After vomiting, he lifted his head with difficulty and found that the threat had departed. The courage he had mustered instantly dissipated, and he plopped onto the ground, gasping for air.

  Suddenly, he burst into laughter. Thinking carefully, the Great One had sent him here and prepared everything so thoroughly—how could he possibly be killed off right away? Now that he considered it, the giant bird was clearly also arranged by the Great One to help dispose of the corpse, eliminating all traces and removing any future trouble.

  Having figured this out, Chen Ming looked around and suddenly noticed a faint light in the distance. Perhaps that was where human habitation lay.

  He wasted no time and immediately walked toward the glow.

  The journey was far from peaceful. He could sense countless predators lurking in the forest, eyeing him covetously, yet none dared to strike.

  Along the way, he even encountered several jackal-like creatures standing upright like humans, fighting over a human corpse. When they noticed Chen Ming, they collectively reacted like a startled flock of cats—fur bristling, they encircled him while emitting low growls.

  Terrified down to his bones, Chen Ming didn't dare linger. He broke into a frantic sprint, and fortunately, the creatures didn't give chase.

  Before long, the view opened up before him. He had emerged from the forest and stepped onto a cinder road. The road surface was smooth and intact, clearly maintained regularly—proof that civilization still existed here.

  Chen Ming breathed a sigh of relief and observed carefully. On the cinder road, there were no monsters. He could even see creatures lurking at the edge of the road, but they dared not set foot on it, as if something here made them wary.

  With the threat of monsters gone, Chen Ming boldly proceeded along the cinder path. He hadn't walked far when he abruptly stopped short, because ahead of him appeared something strange—not monsters, but a bizarre sight he could hardly describe.

  The first impression of what lay before him was an unusual darkness, its brightness far lower than the surrounding area. Yet it wasn't caused by any object blocking the light; it was as if this space was naturally that dark. To use an analogy, it was as if the world were a computer simulation, and a program bug had caused a rendering error in that space.

  This darkness wasn't evenly distributed either. It radiated outward from a central point in all directions, forming a bowl-shaped area several hundred meters in diameter, overturned upon the earth. The center was darkest, almost pitch-black, gradually brightening toward the edges until it seamlessly merged with the normal space, no longer feels abrupt.

  Chen Ming frowned. This bizarre phenomenon blocked his path. To go around it, he would have to leave the cinder road and re-enter the forest. But countless predators lurked in the darkness there, utterly terrifying—he really didn't want to go back in.

  With no other choice, Chen Ming steeled himself to investigate.

  He picked up a branch and tossed it into the strange shadow. The branch arced through the air, landed inside, and lay on the ground—nothing changed. It seemed there was no danger!

  He tried again, extending one finger from his right hand and cautiously approaching the shadow. With his finger leading the way, he would retreat immediately if anything felt wrong.

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  His finger received no abnormal feedback, so he carefully stepped into the shadow. As the surrounding environment gradually darkened, Chen Ming felt his body growing heavier bit by bit. It felt like diving deep into the ocean, with water pressure pressing in from all sides, making it difficult to breathe.

  Fortunately, the shadow wasn't large, and Chen Ming managed to walk through it after some effort. Once out, he took deep breaths and checked himself thoroughly. Finding no other abnormalities and confirming he was unharmed, he finally relaxed.

  Chen Ming glanced back at the shadow and noticed it was slowly moving, soon drifting away from the cinder road.

  He immediately regretted his haste. If he had known this would happen, why take the risk? He could have simply waited for it to move on by itself.

  He also wondered if this might be some peculiar feature of this other world.

  He had no desire to investigate further, eager as he was to reach human habitation. After leaving the shadow behind, the city's lights became the only beacon of safety in the darkness, drawing Chen Ming forward. The brighter the glow grew, the more at ease he felt.

  Finally, as he approached the city, his steps suddenly halted. He noticed that the cinder road didn't lead directly to the city—it ended abruptly about a hundred meters away, as if severed, and the forest stopped there too. Between the forest, the cinder road, and the city lay a large open space.

  This was for defensive purposes. On this open ground, there was no cover whatsoever, allowing the defenders to easily spot any approaching enemy and engage them.

  This gave Chen Ming pause. He remained on the cinder road, using the forests on either side to hide in the shadows, and looked up to survey the city.

  Near the city, only the area around the city gate was brightly lit, with several arc lamps illuminating the surroundings like daylight. Other places were silent in the darkness. The city gate stood about three meters high, its outer wall mottled and weathered, bearing the marks of history. Above it hung a massive stone plaque inscribed with the characters "Renhe."

  "Renhe?" With Chen Ming's limited geographical knowledge, he had no idea where that was. Besides, having transmigrated to another world, who knew if it was anything like the original world?

  Fortunately, he remembered that the inn where the native Chen Ming was staying was located in Renhe, so at least he hadn't taken the wrong path.

  He dismissed the question of place names and returned to observing the city spread out before him.

  The city was heavily guarded, its gates tightly shut. Numerous sandbags were piled atop the city wall, forming fortifications. He could vaguely make out people lying prone there, various firearms resting on the sandbags, ready for battle should a powerful enemy approach.

  Chen Ming hesitated greatly. The city's state of alert clearly indicated they were wary of dangers lurking in the darkness. Recalling the monsters in the forest, he didn't think knocking on the gate now would earn him anything more welcoming than bullets.

  He thought it over again. The gates would open eventually, right? Surely they wouldn't stay shut even after dawn.

  So Chen Ming sat down on the cinder road, waiting for daybreak. But somehow, his presence was detected, alerting the city's defenders. Suddenly, a burst of gunfire swept across from the city wall, brushing past him.

  Chen Ming was terrified out of his wits. The cinder road was clearly unsafe; he couldn't stay there. Gritting his teeth, he had no choice but to slip into the forest, though he dared not venture deep. He found a large tree and sat down, leaning against its trunk.

  Chen Ming looked around anxiously. Though he couldn't see them, he could sense countless inexplicable things in the forest behind the tree trunk, staring fixedly at him.

  This feeling, like needles pricking his back, kept him from daring to sleep. He forced himself to stay alert, prepared to flee at any moment.

  But after a night of ordeal, Chen Ming was utterly exhausted. As soon as he sat down, physical and mental fatigue washed over him simultaneously. Overwhelming drowsiness overcame him, and before he knew it, he had sunk into slumber.

  He didn't know how much time had passed when he suddenly jolted awake. Opening his eyes, he saw it was already daytime. The feeling of being secretly watched by inexplicable things had vanished without a trace—it seemed the monsters only emerged at night.

  He silently congratulated himself on falling asleep in such a dangerous place without being attacked.

  But just as he tried to stand up, he felt something tugging at him. Looking down, he blurted out, "Holy shit!"