Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 870 - 863: Illusions Continue

Chapter 870: Chapter 863: Illusions Continue

After settling down, Luo’er quickly organized the team members to go out and search for firewood reserves. Covered by heavy snow, the best way to find wood beneath the snow was to blast the snow away.

Hence, Tangmo, who had been practicing at the Magic Academy for over a month, finally found her skills useful. She chanted spells continuously, using the Flame System magic to clear the snow on the ground and search for wood that could be used for making a fire.

After studying the city walls for a while, Luo’er and Baiyue too joined in the search for firewood. Thanks to their efforts, the group gathered a decent pile of firewood that was suitable for burning.

Beyond that, the group made some new discoveries. Blasting away the snow at the base of the city walls, they found a shed constructed of stone and wood, with a roof made from original wood capable of sustaining the heavy snow on top.

Luo’er cleared away the snow from the entrance of the shed and found that, while low, the space inside was quite extensive, making it perfect for a temporary rest stop without having to camp outside.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this was likely a temporary resting place constructed by those traveling through the North Lead Corridor. There were even remnants of charred wood on the ground, so the Advance Team started a new campfire on the pre-existing fire site.

Once most of the necessary arrangements had been made, Luo’er started preparing dinner for the team. In the meantime, Hu Daoke and Cheng Ziang whispered to each other, then called Feng, who had been staring blankly, and left the campsite to walk towards the icy surface.

After a little more than an hour, the three returned clumsily, but their faces were filled with pride, because they had brought back three large fish from their outing.

"Where did you get these from?" Luo’er was pleasantly surprised by what the three had procured.

"From the river," Hu Daoke said as if seeking praise, "I was just thinking if there were any fish in the river, so I took Old Cheng and Little Fengye to try by the riverbank. Turns out, we really could get fish."

"When it comes to anything related to food, this guy’s brain is more nimble than anyone else’s," Cheng Ziang said, carrying the fish and shrugging his shoulders, unable to deny Hu Daoke’s cleverness.

"Now we don’t have to worry about food. After we eat, we’ll go catch more. Oh, buddy, we made a hole and the fish were competing to squeeze through; they weren’t scared of us at all," Hu Daoke said excitedly.

"Alright then, I’ll take care of these fish. You guys go back and warm up by the fire, don’t catch a cold," Luo’er took the fish they were holding and said.

After Luo’er took the fish, the three hastily returned to the campfire. As Cheng Ziang passed by, Luo’er couldn’t resist asking, "You guys didn’t just open a hole in the ice where people come and go, did you? Won’t someone accidentally fall in?"

However, his question remained unanswered. Cheng Ziang seemed not to have heard him at all, and whisked past like a gust of wind, bringing a chill with him.

Luo’er paused for a moment and then turned to look, only to see the three already seated by the campfire, chatting with each other. The campfire was about five or six meters away from his current position; if Cheng Ziang had just passed by him, how could the three have moved to the campfire so quickly?

"Luo’er, who are you talking to?" Noticing something off about Luo’er, Cheng Ziang looked over and asked.

"Eh, wasn’t I just..." Luo’er’s eyes widened, about to say something when a gust of cold wind swept by him again, making him shiver. Suddenly, he realized something.

Perhaps Cheng Ziang was never by his side just now. Luo’er had thought Cheng Ziang passed by, but it was actually just the cold wind blowing past.

"What’s wrong with me?" Luo’er lowered his head, muttering to himself. He couldn’t explain what had just happened but thought it strange that he was having hallucinations in broad daylight.

He turned to go back to the campfire to deal with the fish in his hands. Just as he lifted his foot, he noticed an oval-shaped rock where he was about to step. Stepping directly on it could easily cause a loss of balance due to the rock rolling, so he instinctively stepped aside which resulted in him tripping and falling into the thick snow.

"Luo’er!" Tangmo was the first to notice Luo’er’s fall. Seeing him go down, she rushed over first and then helped him up.

"Really, such a grown person still stumbling over flat ground," Tangmo complained while brushing the snow off his body and frowning.

"There’s a rock here," Luo’er pointed to the ground and said.

"What rock? Haven’t all the nearby rocks been taken to pile up around the campfire?" Tangmo continued to dust off the snow and spoke.

"It’s right under my feet..." Luo’er said, unable to resist looking down, and instantly, he found himself at a loss for words.

Because where there should have been a stone, there was nothing at all, just a deep footprint in the snow.

"Eh..." Luo’er made a surprised sound, involuntarily covering his forehead, clearly having encountered another illusion.

"Eh what, did you hit your head or something? Let me check." Tangmo said and reached out to cradle his face, examining it closely.

"No, no, it’s nothing, I just feel like I’ve been a bit overtaxed lately," Luo’er shook his head and replied.

"You finally realized you’re overworked, go and rest now, leave these things to us," Tangmo said with furrowed brows and concern.

"There’s no need, I’m okay," Luo’er said with a smile.

"Listen to me, go and rest!" Tangmo insisted.

"You..." Luo’er gave her a look and suddenly froze, just staring at her dazedly.

"What’s wrong?" Tangmo asked, a bit embarrassed as she lowered her head.

"It’s nothing, it’s just that I feel..." Luo’er pursed his lips and eventually just closed his mouth, not finishing his sentence.

The reason he felt something was off was that the Tangmo in front of him wasn’t his sister Momo, but his older sister. Logically, Moumou shouldn’t be so assertive; could it be that recently, being under his sister’s influence, she’d also become more forceful?

"Do you have a fever?" Feeling that something was wrong, Tangmo couldn’t resist reaching out to touch his forehead. Because she needed to cast spells, she was accustomed to wearing fingerless gloves.

"I’m fine, maybe I just need some rest," Luo’er said with a forced smile.

"Then go rest now, stop running around and let us handle these things," Tangmo said with empathy.

"Then I’ll go rest, but speaking of which, do you know how to cook fish?" When he saw Tangmo’s insistence, Luo’er didn’t force himself to stay up any longer; he felt he indeed needed some rest.

Because in less than a minute, he had experienced two illusions, and after being so disrupted, he felt his head was swirling with little stars.

"We won’t know until we try," Tangmo shrugged and replied.

Luo’er breathed a sigh of relief, then returned to the low shed that had been cleared out, straightened his clothes a bit, and crawled into the sleeping bag. As soon as he closed his eyes, he fell into a deep dream.

He didn’t know how long he slept; it felt like a century. When he opened his eyes, everything was pitch-dark. He slowly got up and, by touch, realized he seemed to be lying on a bed.

"Eh, what’s going on?" Luo’er frowned and pondered, feeling that something was amiss but unable to pinpoint it.

He tried getting out of bed and found that he was indeed lying on one. His bare feet made contact with the floor, which was wooden and warm to the touch, soft as if stepping on foam.

Then, he noticed light coming from a few meters away and groped his way toward it through the darkness.

Arriving at the source of light, Luo’er was surprised to find that it was a doorframe, and the light was coming from outside the door. He steadied himself on the doorframe and looked out, where a pitch-black figure caught his attention.