Lin Feng stood in place, forcing himself to calm down.
Knowledge learned in class flashed rapidly through his mind:
"The three priorities of wilderness survival: water source, shelter, food."
"Most native creatures in the Nightmare World are aggressive; avoiding them is wiser than fighting."
"Look for traces of human activity and move in a straight line in the sa direction."
He looked around. The wilderness was endless, with withered grass shimring with a rust-like hue under the dark red sky. There were no roads, no signs, not even a decent tree.
"First, determine the direction." Lin Feng crouched down and grabbed a handful of soil. The soil was dry and the particles were coarse—this wasn't fertile land suitable for farming, but rather a wasteland eroded over a long ti.
This kind of soil usually ant a lack of water sources nearby and sparse vegetation.
He stood up and looked toward the distant mountains. The mountain range was grayish-black and sharply defined, resembling the spine of a giant beast under the red sky.
According to the Nightmare Geography textbook, there were usually water sources near mountains (as they might form streams or underground rivers), but they could also hide more dangerous creatures, especially the nests of cave-dwelling nightmare creatures.
He needed to make a choice.
For a mont, a thought flashed through his mind: how great it would be if he had a map right now, or a veteran to lead the way.
But the reality was that he was all alone. A high school student who had just turned eighteen, he was worrying about his monthly exam rankings yesterday, only to be thrown into this unfamiliar wilderness today.
"I can't stay here." Lin Feng rembered the instructor's warning in the wilderness survival class: "The most fatal mistake for a newcor is hesitation."
He gritted his teeth and chose a direction at a forty-five-degree angle to the mountains—this was a compromise.
It was neither heading directly toward the potentially dangerous mountains nor completely moving away from possible water source clues.
The ground beneath his feet was hard, making it easy to run, but Lin Feng soon realized another problem: breathing.
The air in the Nightmare World seed thinner than on Blue Star; every breath felt insufficient.
This was the "Hypoxia Adaptation Period" he had learned about in class, which usually took three to five days to fully adjust to. After running a few hundred ters, he was already starting to pant.
"Adjust breathing: inhale for three steps, exhale for two." He silently recited the mantra from training while slowing down to a brisk walk.
As he walked, Lin Feng observed his surroundings. The wilderness was not entirely flat, with occasional low mounds and severely weathered rocks.
He saw a clear cave entrance under a rock, with small bones scattered around it.
He imdiately detoured, maintaining a distance of at least fifty ters, his heart rate quickening a bit more.
Half an hour later, the first crisis appeared.
A trail of footprints appeared on the ground ahead—three-toed, as large as washbasins, deeply embedded in the soil, with a stride of about two ters.
Lin Feng imdiately crouched down, carefully approaching to observe without touching. The footprints were still fresh, the soil at the edges slightly moist, with no signs of drying or cracking.
"No more than two hours old," he judged, "and it's a large creature, weighing at least three hundred kilograms."
Looking in the direction of the tracks, he saw a slowly moving black dot in the distance, its silhouette resembling a wild boar, but with bony protrusions on its back.
"Thorn-Spine Pig," the data flashed through Lin Feng's mind. "Omnivorous, dium aggressiveness, poor vision but keen sense of sll, adult weight three hundred to five hundred kilograms... I can't have a direct confrontation."
He decisively changed direction, detouring to the side, and grabbed so wet soil from the ground, saring it as ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ much as possible on his exposed skin and clothes in an attempt to mask his scent.
At the sa ti, he chose to move in a direction with low earthen ridges and rubble to avoid leaving a clear silhouette on the open ground.
The detour was long and tense; he almost crawled through a low-lying area.
During this ti, the dark shadow in the distance stopped and raised its head to sniff in his original direction for a while, but eventually seed to find nothing unusual and continued to move away slowly.
The crisis was temporarily averted, but Lin Feng's heart was still racing. If he had walked straight ahead just now, there was a high probability he would have run right into it.
"The wilderness is too dangerous." He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and continued forward. "I must find human territory as soon as possible."
After another hour of walking, his physical exertion was nearing its limit. His throat was painfully dry, and his stomach began to growl.
Just then, he noticed the ground becoming moist, and moisture-loving moss-like plants began to appear among the withered grass.
"There might be a water source nearby." Lin Feng's spirits lifted, and he quickened his pace. He followed the direction the moss was growing—they usually pointed toward water sources.
About twenty minutes later, Lin Feng heard the faint sound of flowing water. Following the sound, he pushed aside the last clump of withered grass, and a small stream less than three ters wide appeared before him.
The stream water was pale blue, shimring with an eerie luster under the dark red sky.
Lin Feng did not drink it directly. Water sources in the Nightmare World could contain unknown microorganisms or trace toxins.
He first observed the flow: clear, no foam, no odor—good signs.
Then he plucked a large blade of grass, rolled it into a funnel shape, scooped up a bit of water, and dropped it onto the back of his hand to observe: colorless, no stickiness.
"It should be drinkable, but it's best to boil it," he thought, but he had no container and no fire.
Lin Feng bent down, cupped the water in his hands, and took a careful sip. It was slightly sweet, with a faint taste of rust.
He didn't dare drink much, only moistening his throat to relieve the severe thirst.
After replenishing his water, he began exploring downstream. Human settlents were usually built near water sources, and downstream areas were more likely to form alluvial plains suitable for living and farming.
Along both banks of the stream grew so low shrubs with dark purple leaves. Lin Feng recognized one of the plants bearing purple berries—"Gloomshadow Berry"
The fruit was edible, slightly sour, and contained trace amounts of neurotoxins; eating more than five hundred grams at once could cause brief dizziness, but small amounts were safe.
Lin Feng picked a few, crushed them with a stone, and observed the color and sll of the juice. It was a clear pale purple with a sweet fragrance similar to blueberries, consistent with the textbook description.
He carefully ate one, waited a few minutes, and having no abnormal reaction, continued to eat a dozen more.
Sour and astringent with a hint of sweetness, the burning sensation in his stomach eased slightly.
Having replenished his water and a small amount of food, Lin Feng continued his journey. The sky had noticeably darkened; the "night" of the Nightmare World was coming.
Nights in the Nightmare World were several tis more dangerous than the days. Most nocturnal creatures were highly aggressive.
He had to find a shelter before dark.
After walking about a kiloter along the stream, the terrain began to change. The open wilderness was gradually replaced by low hills, and the stream took a turn here, forming a natural small bay.
By the bay, Lin Feng finally saw hope.
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