Kuang Feifan hadn't expected Feng Tian to still be thinking about that battered "second-hand QQ," and couldn't help but challenge him: "Your car stalled out completely just now. Are you seriously planning on driving that thing to blast our way out of the 'Forgotten Corner'?" I doubt there's actually anything wrong with the engine; if there were, I might even be able to fix it."

Feng Tian completely ignored the jab at his vehicle, explaining earnestly, "I need that car because I need the gasoline inside it."

Hearing this, Kuang Feifan sucked in a sharp breath, then asked with forced seriousness, "You're planning an explosion?"

Feng Tian nodded, staring at Kuang Feifan, and asked slowly, word by painstaking word, "Are you afraid?"

After a moment of consideration, Kuang Feifan shook his head slightly. "If you think this is our best way out, then go ahead. But tell me, is the mere explosive force of that little car enough to shatter this entire space?"

Feng Tian curled his lip. "Of course not. It needs to be processed first. But first, we have to find it."

Finding the car seemed nearly impossible to Kuang Feifan. Situated in what felt like boundless, absolute darkness, trying to locate a small "QQ" that had fled some time ago, relying only on the beam of a single flashlight, felt harder than scaling heaven.

But Feng Tian wasn't worried. He said with a hint of smugness, "Did you forget how I helped you find me underwater?"

Kuang Feifan immediately recalled that bizarre, eerie purple butterfly. Though Feng Tian claimed it was a minor spell—just a ball of light—it was formed by condensing residual souls floating aimlessly in the air. He admitted it might affect some people's brain activity, causing them to perceive the light as whatever their subconscious most desired.

Kuang Feifan truly couldn't believe his subconscious desired butterflies; he’d never even tried to catch one.

Feng Tian, unaware of Kuang Feifan’s internal musings, displayed his "Object Seeking Technique" with a touch of showmanship. He handed the flashlight to Kuang Feifan, pulled several small bottles from his embrace—one containing powder, another a paste—and mixed them into a slurry, which he smeared onto his hands as if applying hand cream. He then waved his hands through the air, dancing them about, before pressing his palms together and rubbing them lightly. Finally, he curled his fingers into loose fists and slowly opened them.

Kuang Feifan was astonished. Hovering just above Feng Tian’s open palms, a faint ball of light began to drift upward. He had to admit, this little trick Feng Tian showed was impressive.

Feng Tian watched the light ball while explaining, "This is the first time I'm using this to find a car. I wasn't prepared earlier; I had the other ingredients pre-mixed into a paste, so I just squeeze some onto my hand when I need it."

However, Kuang Feifan wasn't listening to the explanation. To his utter shock, within that drifting light ball, he saw the exact same purple butterfly again. This left him unsure whether to be happy or depressed. Hearing his surprise, even Feng Tian looked a bit strange and couldn't help but remark, "Is that some kind of psychological issue? I remember your girlfriend is a psychiatrist, maybe you should consult her later?"

Kuang Feifan’s reply to this was a single word: "Scram."

Just in case, Feng Tian sprinkled a generous amount of foul-smelling repellent over both of them. While unbearable, it was certainly better than running into the hordes of rotting corpses again during the search. Even if those things weren't hungry ghosts, the way they treated the pair indicated they saw them as food.

As for the paper figures, if they encountered them again, they’d just have to resort to fire. The gas cylinder was more than half full, though he wasn't sure if it would be enough, and it was the only canister Feng Tian had with him.

Kuang Feifan commented on Feng Tian's "Hundred Treasures Pouch": "You absolutely, positively cannot take your toolkit on a plane; you wouldn't even get past the airport entrance."

Feng Tian readily agreed, but he rarely traveled far, and when he did, he only drove. He avoided other forms of transport entirely. Besides, he didn't consider that gas canister a "super weapon" by any means.

Following the floating ball of light cautiously, the two discussed their current predicament. Besides the various ghosts they had encountered, there seemed to be something else that hadn't officially shown itself yet—at least, that's what Kuang Feifan thought. Otherwise, there was no explanation for the two figures identical to themselves that had attacked them; something must have been manipulating them from behind the scenes.

Feng Tian conceded the point, but he had no idea how the various ghosts in this "Corner" were distributed—whether they kept to specific territories or roamed randomly.

However, they soon realized the space they occupied seemed vast. After walking for quite some time, contrary to their earlier expectations, they hadn't encountered the groups of rotting corpses that had previously attacked them. They might have vanished, but it was more likely they were simply following a different route this time. This suggested that each type of ghost they met might have its own cluster or territory.

"Or maybe they're all asleep," Feng Tian joked to lighten the mood.

But Kuang Feifan, walking ahead with his back to him, didn't smile. Suddenly, he spun around, grabbed Feng Tian, and yanked him behind him, shining the flashlight beam directly into the darkness behind them.

"What happened?" Feng Tian asked, startled.

Kuang Feifan scanned their surroundings while whispering, "I heard footsteps."

Feng Tian had been so preoccupied analyzing and speculating about the situation that he hadn't paid attention to ambient sounds. Hearing Kuang Feifan, he immediately tensed up too, joining the search, but after scanning the area for a long time, they found nothing suspicious.

"Are you sure you didn't mishear?" Feng Tian asked quietly.

Kuang Feifan wasn't sure anymore. Given the extreme mental stress they had endured from their past experiences, they were nearly jumpy at every shadow. It was easy to imagine their fears conjuring illusions. But adhering to the principle that caution was better than danger, even if they were wrong, it was safer than facing a real threat.

Just then, the light from Kuang Feifan's flashlight suddenly dimmed. While it didn't completely extinguish, the beam grew extremely faint, making it impossible to see anything more than five or six paces ahead.

Feng Tian gasped, warning, "Look, the flashlight beam seems to be covered by fog."

Kuang Feifan looked closely and confirmed it: swirling mist seemed to be constantly appearing in the air, gradually devouring the light cast by the flashlight.

Watching the light fade, Kuang Feifan felt a chill run down his spine, and he swallowed hard, asking, "Is that a ghost, or something else?"

Feng Tian glanced back, grabbed Kuang Feifan, and pulled him along: "Never mind what it is. This fog is behind us. There's only one option now: run."

Kuang Feifan stared at the mist that seemed to be rolling toward them, realizing Feng Tian was right. The two stopped walking one behind the other, turned, and bolted in the direction the ball of light was floating. Strangely, the flashlight beam did not weaken at all when pointed in the direction they were moving.

Neither of them felt relieved by this. At this point, they would have preferred the flashlight to be malfunctioning, because the alternative meant that a mass of light-devouring mist was following them, ready to swallow them at any moment.