X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the ServerThe disappearance of the phones was the final straw that crushed Adam’s sanity.
“I knew it! There’s someone out there!” Adam roared into the surrounding forest. “F***! Come out! Aren’t you trying to kill us? Well, here we are!”
His curses sounded especially harsh in the silent woods.
Suddenly, Adam seemed to spot someone.
Without another word, he took off running.
Afraid he might get himself killed as well, the others hurried after him.
To their surprise, the person he had seen was Rose, the little girl from the roadside stall.
Rose looked frightened in the face of Adam’s aggression. She trembled visibly, though her eyes kept drifting toward Jiang Shulan.
Adam grabbed the girl by the shoulders.
“Who made those traps on the mountain? Who put that log there?! Talk!”
His expression was unstable, and his grip grew tighter.
Rose cried out in pain.
“Enough!”
Jiang Shulan shoved Adam away and pulled Rose behind him, holding onto her hand so she wouldn’t run off.
“Adam, I know you’re hurting, but we still don’t know what happened. You can’t treat a child like this.”
Adam looked ready to lash out again.
Then Vincent, standing behind Jiang Shulan, spoke calmly.
“Calm down, okay?”
It was phrased like a question, yet sounded like an unquestionable command.
Adam finally quieted a little.
Darius immediately grabbed him.
“Good. Stay calm, brother. We still need her to lead us down the mountain.”
“Hi, Rose.”
Amy crouched down and spoke as gently as she could.
“Do you remember us? We got lost. Can you help us find our way out?”
Rose glanced at Jiang Shulan, then at Amy.
After a moment of silence, she nodded.
Amy and Darius exchanged relieved looks.
Then Vincent abruptly acted.
Without warning, he pulled Rose’s hand away from Jiang Shulan and handed it to Amy before taking Jiang Shulan’s hand himself.
Jiang Shulan froze.
When he realized what had happened, he immediately tried to pull away.
Vincent refused to let go.
“Shulan. Just leave it.”
Amy had long since run out of things to say regarding Vincent’s behavior.
She simply didn’t have the energy anymore.
Still, every now and then, a glimpse of Vincent’s eyes sent a chill down her spine.
They were too cold.
Too rational.
As though everything happening around them was unfolding exactly according to his plans.
Biting her lip anxiously, Amy turned to Rose.
Fortunately, the little girl only looked slightly red-eyed and continued leading the way obediently.
Rose walked in front.
Darius kept a close watch on Adam, stopping him the moment he showed signs of losing control.
The forest was just as beautiful as the online guides had promised.
The wind rustled through layers of leaves.
The scenery resembled a carefully painted oil masterpiece.
Yet after everything that had happened over the past two days, none of them could appreciate it.
A cold dread crawled along their spines.
Between the trunks, darkness seemed to pool like thick green-black liquid, slowly flowing toward them.
“This isn’t the path we used on the way up.”
Adam suddenly spoke.
Amy and Darius looked around.
He was right.
This wasn’t the same route.
“And we’re getting farther from the main trail.”
Adam’s face darkened.
Before anyone could react, he snatched Rose away from Amy.
“Are you working with them?!”
Amy desperately searched for an explanation.
“There’s more than one trail up the mountain. And Rose is a good girl, right?”
She looked toward Rose.
What she saw filled her with despair.
Rose was apologizing.
Then…
Clang!
The sharp sound of a chain being pulled echoed through the forest.
Instinctively, Darius looked down.
The next second.
“DARIUS!”
No one knew what was attached to the other end of the chain.
Amy, standing closest to him, grabbed hold of Darius.
But she was dragged forward with him.
“Amy!”
Jiang Shulan lunged forward and seized the chain with all his strength.
The metal burned his palms red.
It wasn’t enough.
“Amy! Let go!”
Darius didn’t want to drag his girlfriend down with him.
“Jiang! Pull Amy away!”
“Amy!”
At the very last second, before Darius disappeared completely, Jiang Shulan managed to yank Amy back.
Everyone stared into the pit below.
A sharpened wooden stake had pierced through Darius’s thigh.
A cold shiver ran through the group.
This trap was different.
Rose’s appearance.
The chain.
The pit.
None of it resembled an accident.
Maybe the falling log had been chance.
But now they knew.
Someone was hunting them.
“Darius!”
Amy finally broke down.
“Why? What did we do wrong?”
“It’s okay, baby.”
Darius forced a smile.
“Just another wound. You know me. This isn’t a big deal.”
Because of his skin color, he’d spent his whole life getting hurt.
Only when he was with Amy did he feel safe.
Feel happy.
“Listen, baby.”
His voice softened.
“You all need to get off this mountain as fast as possible. I’ll stay here and wait.”
He acted unconcerned.
But everyone understood.
If they left him behind under these circumstances, his chances of survival were practically zero.
Adam grabbed a branch from the ground.
“I’m going to kill them!”
Among all of them, Vincent was in the best condition.
Jiang Shulan came second.
After spending this much time together, Jiang Shulan knew Vincent well enough.
There was no way that man would voluntarily offer help.
“Amy. Darius. Adam. Vincent.”
All four looked at him.
Jiang Shulan’s expression became serious as his brain worked furiously.
“We have to get off this mountain and find help.”
“Staying here is a death sentence.”
He took most of the food out of his backpack.
For himself, he kept only a bottle of water and a single piece of bread.
“I’ll go down alone.”
“If the rest of you stay together, whoever’s hiding out there probably won’t attack.”
“Otherwise they wouldn’t have been picking us off one by one.”
Judging from the BOSS’s previous reaction, there was a good chance it wouldn’t attack him.
Probably.
[System, if I try to help the protagonists escape, does that count as breaking the rules?]
[Of course not. Your mission is to die while helping the heroine.]
[But, Shulan, I’ve told you before, even if you help them, the world will always find ways to push the plot forward. Do you understand?]
Jiang Shulan understood.
Everything he did might ultimately be futile.
[People rarely regret what they did. They regret what they failed to do.]
He lifted his head.
“Does anyone object?”
His gaze lingered on Vincent.
The thing he feared most was Vincent insisting on going with him.
To everyone’s surprise, Vincent was the first to agree.
Before Jiang Shulan left, Vincent stepped forward to kiss him.
This time, Jiang Shulan didn’t refuse.
A reward for being so cooperative, he thought casually.
Only when Vincent tried to deepen the kiss did Jiang Shulan immediately shove him away.
“Trust me!”
He waved without turning back.
“I’ll be back soon!”
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore The Moon Reflected In The Water. Start reading now!
Read : The Moon Reflected In The Water
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂