Something Is Approaching Us

Su Yang ignored the other two and strode straight into the thick fog, shouting as he walked, "Ziming!! Ji Bo!!"

"Little Lu!! Little Tang!!"

He had barely called out twice when the voices of Liu Bo and Meng Qianyu echoed from behind him. The two joined in, shouting loudly as well.

Su Yang turned his head toward the white mist and said, "Yeah, keep shouting like that—wake them up!!"

"Got it!"

As their voices rang out, Su Yang crouched low and moved slowly, feeling around to see if he could bump into anyone who had passed out.

Since the group had been standing fairly scattered earlier, and the dense fog had appeared almost instantly, Su Yang hadn’t had time to memorize everyone’s positions.

The ones farthest from him earlier were probably Shen Yixue and Zhang Ziming.

But if they’d just fainted, they had to still be somewhere nearby.

A minute later, as Su Yang inched forward, his right foot brushed against something soft.

He looked down—it was Tang Ziyun.

"Little Tang!!"

Su Yang knelt and turned Tang Ziyun over from where she lay facedown, then shook her shoulders.

When she didn’t stir, he quickly pressed two fingers under her nose to check her breathing.

"Whew!! Scared the hell out of me—thought she was dead."

"Little Tang!! Wake up!!"

"Huh?" After nearly thirty seconds of shaking, Tang Ziyun finally groaned and opened her eyes.

The moment she did, she shrieked, "Ahh! Who—?!"

"Me! Stop yelling!" Su Yang snapped.

"Oh… oh, you scared me."

Just then, Liu Bo’s voice called from not far away, "Yang, you found someone?"

"Found Little Tang! Looks like everyone must’ve passed out."

"Good that you found her."

Su Yang helped Tang Ziyun sit up from the ground.

"What happened, Su Yang?" she asked, her voice laced with worry.

"A sudden fog rolled in, and you all blacked out. You feeling okay anywhere?"

Tang Ziyun touched her face, then patted herself down all over.

"What are you feeling around for?" Su Yang asked, baffled.

"You asked if I was feeling okay anywhere!"

"I meant internally—like, any pain? Headache or something?"

Tang Ziyun shook her head. "Nope, nothing. I don’t even remember passing out."

"Good, then. This fog’s weird—no idea when it’ll clear."

"This fog…" Tang Ziyun turned her head, scanning the surroundings. "I can’t see a damn thing."

"That’s why I said it’s weird. Seriously bizarre—go on a hike and end up in some freaky situation like this."

"So what do we do now?"

"What else? Wait for the fog to lift. Stay put—I’ll go find the others."

"Wait—you won’t just disappear, will you?"

"You watch too many movies. I’m just looking around nearby—how would I disappear?"

"Oh… okay. Maybe I should help you look?"

"Just sit tight. If you trip over something and hurt yourself, we’ll have a real problem."

"Fine."

"Stay here and do what Fatty and Qianyu are doing—shout the others’ names to wake them up."

"Got it."

Su Yang stood up again, ready to search for the others—but the moment he did, the thick fog that had been all-encompassing just seconds ago began visibly thinning at an alarming rate.

"Wait—what the hell now?" Su Yang swung his fist at the dissipating mist.

"Damn it, coming and going as you please?! Think you’re messing with us? Screw you!!"

He cursed in frustration.

"Who are you talking to?" Tang Ziyun asked from behind him.

"Uh… nothing."

In the few seconds they’d been talking, the forest—previously swallowed by impenetrable mist—had returned to normal.

Su Yang swallowed hard, thinking, ‘This fog is way too damn weird.’

But just then, he spotted the others sprawled haphazardly on the ground.

They weren’t actually that far apart—yet in the blinding fog, finding them had been nearly impossible.

Tang Ziyun stood up beside him and gasped at the sight.

"How did everyone faint?!"

"Probably the fog’s doing."

As they spoke, Liu Bo and Meng Qianyu hurried over.

"Yang, the fog’s gone."

"Yeah. Came and left like it owned the place. Never seen anything like it."

Liu Bo nodded. "Same. Thought it’d take at least an hour to clear, but nope—just vanished."

"Whatever. Let’s wake them up."

"Right."

Su Yang’s eyes immediately landed on Pan Ning, lying motionless about eight meters away. Without thinking, he jogged toward her—only to find Meng Qianyu doing the same.

Whoosh!

They exchanged a glance, about to speak, when a faint sound from deep in the distance reached Su Yang’s ears.

"Stop!"

"What’s wrong?" Meng Qianyu asked, confused.

"Don’t move! Fatty, Little Tang—freeze!!" Su Yang halted, urgently signaling for the others to stay still.

"What’s up, Yang?"

"Wait—just stay quiet!"

He tilted his head, straining to listen toward the direction of the sound.

Whoosh… whoosh… whoosh.

The noise persisted, rhythmic, repeating every half-second or so.

Su Yang’s expression darkened as he stared into the dense woods to his far left.

"Yang, you’re freaking me out. What did you hear?"

"Something’s moving toward us."

"Huh?!" Liu Bo whipped his head around, following Su Yang’s gaze.

"I don’t see anything."

"Shut up—maybe I misheard. Let me listen again."

Su Yang raised a hand to silence Liu Bo and focused once more.

But the sound had vanished.

Su Yang frowned, baffled. ‘What the hell? Gone just like that? That sounded like an animal’s footsteps—like something stalking prey, moving carefully. Damn, is it a bear?’

The footsteps had sounded far too heavy to belong to a person or a small animal.

"Still hearing it?" Liu Bo whispered, inching closer.

"Not anymore."

Whoosh—

"Huh?"

The moment Su Yang said it was gone, the noise returned.

He narrowed his eyes, but the thick trees in the distance revealed nothing.

"Damn it! What the hell is that?!" Su Yang rubbed his eyes and stared harder.

Meng Qianyu and Tang Ziyun stood frozen, tense, unsure what Su Yang had heard but not daring to move or speak.

"Forget it. Fatty, Little Tang, Qianyu—you three wake the others. I’ll keep watch."

"Okay." The three exchanged glances before stepping toward the unconscious figures on the ground.

They had barely taken a few steps when—

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!

The faint sound from earlier suddenly grew frantic, as if something was charging at full speed.

Su Yang urgently shouted, "Don’t move, don’t—"

"Shit!!"

Before he could finish, a towering black figure emerged from behind the dense trees in the distance, barreling straight toward them.

"Holy crap!!!" Su Yang gasped, his entire body tensing up as goosebumps erupted uncontrollably across his skin.

Liu Bo and the other two finally heard the noise too. They spun around, and the moment they saw it, their jaws dropped, eyes wide as they stared at the distant woods.

This time, everyone got a clear look at the source of the sound.

About thirty meters away, a dark brown bear—standing roughly six feet tall at the shoulder—loomed behind a fallen log, its predatory gaze locked onto the four of them.

Su Yang’s muscles clenched, his heart pounding. Liu Bo’s legs trembled involuntarily.

Meng Qianyu and Tang Ziyun were frozen in shock, their faces blank as they stood rooted to the spot, staring.

"Run!!!" Liu Bo screamed.

Hearing the shout, Su Yang’s expression twisted in alarm. He grabbed Liu Bo and yelled, "Don’t run!!!!"