I can equip strange items

Li Yuan steadied himself and cautiously observed his surroundings.

What lay before me was no longer a brightly lit city hotel, but a completely unfamiliar, dense primeval forest!

The ancient tree's branches were gnarled and twisted, like the arms of a monster.

Layer upon layer of tree canopies intertwine overhead to form a dense, almost opaque, dark green dome.

The light was extremely dim, with only a few scattered spots of light struggling to penetrate the thick gaps in the leaves, casting eerie, flickering light on the damp, slippery ground covered with a thick layer of humus and moss.

Thick vines coiled around the tree trunk like giant pythons, hanging down.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of overgrown and decaying plants, damp and cold enough to seep into your very bones.

"Where...where am I?!"

"Help! How did I get here?!"

"Mom! I want to go home!!"

"Who did this?! Let me go back!!"

Terrified cries, hysterical screams, and bewildered questions surged in from all directions like a tidal wave, shattering the forest's deathly silence.

Li Yuan's pupils contracted slightly as he quickly scanned the surroundings.

Within a radius of several dozen meters around him, there were people packed together!

Men, women, young and old, dressed in various styles—

There were office workers in suits and ties, housewives in pajamas and slippers, students carrying backpacks, and elderly people with white hair...

Everyone was like him; one second they were in some corner of Donghe City, and the next second they were thrown into this terrifying primeval jungle without warning!

The number of people was far beyond imagination. Everywhere you looked, in the forest clearings, under the trees, and even among the vines, there were bewildered and terrified figures. It was probably most of the people in the entire Donghe City who were here!

Just as Li Yuan was quickly assessing the environment, a cold, mechanical, and emotionless voice seemed to resound directly in the depths of everyone's minds.

"Welcome to the Endless Forest Trail."

"Rule: Walk, or die."

Anyone who stops for more than ten seconds will be executed.

"Objective: Cross the forest and reach the 'finish line'."

"start."

The moment the sound disappeared, an indescribable, chilling sense of urgency suddenly gripped Li Yuan's heart.

It was as if an invisible, malicious eye was staring intently at him from behind.

If he hesitates even slightly, a fatal blow will come.

Even now that the "night owl" label is in effect, he truly feels this death crisis.

This feeling is not an illusion, but a kind of mandatory rule that directly acts on the mind!

"A bizarre rule?! Damn it!"

Li Yuan's face turned ashen; he had actually encountered something like this himself.

"ah--"

Suddenly, a heart-wrenching scream came from not far away.

Li Yuan suddenly turned his head to look.

A middle-aged man in pajamas, with an overweight build, seemed completely stunned by the sudden and terrifying turn of events and the voice in his head. He slumped onto the slippery moss, trembling like a leaf, having completely forgotten the "rules".

Exactly ten seconds after he stopped catching his breath and tried to understand the situation—

His body suddenly stiffened without warning!

The terror on his face froze instantly, his pupils dilated to their maximum size, and then all his light vanished.

There were no wounds, no bleeding, and no external force applied.

It was as if an invisible hand had instantly crushed his soul, and the flame of life was extinguished silently and completely.

Only that limp corpse served as the first silent warning marker on this "endless forest path".

"Dead...dead?!"

"Stopping will really kill you!!"

"Go! Go quickly!!"

Panic spread like wildfire, centered on the corpses, like a plague.

The crowd, like sheep being whipped, erupted in even more chaotic screams and instinctively began to stumble and flee forward in any direction.

However, in this primeval forest—

Beneath your feet are tangled tree roots and slippery moss and decaying leaves, above your head hang vines, and all around you are dense, impenetrable bushes and thorns.

Walking is easier said than done.

"Thump!"

"Ah! My foot!"

"Please help me! Please!"

"Don't stop, get up! Ten seconds... only ten seconds!"

People often fall, twist their ankles, or trip over vines.

Each fall was accompanied by desperate cries and heart-wrenching urgings from his companions.

Every struggle to get up is a race against that cold countdown.

Li Yuan was also moving forward, but he kept observing his surroundings as he went.

He witnessed a boy in a school uniform with his ankles tightly wrapped in thick vines.

He struggled desperately, and his classmates tried to help, but the more they tried, the more chaotic things became.

Then, very quickly, the last glimmer of light in the boy's eyes went out, and his body went limp, the time stopping exactly at ten seconds.

Yet another life has been erased by invisible rules.

Li Yuan's heart sank to the bottom, chilled to the bone.

The rules are simple, brutal, and utterly unreasonable, yet so powerful that they inspire despair.

It disregards strength and status, recognizing only that ten-second pause.

They will be suddenly wiped out after just ten seconds.

While maintaining a steady pace, his mind raced, searching for a way out.

"What is the core of the rules? Is it the state of 'stopping movement' itself? Or is there some force monitoring it?"

Li Yuan's gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, scanning the twisted trees, the slippery ground, and the hanging vines around him.

He tried to slow down, but the cold, urging feeling immediately became like a thorn in his back.

He can't stop.

What about the attack environment? The carrier that breaks the 'rules'?

Li Yuan's eyes narrowed.

The lapis lazuli bamboo staff in his hand instantly transformed into a bolt of lapis lazuli lightning.

"Bang!"

The stick slammed into the trunk of a thick, ancient tree that required two people to encircle.

The dull thud went unnoticed in the chaotic forest.

The tough bark was cracked, and sawdust flew everywhere, revealing the light-colored wood underneath.

However, nothing happened.

There were no energy fluctuations, and no regulated backlash.

The tree silently endured the blow, as if it were just an ordinary tree.

The invisible rule of death that enveloped the entire venue still existed, coldly urging everyone on.

"It didn't work?"

Li Yuan frowned.

He tried again, and this time, he slammed the bamboo stick hard into the ground beneath his feet.

"laugh!"

The bamboo stick easily pierced through the thick layer of humus and sank deep into the soil below.

Li Yuan even actively activated a trace of the power to ward off evil, attempting to interfere with any possible "rule nodes".

The tip of the bamboo stick emitted a faint golden glow, making it stand out in the dim forest.

However, after a few seconds, apart from the slightly cool touch of the soil, there was no unusual reaction.

That chilling sense of urgency still lingers.

Not daring to linger for more than ten seconds, he had no choice but to pull out the bamboo stick and continue on his way.

"It's not the ground either..."

Li Yuan's heart sank.

This rule doesn't seem to be attached to any specific object or location, but rather to be an absolute "domain law" that covers the entire space.

------

[I have a high fever and couldn't get up this morning, so the second update will be posted later.]