Chapter 00216: Ghost Wall
# Ghost Wall
Chapter 216
Novel: AFK Game: Portal to Another World
Chapter 216 Ghost Wall
While Section Nine was being swiftly mobilized, on Golden Bull Mountain, Teacher Wang Degui was leading his students through the woods.
“Teacher, is this the right way?”
“Yeah, yeah, why does it feel like we’re just walking in place?”
Wang Degui was also puzzled.
“We’re clearly walking toward the lights at the foot of the mountain, but the distance isn’t shrinking at all.”
These words sent a chill through the students.
“Could it be the legendary Ghost Wall?”
“I’ve read similar stories. They say you get trapped in the middle of the night and can’t get out. It usually happens in the mountains, but sometimes it can even occur on roads.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. We’re probably just unfamiliar with the surroundings.”
Despite saying that, Wang Degui took out a cigarette and a lighter and lit one up.
Smoking was not allowed on the mountain.
If it caused a mountain fire, it would be a grave offense.
But if it really was a Ghost Wall, according to the rumors, lighting a cigarette could help you walk out.
The reason these few people were in the mountain forest instead of following the well-maintained path down the mountain was mainly because they had been asking for trouble.
After Lin Qiaoya took the three students who did not want to see any more scenery down the mountain, the few students with Wang Degui said they wanted to see what was behind the sign that read ‘Under Construction, No Entry’.
Wang Degui saw that behind it was a small dirt road leading up the mountain.
Although there was a sign, it should be a path frequently used by locals.
Besides, Golden Bull Mountain was not that big; you could turn around and see the farmhouse inn at the foot of the mountain, so there was no need to worry about getting lost.
So, Teacher Wang Degui agreed, and the group wandered around along the small path.
But in reality, they had not gone very far, just strolling around the vicinity.
Noticing the sky starting to darken, they decided to head down the mountain.
Then they asked for trouble again.
The group did not return the way they came, but instead went straight down the mountain.
The path up Golden Bull Mountain was a winding, zigzag route.
According to their thinking, going straight down would not take long before they hit the downward path.
Plus, they did not have to worry about getting lost; after all, they could just walk in the direction of the setting sun to get down the mountain.
That was why they took a shortcut through the forest.
In the end, no matter how they walked, they could not find the path down, and soon the sky had turned completely dark.
What was even stranger was that they could faintly see the lights at the foot of the mountain, yet no matter how they walked, they did not seem to get any closer, as if they were just walking in place.
The group also tried to call for help, but one look at their phone screens showed the signal bar was simply gray.
There was no signal at all in the area.
Teacher Wang Degui's current mood was beyond frustrated.
But anyone could panic except him.
He could not panic; he still had to lead these kids out.
As a teacher, how could he afford to panic?
Lowering his head, he used the light from his phone to look at the small compass on the strap of his digital watch.
It was completely useless now, spinning around like a propeller.
Although Wang Degui did not really believe in unscientific things like the Ghost Wall, this scene still made his heart jump.
Fuck, could it really be a Ghost Wall?
He suddenly had the urge to light the entire pack of cigarettes.
“Teacher, look, it seems to be getting foggy.”
Just a moment ago, the forest was just dark.
In that short time, a layer of fine white mist had risen between the tree trunks, and it seemed to be getting thicker.
“Don’t panic, it’s normal for fog to form in the mountains at night.”
That was not wrong, but running around blindly when it was foggy was not a good choice.
Wang Degui led the group forward a few more steps and found a place with a relatively open view, where they could even clearly see the lights at the foot of the mountain.
“Let’s rest here and wait for rescue.”
At this point, Wang Degui had already given up on getting down the mountain by his own strength.
In this situation, staying put and waiting for rescue was more rational than wandering around aimlessly.
Xue Wenshu was also among those trapped on the mountain.
He had not gone down with Teacher Lin Qiaoya purely because he wanted a chance to hold his girlfriend's hand.
There were too many people on the way up, so Xue Wenshu had spent a long time mentally preparing himself.
Now that there were fewer people, Xue Wenshu was so nervous his palms were sweating, but he finally succeeded in holding her hand.
Li Chengxi had guessed right; this was the extent of his ambition.
Although the group was a bit panicked about being trapped on the mountain, they were not in a state of utter disarray.
On one hand, it was because they could see the lights below; on the other, it was because Teacher Wang Degui was right there with them.
Hearing him say to rest for a while, the students, who had been walking in the mountains for two hours, all found places to sit down nearby.
Xue Wenshu was naturally with his girlfriend, Yu Qian.
He comforted her in a low voice:
“Don’t worry, Teacher Lin and my Brother Li will realize we haven't returned and will immediately call the police to come find us”
“Mm.”
Yu Qian just responded with a single quiet syllable.
She was overly calm, her palms not even sweating, unlike the fidgety and nervous Xue Wenshu.
After everyone sat down, the fog in the forest grew thicker and thicker.
Before, they could barely see by the moonlight, but now they could not see the ground beneath their feet at all.
It was a good thing they had not pressed on rashly earlier, otherwise, moving through the complex environment of the mountain forest, tripping would be a minor issue; accidentally missing a step and falling down the mountain was not impossible.
Time passed bit by bit.
Teacher Wang Degui lit one cigarette after another.
It was dead quiet all around; no one was speaking, and not even the sounds of insects or birds could be heard.
Teacher Wang Degui suddenly felt a little dazed, as if he were half-awake, his mind dizzy and muddled.
Just then, a pain shot through his finger.
The cigarette butt had burned him, snapping him back to his senses a little.
“Xue Wenshu? Yu Qian?”
He called out the names of the other two students, but there was no response.
It was as if they had simply leaned against each other and drowsily fallen asleep.
But it was a damp and cold night on the mountain in October.
How could they have fallen asleep so easily?
Teacher Wang Degui instinctively felt that something was wrong, but his mind felt as if it were coated in a layer of grease, making it terribly unclear.
He tried to get up, but it felt as if all the strength had been drained from his body.
His hand dropped limply, and the cigarette butt was extinguished in the dirt.
Although he struggled to keep his eyes open, he could not resist the sudden, powerful wave of drowsiness and finally lost consciousness.
–‐‐——–‐‐——
Section Nine's response was still very fast.
After all, they had detected the signal earlier, but just had not been able to lock it down.
They had already arranged for personnel to be nearby.
A helicopter also flew over quickly from the airport, turning on its searchlight and circling the mountain.
The search party was divided into three teams.
One team started searching downwards from the mountaintop, one team started from the viewing platform halfway up the mountain, and the last team searched upwards from the foot of the mountain.
Combined with the helicopter circling the mountain, they ensured there were no blind spots.
Such a large commotion naturally attracted the attention of the local villagers.
Many of them said they were very familiar with the mountain and could help with the search.
However, this was not just a simple search for a few lost people.
Section Nine could not possibly let the villagers go up.
So, some Section Nine personnel, who had specially changed into police uniforms, persuaded the villagers to go home, assuring them that the people would definitely be found.
They had just come out for a happy trip, yet they ended up running into this kind of situation again.
It was hard to say whether their luck was good or bad.
Lei Lei and Audel also went into the mountains with the Section Nine personnel.
Li Chengxi was asked to stay at the farmhouse inn and wait for news.
He was relatively calm at first, but as time went on, and after hearing the noise of the helicopter flying overhead again and again, he became less and less calm.
He touched the Ring of Sight on his finger, clenched his jaw, and picked up the flashlight Section Nine had left on the table.
(End of this chapter)