawling through the snow?”
The violin stopped. The fire lit up everyone’s concerned faces.
“Let’s eat for now. We’ll find a room so we can discuss this further afterwards. No matter what, we have to survive this first night.” Qian Jin tried to rally the troops.