The deeper they went, the more they could feel the abnormality of the dark environment of the mountain behind the academy.
The mountain, which looked ordinary when viewed from the academy during the day, seemed to transform into a beast devouring the old days at night.
Every step forward would cause one's SAN value to plummet.
It was no wonder that the passerby-faced 'Ron' was mentally deranged when he was found and carried out from the back mountain.
The indescribable sense of fear from the depths of the soul, in the boundless dark environment, constantly oppressed every nerve of the person involved.
Coupled with the 'full moon' in the sky above, which was several degrees dimmer than usual, an ominous premonition welled up in Aisha's heart, strong and real.
"Lin-chan, why don't we go back first? I have a bad feeling about this place."
Aisha, following behind, tugged at Yilin's sleeve, trying to persuade her best friend——hell might lie ahead, turn back and find salvation.
However, Yilin's mind at this moment was not focused on the profound and terrifying surrounding environment at all.
"Too strange, the footprints are gone." Yilin's delicate brows furrowed tightly.
Yilin, leading the way in front, had been following the footsteps of those who entered the back mountain before them.
But without any warning, the footsteps disappeared at this current location.
The strangest thing was, the way the footprints disappeared was extremely bizarre... as if space had been truncated, the last footprint only left the latter half of the sole.
Such a bizarre phenomenon made Yilin hesitate, wondering whether to try taking that next step forward.
Next, nothing might happen.
Or it could be the worst outcome: she too would leave half a footprint and then disappear.
Turn back?
No!
A hero cannot flee in the face of danger!
Yilin mustered her courage and took a step forward.
...
Nothing happened.
"Phew, was I overthinking it?"
Seeing nothing happen, Yilin finally felt a little relieved.
"Looks like I scared myself, how embarrassing. Let's continue, Xiao Ai."
Subconsciously reaching back to pull Aisha, Yilin was horrified to find she grasped at empty air.
"You're... you're kidding me..."
The primal fear from the depths of the abnormal space spread around Yilin, making this usually fearless girl couldn't help but swallow nervously before slowly turning around.
Behind her was the same scenery as when she came, the only difference being that Aisha, who was following behind her, had inexplicably disappeared.
At the same time, the scenery of the back mountain in Aisha's eyes hadn't changed at all; what was bizarre was that in the blink of an eye, Yilin, who had taken a step forward, disappeared from sight the next second.
"Wh-wh-what on earth is going on?"
The child was so scared she couldn't even speak properly.
Aisha, stammering and stuttering, instantly fell into panic and helplessness, all alone.
No, she didn't seem to be alone.
"Mr. Ling Ling , are you there, are you there or not? Please, please answer me, please, please!"
Aisha's voice was almost pleading; in such an unknown and terrifying environment, if she were truly alone, Aisha's nerves would definitely collapse.
At that time, she might become the second mentally deranged Ron.
"Mm, I'm here."
In that instant, Ling Ling's calm voice was like a rescuing light shining into the bottom of a pitch-black abyss, a life-saving straw for the soul, hope in despair, incomparably sacred and noble, making Aisha couldn't help but burst into tears.
"QwQ Waaahhhhh!"
Unsure if it was because of Ling Ling's presence that Aisha was slightly liberated from fear, the girl's slender legs directly lost their supporting strength and went limp on the ground.
"That's great, it's really great that you're here, Mr. Ling Ling. If it were really just me alone, I might have died on the spot."
"Sorry, this is my fault too. If I hadn't said I was interested, I wouldn't have let you come here, Aisha."
It was to satisfy Ling Ling's curiosity about the legendary strongest Three Egyptian God cards that Aisha mustered the courage to go to the back mountain with Yilin.
Originally, the safest and most prudent way was to turn back and leave immediately when the Millennium Puzzle showed an abnormal reaction upon entering the back mountain.
Because although the rumor about the Three Egyptian Gods was difficult to discern its truthfulness, it was certain that this back mountain indeed harbored something very ominous.
But Ling Ling didn't speak up to stop her, which made him inevitably feel guilty now.
"Mr. Ling Ling, did you see where Lin-chan went?"
"Don't forget, what I see is the same as what you see."
In Ling Ling's view, Yilin also just took one step forward and then inexplicably disappeared.
If there was any difference Ling Ling and Aisha could uniquely feel at this moment... the Millennium Puzzle, which had been acting strangely since they entered the back mountain, suddenly stopped the instant Yilin disappeared.
And that immense, unidentified pressure also vanished along with it.
"Strange, did Yilin disappear, or were we transported?"
"We were transported? Mr. Ling Ling, what are you talking about?"
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh——!"
Just as the two were puzzled, from the depths of the forest not far away, a miserable scream, like one uttered when a duel is lost and Life Points reach zero, came out.
It definitely wasn't Yilin's scream; the owner of the voice sounded male.
"Could it be the student Lin mentioned earlier, who entered the back mountain first. Hurry and follow, Aisha!"
"Mmm, I really want to follow, Mr. Ling Ling."
Squeezing out an expression of being unable to do what she wished, Aisha patted her very uncooperative, still trembling snow-white legs.
"Sorry, I can't stand up anymore."
"Then let me take over for you."
"Mm."
Aisha obediently nodded.
At this time, there was no room to worry about the promise of only handing over her body during duels.
——Soul Exchange.
After his soul merged into Aisha's body, Ling Ling's first sensation was... soft, indeed too soft.
These long white legs were actually so soft that even standing up was very difficult.
It was evident how much the child had been scared just now.
Aisha secretly rejoiced: "Luckily I didn't leak... otherwise I would definitely commit suicide."
After adjusting his breathing a few times, Ling Ling, trying his best to calm his mind, felt his soft, trembling legs gradually regain strength.
The first thing after getting up was to run towards the direction from which the scream came.
This was the first time Ling Ling had run using a girl's body.
Clearly, the body was much lighter, yet running was exceptionally strenuous, which puzzled Ling Ling.
Fortunately, the place where the scream occurred wasn't far; passing through the not-so-dense forest of the back mountain, Ling Ling arrived at the crime scene at a very critical moment.
Aisha: "That person, isn't that Shuiyue Wu from our class?"
Also a first-year student of Fusion Academy, what Aisha and Ling Ling saw when they arrived at the scene was him collapsing after his Life Points reached zero.
And standing before the two, a mysterious man clad in a black robe, with a golden accessory identical to Aisha's hanging on his chest.