Shao Ling said, "The entire residential area was deserted. The area isn't very large; it's not long before we enter the forest behind it. We explored the outer perimeter of the forest and found it wasn't a dead forest; there were many living animals and a rich variety of plants."
Qin Ci said, "We found a lot of bloodstains on the roads, outside the houses, and in other corners of the residential area. They were quite old, and there were no signs of a struggle, or even any indication of someone fleeing after being injured. It seemed like they were simply bleeding while walking. In several places, we found evidence that someone had fallen and knocked over nearby objects while bleeding. Strangely, these knocked-over items remained untouched; no one cleaned them up."
Wei Dong said, "Besides..." Outside the ordinary residence, there is a small community clinic, and there is another road leading to the distance, but there are roadblocks on this road. We tried to walk along the road to the distance, and found that the road disappeared as we walked. There was chaos in front of us, just like the painting "White Matters", with the edge areas blurred. Obviously this is also a limited painting, limiting us to the residential area and forest here. "
Ke Xun also told everyone what the three of them had just seen, and Shao Ling listened and said: "It seems that this residential area has experienced a strange or even weird accident, which made people's daily life suddenly stop in an instant, and all the scenes remained the same. In the process, many people suffered injuries of varying severity. "
These are only preliminary inferences at the moment," Mu Genran said, "We have only inspected one house, and we need to inspect the internal conditions of other houses to get more evidence to confirm."
"Then let's hurry up and continue," Ke Xundao said, looking at the people in front of him, "What about you?"
Qin Ci said: "I will check the house with you." "
Shaoling Weidong and Fang Fei also nodded.
Xiao Kai scratched the back of his neck, glanced at Tian Yang, then looked at the veteran members, and finally his gaze settled on Ke Xun's face: "Let me ask a question first: how did you solve the problem of food and water when you entered the world of paintings before?"
"Some paintings provide the necessary supplies, while others don't make you feel hungry or thirsty," Ke Xun answered him.
"So which category do you think this painting falls into?" Xiao Kai asked somewhat uncertainly, "At least I feel a bit thirsty now, so it shouldn't fall into the second category you mentioned, right? If it's the first category, where are the necessary supplies?
" "I think finding autographs is important, but first we need to ensure we can survive in the painting. In this hot weather, food and water are extremely important, after all, we might have to survive in the painting for seven days, right?"
"Food can be secondary, but water is essential, especially in this hot weather. If we don't replenish our water in time, we're likely to get dehydrated and suffer from heatstroke.
"And I think it's best not to wait until the last minute to look for water. We should prepare in advance, at least some drinkable water. What do you think?"
"Oh, you're right," Ke Xun said, pointing to the houses behind him. "We might be able to find drinking water in these houses, but we don't know if the pipes still work. Even if they do, we don't know if it's safe to drink. We still need to go inside the houses to check."
Xiao Kai scratched his neck and nodded. "There's another problem. You said it's dangerous outside in the painting at night. Shouldn't we find a place to stay for the night? Like one of these houses that doesn't feel so…well, a clean one?"
"To be honest," Ke Xun said to Mu Yiran privately as everyone went to check the other houses, "I think it's more dangerous inside the houses in this painting than outside." The
group split into four groups to inspect the other houses.
This time, the house Ke Xun and his companions entered was in slightly better condition than the previous one; at least they didn't see anything resembling blood when they opened the door. However, the house was still covered in a thick layer of dust, and cobwebs filled the corners. Like the first house, everything in this house maintained the atmosphere of a life abruptly ended.
The three of them rushed to the kitchen first. Ke Xun turned on the tap, but not a drop of water came out. Zhu Haowen checked all the valves, but no matter how he turned them, no water flowed.
They then checked the electricity and gas, and found that they had also been shut off.
Mu Yiran opened the refrigerator, and the scene inside was utterly appalling. Because the power had been cut off long ago, the food inside had become indescribable. What impressed Ke Xun most about her husband was that Mu Yiran could still calmly rummage through the refrigerator and find some sealed food.
"This is definitely inedible," Ke Xun reminded her husband.
"I just want to check the production date to determine the era depicted in this painting." Mu Yiran glanced at him.
"I'm such a meticulous man," Ke Xun gave him a thumbs up.
Mu Yiran ignored his flattery and carefully examined the sealed food packages. He found that the production dates printed on all the food items were blurred, with only the first two digits clearly visible. The months and days were still there, though they varied. Mu Yiran felt this wouldn't be helpful for finding clues, but the blurred years would definitely be useful.
"This painting doesn't want us to know the specific time of the inexplicable events that happened here," Ke Xun said. "In other words, knowing the exact time would help us find the signature."
"We can search the house for anything related to dates, such as calendars, calendars, newspapers, and other items with production dates," Zhu Haowen suggested.
"I don't think the result will be optimistic," Ke Xun said. "Since even the dates on the food packaging are blurred, other things that directly point to the date will likely have the same result, unless we deduce the era from some physical objects." "
That can be put on the agenda later. The most important thing right now is to find water," Mu Yiran said. "I think the issues of water and food, along with the climate, are likely the biggest challenges we'll face in this project, besides some unknown factors. We can't afford to be careless."
The three of them thoroughly searched the entire house, diligently looking for water and food, and also searching for related clues. Of course, the result was fruitless; there was no water, no edible food, and no seemingly useful clues.
Leaving the house, the three headed straight for the next one, seeing other groups moving between houses along the way.
Before they knew it, the entire morning had passed. When everyone regrouped, it was already past noon on their phones.
"We've searched everything. There's no drinkable water," Shao Ling said. "And no edible food either. There are some vacuum-sealed packages, but the production dates are unclear. Although they seem unspoiled after opening, we still can't be sure if they're safe to eat. I think this time, besides facing unknown dangers, we also have to face the most basic challenge of survival." "
Besides these, have you made any other discoveries?" Mu Yiran asked.
"There's a lot of blood in almost every house," Qin Ci said. "If it weren't for multiple people mixed together, the amount of blood loss would be roughly equivalent to a person's entire blood volume. And after observing the shapes of these bloodstains, I found that some dripped onto the floor, while others splattered onto the walls or ceiling. This is puzzling to me. What caused this situation? More importantly, why is it that almost every household here has the same problem?"
Everyone fell silent, looking around. These dilapidated, quiet houses stood under the gray sky, each one like a miniature hell on earth, covered in human blood in a bizarre and horrifying way.
What terrible event had occurred in this place?
"We still need to find water as soon as possible," Qin Ci said, glancing at the parched group, especially Xiao Kai, whose lips were cracked and who didn't look well.
"If we can't find water in the residential area, we'll have to go into the forest to check." Shao Ling pointed to the forest behind the residential area. The forest was vast, stretching as far as the eye could see, and seemed to contain many towering ancient trees; it must be a natural ancient forest.
The group perked up and crossed the residential area to reach the edge of the forest.
Judging from the plant species, it appeared to be a forest close to a tropical region, with many tropical plants growing there. The humidity in the forest was also very high, and the sharp chirping of insects was incessant, causing headaches.
"In forests like this, the most dangerous things are poisonous insects and snakes. Everyone should cover any exposed skin," Mu Yiran told the group before entering the forest. "Each person should find a thick, long branch for self-defense. Don't be distracted while moving; pay close attention to what's in front of you and your surroundings."
Hearing this, everyone quickly searched for suitable branches and wrapped their clothes around their heads, faces, and hands.
"Let's enter in a single file," Ke Xun said. "Yiran and I will be at the front, Mr. Shao, Dongzi, and Luobo, the three of you will be in the middle, Brother Qin, Haowen, and Fang Fei, the three of you will be at the back, and the rest of you will be between our three groups.
"When we move, Yiran and I will be responsible for watching ahead, those in the middle will be responsible for watching left, right, and above, and those at the back will be responsible for watching behind.
"New members, listen up, no matter what happens, do not fall behind, do not panic and run around, stay close to the main group. If you get separated from everyone, try to stay where you are if you can, if you can't stay where you are, try to head towards the residential area. We will try our best to rescue those who are separated, while ensuring our own safety.
"When you hear me or Yiran shout 'Run,' immediately turn around and run back. Don't ask anything, don't hesitate, just run, run as fast as you can, don't worry about anything, unless you hear me or Yiran shout 'Stop,' then just keep running."
"Finally, please be very careful not to touch anything you shouldn't. If you encounter insects, snakes, or wild animals, stay calm and notify others immediately. Did you all understand?"