Chapter 047: Why Is This Happening?

During the time-stop,

Lin Ye immediately pulled Hina Tachibana away, ensuring the teacher was distanced from the eerie entity. He then took the opportunity to observe the strange figure in front of him.

This entity was vastly different from the one at the Love Heart Motel.

Unlike the dark-gray infection symptoms of the motel's front desk woman, this strange being's face was covered with patches of charred material. Red flesh was visible through the cracks, with fluids oozing out.

It looked like a burnt corpse.

After his observation, Lin Ye grabbed a stone from the side of the street and launched a fierce attack on the charred figure. The hard rock struck its head repeatedly in rapid succession.

However, Lin Ye wasn't certain if pure physical attacks would have any effect. Just like with the motel's front desk woman, physical damage seemed almost ineffective.

"This way, Sensei,"

After helping Hina Tachibana to her feet, Lin Ye pulled her along, running further away.

Even now,

He hadn't heard the system notification from the "Eerie Game" indicating the task was complete. This meant the entity wasn't dead it was still alive.

After running about 20 meters, Lin Ye caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of the fallen figure staggering back to its feet. Under the streetlights, its body seemed to emit a faint bluish glow.

The entity was moving again, and its speed appeared slightly faster this time.

"Lin... Lin-kun, what... what is that?"

Hina Tachibana panted heavily, her wide eyes glancing back nervously before quickly looking away in fear. The sight of the figure made her heart pound uncontrollably.

"Monster. Let's leave here first,"

Lin Ye said firmly. While he could find a way to deal with the strange entity alone, it was best for the teacher to leave the area as quickly as possible.

"Y-Yes, yes,"

Hina Tachibana nodded repeatedly, clutching his arm tightly, terrified of being left behind.

Even though she was a university graduate and a high school teacher, faced with such terror and danger, her instincts betrayed her fear and panic took over. She didn't know how to respond and simply sought the safest refuge.

Right now, Lin Ye was her haven of safety.

"Huff…"

"Huff, huff…"

"Here… we should be safe now, right?"

After sprinting for over a minute, Hina was completely out of breath. Bent over with her hands on her knees, she pressed one hand against her stomach, gasping for air.

She hadn't exerted herself like this in a long time and felt like she might throw up her dinner.

Looking behind her, she saw no trace of the figure anymore.

"It's gone. Thank goodness. Let's call the police immediately…"

Trembling, Hina pulled out her phone, only to find that she couldn't make a call.

"Why is this happening? There's no signal. This doesn't make sense this is Chiba City!"

This wasn't some remote mountain area, so there shouldn't be a lack of reception. Yet her phone displayed no signal at all.

"Could it be that my phone is malfunctioning?"

She tapped her phone repeatedly, the sound of pat-pat echoing in the quiet.

Meanwhile, Lin Ye's attention was drawn to a vending machine nearby. Beside the machine was a trash can with an empty bottle lying next to it.

If he remembered correctly, that vending machine had been behind them when they first ran.

Lin Ye quickly turned around to look. In the distance, there was only a long, seemingly endless road illuminated by faint streetlights.

The entrance to the train station should have been ahead on their right, but now the space was barren, devoid of anything.

A realization struck him, and his expression darkened.

Of course, even a seemingly simple task in this eerie world wouldn't go as planned.

Hina noticed Lin Ye's reaction.

"Lin-kun, what's wrong? Aren't we safe now?"

"Sensei, it looks like we've been trapped in some kind of looping space."

"Huh?"

Hina blinked in confusion.

Lin Ye pointed at the vending machine.

"If I'm not mistaken, that vending machine was behind us before. Now it's in front of us."

"Maybe it's just another vending machine in a different spot," Hina said instinctively, trying to explain.

After all, vending machines often looked identical, and it wouldn't be unusual to mistake one for another.

"You haven't noticed, have you? There haven't been any other people around this entire time. No cars, no sounds of insects or birds nothing."

Now that he mentioned it, Hina realized just how eerily silent their surroundings were. It was unsettling, sending chills down her spine.

"That's… that's probably because it's so late at night!"

Subconsciously, Hina didn't want to accept Lin Ye's explanation.

"Let's just keep moving forward. Maybe there will be someone ahead."

Having rested for a bit and caught her breath, she now had enough energy to continue walking.

Lin Ye didn't object and walked alongside Hina Tachibana.

This time, he paid close attention to the changes in their surroundings, even making a mark on one of the utility poles.

Hina noticed his action and quickly understood Lin Ye's purpose.

"Up ahead... someone,"

A light appeared in the distance, instantly filling Hina with hope and joy.

She took a few quick steps forward, but when she clearly saw the figure's true form, her expression froze.

Why was that monster ahead of them?

________________________________________

If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 20 advanced chapters available on Patreon

patreon.com/Leanzin