ATPnovel Chapter 4 Smoke Bomb
Chapter 4 Smoke Bomb
A murky yellow full moon hangs high in the sky.
Yu Jing carried the wooden stick he had just found at the abandoned camp and waded through the gray fog-shrouded woodland.
Not long ago he was wandering around a cyberpunk city full of skyscrapers, and now he is exploring deep into this dark forest.
The drastic changes in the environment caused a jumble of thoughts to swirl in his mind.
I'm looking forward to successfully completing the beginner's trial, and I'm also eager to see what might happen during the process.
"Tsk, it can't even turn on a flashlight..."
Fiddled with his black-screened phone, Yu Jing put it back in his pocket with some disappointment.
The dim environment made him think of using his phone's built-in flashlight, but the screen only flashed twice before becoming completely unresponsive.
Clearly, the alien dimension exerts a strong suppressive effect on electronic devices from the mortal world.
He even thought of taking a three-shot series to commemorate his first time stepping into a foreign land.
Fortunately, there was a torch map to guide us, so there was no need to worry about getting lost.
Based on the current situation...
The key to completing the beginner's trial mission lies in avoiding alien monsters that may be lurking in the shadows.
Therefore, Yu Jing was extra careful while traveling.
He neither ran blindly, wasting energy or making a fuss, nor hesitated and wasted time in one place, but maintained a brisk walking pace throughout.
Occasionally stop to observe your surroundings and ensure you have enough energy to react to any situation.
We walked for almost fifteen minutes.
By zooming out on the watch map, Yu Jing could see that the target location was in the southeast direction.
Although the area was still shrouded in fog on the map, by comparing it with his previous pace, Yu Jing could reach his destination in about half an hour if he maintained his current speed.
Of course, this is all under the ideal condition of not encountering any monsters along the way.
The reality was that Yu Jing had already stopped and crouched down with his back against the tree trunk to hide himself.
Unsure whether the alien monsters would hear the watch's warning sound after it materialized, he found the mute option on the screen beforehand and glanced at the dial every minute or so.
The pointer has now reached mark 5 and is about to cross the danger line.
This means that there are alien monsters nearby.
Hiss~ Hiss!
Suddenly, a series of hissing sounds came from the right rear.
Yu Jing wiped the fine sweat from his forehead and turned to check the situation.
next second.
His pupils suddenly contracted, and his heartbeat quickened.
A huge black shadow could be seen wriggling among the jagged branches a dozen meters away.
By the dim moonlight, one could barely make out that its main body was a bloated lump of flesh with a diameter of more than two meters, its body covered with a large number of dark brown scales. As it wriggled, several thick, long, leech-like tentacles extended forward to another tree, hooking onto the branches and dragging the main body there.
The creature in front of him didn't match any of the creatures in Yu Jing's memory.
They probably won't be very friendly to him, an outsider.
After glancing at the wooden stick in his hand, Yu Jing decisively decided to quickly turn in the opposite direction from where it was going.
Unexpectedly, this detour led to a new discovery.
After running only a few dozen meters, Yu Jing slowed down and came to a bush.
Just as I was about to glance at the instrument panel to confirm whether I had successfully escaped the monster, I suddenly stumbled and quickly grabbed a tree trunk to steady myself. Looking down, I discovered a row of badly rotten wooden fences stuck in the bushes.
Is this something that should be found in a dense forest?
After a half-second pause, Yu Jing seemed to realize something and turned his gaze forward.
What comes into view is a forest path half-buried in weeds and mud.
The road is nearly two meters wide, with low wooden fences separating the two sides. At intervals, kerosene lamps for lighting are hung, either on wooden poles or on iron bars embedded in the branches of trees along the road.
Although the poor road conditions, the decay of the fences, and even the rusted lamps show that the road has not been maintained for a long time, the presence of these things here proves that there is a high probability that there is a human town nearby, and that the level of civilization is not low.
Small villages simply do not have enough resources or need to build roads of this scale.
I had assumed it was a pristine forest rarely visited by humans.
It now appears to be on the outskirts of some exotic town.
However, judging from the current situation, even if there are towns, they are probably already in ruins.
Thinking of this, Yu Jing couldn't help but recall the abandoned camp he had just arrived at and the strangely shaped monster.
What exactly happened in this world?
After glancing at the torch map, Yu Jing decided to walk along this road for a while.
After all, even if the road conditions are bad, it's still a road, and the view in front and behind is relatively open, which is better than wandering around in the woods.
Moreover, he had already seen the signboard standing on the side of the road at the three-way intersection ahead.
I hurried over to take a look and found that the sign had been tied to a cross-shaped wooden stick with wire and had been specially shaped into an arrow pointing forward. There were also two patterns drawn together in ink on the front.
He raised his hand to wipe away the grass clippings and dust.
The remaining traces vaguely reveal two wine glasses clinking together on the left, which looks like a tavern sign.
The right side is rather strange; it looks like a syringe with teardrop-shaped patterns on the side.
"A tavern and... a clinic?"
There were no words on the notice board, so even if there were, Yu Jing wouldn't be able to understand them.
However, this does not prevent him from understanding the meaning of the pictures.
Can a tavern and a clinic really be combined?
Walk about fifty meters in the direction indicated by the sign.
Yu Jing quickly noticed a side road extending from the main road to the right hillside. The ground was paved with broken wooden planks, and on both sides were jagged rocks and trees growing diagonally on the rock walls. Bluish-gray vines hung down from above, forming a curtain above his head.
Through the gaps in the vines, you can see a two-story wooden and stone house standing on the hillside.
The architectural style is somewhat reminiscent of taverns in fantasy novels.
With no obstructions around, the moonlight revealed that half of the tavern had collapsed, with broken beams exposed and roof tiles and planks scattered all over the ground, as if it had been violently struck by something...
Should we go in?
Yu Jing was conflicted for a moment.
He was eager to take this opportunity to learn more about this exotic land, but he was also worried that monsters might be lurking in the ruins of the tavern.
"Tsk, what's there to be afraid of? We're already here!"
Quietly encouraging himself, Yu Jing made up his mind to move forward.
Clang clang~
It felt like I kicked something, and it rolled around with a few crisp sounds.
He bent down to pick it up, and after seeing what it was, Yu Jing couldn't help but be a little surprised.
The can is military green with a pull ring and mechanical device at the top, and has several lines of white English labels on its surface.
One of the words directly identifies what this thing is: SMOKE.
It features standard modern craftsmanship and English labeling.
It's obvious without even thinking that it's not a product from another world, but something someone brought in from the present world!
If the abandoned campsites we saw earlier could be traces left by "locals".
So the unused smoke bomb in front of him was enough for Yu Jing to confirm that there were other modern people in this alien world!