Chapter 802 - 15: Red Beacon_2

Chapter 802: Chapter 15: Red Beacon_2

...

A bit of outdoor activity is always short-lived, as the outdoors are too cold. Walking in the snow layers and being blown by the wind, it feels as if even your blood is frozen and struggling to flow.

Huddled in the cave, Chen Zhou often thinks about how the other challengers are doing now.

Since the challenge has progressed, after the last supply drop, there has been no trace of new challengers, and it’s unclear if they’re dead or alive.

If there are still some challengers left, how many are there and how long can they last?

The temperature seems to drop every day, like the footsteps of death, exacerbating the fear in everyone’s hearts.

Inside the cave, it’s the same darkness every day. If it weren’t for the Saw-toothed Tiger still growing, the three people inside wouldn’t even notice the passage of time.

The side effects of the gene-modifying serum are about to end.

Yet, before returning to his peak state to lead Paul and Bi Kai outside, Chen Zhou noticed a serious problem early on—

Paul seems to be showing signs of claustrophobia.

Usually, because he hates the smell of tanned leather, Chen Zhou almost never walks to the other side of the cave, and even if he does, it’s only a quick glance before leaving quickly.

The three people and the Saw-toothed Tiger solve their sanitation issues in the snow layers not far outside the cave.

The cave is over a hundred square meters, seeming big, yet only having one ventilation hole, and to keep warm, the cave door does not remain open for long; thus, the air inside is quite stale.

In such circumstances, if waste is piled inside, not to mention bacteria breeding, the smell would become unbearable pretty quickly.

Previously, Chen Zhou only felt that the three of them were taciturn, as life was too monotonous, and they rarely spoke.

It might have been the side effects causing slow thoughts, the recent excessive sleepiness, failing to observe Paul and Bi Kai’s status closely.

Until Paul prepared breakfast routinely, and Chen Zhou, upon taking a bite, found the proportions of marinated entrails, meat, and pine nuts completely reversed, he realized something was amiss.

Initially, he thought Paul was careless, resulting in this terrible meal.

Unexpectedly, after a few queries, Paul continuously avoided him, neither apologizing nor explaining, only moving towards his brew, which sparked Chen Zhou’s realization.

Following Paul to the wooden stump where the brew was kept, he discovered Paul’s brew had long spilled, the stump growing a layer of mold with only a small pile of semi-rotten berries and pine nuts left within.

Paul seemed to ignore this scene, still mechanically repeating the process of scooping water, sniffing, and tasting.

By then, Chen Zhou realized Paul had a psychological problem.

Long confined in a pitch-dark and enclosed environment, with no entertainment to alleviate mental distress, always surrounded by nothing but hanging pelts or marinated entrails, and an abyssal fissure leading to unknown depths...

Coupled with the endless wind sound outside, the rudimentary indoor floor, and the monotonous colors.

These scenes silently erode anyone’s psyche, especially for someone like Paul who comes from the modern world.

Modern times offer countless ways of entertainment, allowing people to pass the time.

Whereas here, the environment and diet are worse and more oppressive than prison, with the challenge exerting endless pressure.

Chen Zhou knows that a typical symptom of claustrophobia is hallucinations.

In his view, Paul was at this stage.

If he doesn’t receive timely treatment, this symptom could worsen, causing suffocation, rapid breathing, loss of control inside the cave, and uncontrollable urges to escape, ultimately freezing to death outside.

Thankfully, Paul’s claustrophobia symptoms are relatively mild and haven’t reached the stage requiring medication or even treatment using a magnetic resonance chamber.

At this stage, as long as communication with Paul is increased, and daily outings arranged, Paul’s condition could improve or even heal.

As for why Bi Kai, also in the cave, didn’t have similar issues as Paul, Chen Zhou thinks it’s partly because Bi Kai comes from ancient times—

There’s a saying, if I had never seen the light, I could endure the darkness.

Bi Kai is like those who’ve long resided in darkness, during the late Ming period when civilians faced chaos, mortality, and destruction, and quite frankly, that era’s environment might not have been better than here. Comparing the two, a little loneliness and suffering are insignificant.

Moreover, as an excellent martial artist, even if young, Bi Kai has formed his own cognitive framework regarding martial arts, his interpretation of swordplay.

Supported by this complete system, even if experiencing huge setbacks, as long as his beliefs remain unshaken, his will and self won’t collapse.

Consider Gao Yao being severely injured, escaping from the grasslands back into the forests. Though outdoors, both the physical pain and mental suffering must have been far worse than now.

if Bi Kai could withstand that, a mere ten-plus days of darkness and confinement couldn’t compare.

Besides, martial arts often involve ’seclusion,’ so maybe, in Bi Kai’s eyes, this life is a form of seclusion.

...

Upon discovering Paul’s mental state issue, Chen Zhou immediately "removed" him from his chef duties, handing cooking tasks to Bi Kai.

Then, he split and burned Paul’s treasured rotten woods along with the debris as firewood, and conveniently tidied up the pelts on the other side of the cave.

He began forcing Paul to speak more, encouraging him to play with the Saw-toothed Tiger frequently, also creating three huge wooden dice, gambling on activities like a hundred push-ups or a hundred squats with Paul and Bi Kai during idle times.

Of course, what Chen Zhou hoped most was for the snow to stop soon, temperatures to rise a bit, or for the wind to intensify, and the sun to warm up, blowing and melting the snow on the sunny slope, allowing them to go outside.

For a person showing early symptoms of claustrophobia, if they don’t go outside promptly to relieve inner pressure, even with treatment from other aspects, the issue won’t be solved quickly.

Chen Zhou hoped Paul’s psychological issues wouldn’t worsen.

After all, this might just be the beginning of enduring days, with at least two or three more months needing persistence.

This is like participating in a full marathon; if one can’t endure beyond two kilometers, it’s certainly destined to fail.

If Paul’s psychological issues remain unresolved and he stays in the cave for the remaining months without going outside, he’ll inevitably go mad.

By then, even if Paul is forcibly bound inside the cave, once the challenge ends, a completely mad Paul returning to his world would be meaningless.

Perhaps their country needs heroes, but not mad heroes.

...

Just as Chen Zhou was hoping for warmer temperatures, the Space-Time Administration Bureau seemed to hear his wish, raising the sun high and stirring up a wild gale.

In just a few days, the accumulations of snow on the sunny slopes were blown away layer by layer, melted layer by layer.

Along with the ice formed from melting snow, the true appearance of Mount Baihar’s midsection finally emerged, with rocky faces and shrubs reappearing in view.

However, as Chen Zhou, with excited heart, went out with Paul and Bi Kai, moving far beyond the cave, he unexpectedly found—

A crimson crescent moon quietly hanging in the sky on the southern grasslands.

Its form resembles nothing like the grand and magnificent sight during the first supply drop, carrying a chilling malevolence.

Like the beacon that first appeared, it hung there unaffected by day or night, reminding all surviving challengers—

The supplies are here.

The difference being, compared to the relatively distant first beacon, these supplies are very close to Mount Baihar, from a mid-mountain perspective estimated to be only 80 kilometers.

At this distance, Chen Zhou could reach it in less than a day at full pace.

With the strong winds on the mountainside, the three wrapped in fur clothing, eyes squinting from the glaring snowy brightness.

Chen Zhou remained silent, staring at the distant crescent moon, already having made up his mind internally.

Awoo~

The Saw-toothed Tiger running in the snow beside them, seeing they all stopped moving, stood still too, looking into the distance with them. Always chatty, Tiger Second let out a puzzled call.

Without waiting for Paul and Bi Kai to speak, Chen Zhou was the first to express his thoughts.

"Paul, Brother Bi, it’s not that I’m considering you a burden.

The supplies this time are critically important, moments count, and I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you behind and act first..."

Paul, Brother Bi, it’s not that I’m considering you a burden.

The supplies this time are critically important, moments count, and I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you behind and act first...