Kuai Feifan sat on the ground, clutching the wound at his waist. The sudden failure of his flashlight startled him, but hearing it was just out of battery, he finally let out a breath. Before his taut nerves could fully relax, the beam from Feng Tian’s flashlight flickered back to life. He involuntarily looked up at Feng Tian, and the sight of his excessively horrified expression sent a fresh wave of terror through him.

He noticed the beam was currently fixed on him, clearly indicating that Feng Tian’s expression was triggered by seeing him. Recalling the chilling drafts that had brushed past his back earlier, it seemed there truly was something behind him—and likely something terrifying, judging by Feng Tian’s look.

Kuai Feifan didn’t have much time to ponder. He was injured and sitting down; rising to run might not allow him to escape in time. Instead, he leaned sideways, simply falling to the ground and rolling toward Feng Tian’s location.

He stopped rolling only when he was nearly in front of Feng Tian and turned back to look at the spot where he had just been sitting. The sight made his whole body tremble, and for a moment, he couldn't believe his eyes.

Where he had just been sitting, a person identical to him was standing there, staring coldly in his and Feng Tian’s direction.

He was certain that figure was him; he was also certain it wasn't a reflection in a mirror—mirrors reverse left and right. Furthermore, he himself was currently sprawled on the ground, yet that person remained standing. Judging by the cold, emotionless expression on its face, if he had to describe it, it resembled a corpse freshly made up for a viewing.

Though he had experienced similar unsettling occurrences before, for some reason, seeing this duplicate, identical from head to toe, brought on a sudden feeling that the figure was him. Yet, immediately, he was struck with confusion: if that person was him, then what was he?

Kuai Feifan was lost in uncertainty, unable to process his thoughts. What if it was a phantom conjured by a malevolent spirit? Thinking of this, he started to push himself up, but a wave of dizziness struck him, and he collapsed back down as soon as he managed to half-rise. Forced to support his upper body with his elbows, he sat up and whispered to Feng Tian, "What is that?"

After waiting a moment, receiving no answer, Kuai Feifan turned to glance at Feng Tian. That glance proved disastrous. He saw Feng Tian still holding the flashlight aimed at the figure, but behind Feng Tian, another person identical to him was raising a flashlight, poised to smash it down onto the head of the seated Feng Tian.

Kuai Feifan cried out in alarm, desperately reaching out and grabbing Feng Tian’s forward-reaching arm, pulling sharply toward himself. This forced Feng Tian’s upper body to lurch forward, his head automatically dipping down just enough to narrowly evade the flashlight swinging horizontally toward him.

Unexpectedly, instead of showing any gratitude after being saved, Feng Tian’s expression twisted. He violently wrenched his arm free from Kuai Feifan’s grip, braced his hand on the ground, scrambled to his feet, and began wildly swinging the flashlight around.

Kuai Feifan paused, bewildered by Feng Tian’s reaction. He stared at Feng Tian, unable to help but ask, "Hey, Feng Tian, what's gotten into you?"

But Feng Tian didn't even acknowledge him, continuing to search frantically in all directions. Due to extreme tension, his movements were somewhat stiff, making him look as if all his skeletal joints were rusted.

Sensing something was seriously wrong, Kuai Feifan labored to pull himself up from the ground. He reached out as if to grab Feng Tian, then hesitated. Before his hand even touched Feng Tian’s body, the other Feng Tian—the one who had just tried to strike him—suddenly raised the flashlight again, this time swinging it directly toward Kuai Feifan’s head.

He jumped in alarm, finally realizing he had completely overlooked the sudden appearance of this second Feng Tian. But there was no time to think. Seeing the invisible wind preceding the incoming flashlight swing, he suppressed the pain in his waist and ducked low, narrowly avoiding the blow from the iron-rod-like flashlight.

After dodging the strike, just as he prepared to counterattack, he saw the figure identical to Feng Tian begin to dissipate like a plume of dense smoke, gradually melting away, twisting, stretching, and deforming until it vanished into the air moments later.

Simultaneously, his peripheral vision caught sight of his own double, which he noticed was also gradually fading into the surrounding air.

Although both figures had vanished, this still failed to explain Feng Tian’s recent behavior. Kuai Feifan turned back to Feng Tian, only to catch sight of him turning the flashlight in his hand, seemingly preparing to shine it directly into Kuai Feifan’s face.

Feng Tian was holding a high-intensity beam flashlight; shining it directly into someone's eyes could cause temporary blindness. Seeing Feng Tian aim it at his face, Kuai Feifan panicked and lunged to snatch the light. He gripped the front end of the flashlight, ensuring the beam shot upward instead of directly into Feng Tian’s eyes.

However, precisely because the light was directed near Feng Tian’s face, Kuai Feifan caught sight of something deeply unsettling about his features: his eyes.

Or rather, the area surrounding his eyes appeared fuzzy, as if obscured by a layer of mist. He stared intently, and the more he focused, the more he felt it wasn't mist at all, but rather a pair of hands—a pair of almost transparent hands.

He only managed a few extra seconds of observation. The moment he gripped the flashlight, Feng Tian’s body stiffened, and he immediately began pulling back with force, trying to wrestle the flashlight away.

Though certain Feng Tian was compromised, Kuai Feifan didn’t know how to proceed. If his guess was correct, a pair of hands was covering Feng Tian’s eyes, but whose hands, and how to break the hold, offered no immediate solution.

Feng Tian pulled harder and harder on the flashlight, making Kuai Feifan hesitate involuntarily. His grip loosened, and Feng Tian succeeded in snatching the light back in one smooth motion.

Unfortunately, the sudden backward jerk from retrieving it caused Feng Tian to stagger slightly. His hand accidentally brushed the switch, and the flashlight was inadvertently turned off.

Instantly, the two were plunged back into absolute darkness. Thankfully, this time Kuai Feifan didn’t cry out reflexively. Instead, he reached toward the canister strapped to his back pocket.

After pulling out the gas canister and the lighter, Kuai Feifan did not ignite them immediately. Plunged into the profound dark, he suddenly noticed something he hadn't registered before: in the pitch black, vague shapes seemed to be drifting.

The only reason he could perceive any movement in the absolute dark was that, in Kuai Feifan’s perception, these moving shapes were slightly lighter in color than the inky blackness surrounding them.

This was the best explanation he could formulate for what he was seeing, but it wasn't the most critical detail. Staring intently at the forms, he gradually began to make out some of their contours and shapes.

He couldn't suppress the horror rising in his chest and let out an involuntary sharp intake of breath, deep down unwilling to believe what he was discerning. Because if his identification was accurate, the things moving in the darkness were the severed limbs of many human beings.