Chapter 057: Forced Breakthrough

The sound was now almost within reach.

Li Tianque spun around abruptly, terror draining every ounce of strength from his bones; he nearly collapsed to the ground in fright. Behind him, where the sound had come from, stood a gaunt, elongated specter.

It was only a single step away from him, and for the first time, Li Tianque could see it clearly. Its body was not pitch-black but a deep, inky green—like the color of algae left to fester in an aquarium for years. A thick layer of hardened impurities coated its surface, uneven and seemingly tough. Its face was also masked by a sour, lime-colored substance, with wispy threads dangling, obscuring its features; its arms, wiry and long, stretched out as if to pull Li Tianque into an embrace.

Li Tianque cried out, fumbling frantically to don his kilovolt gloves, but in his panic, he could not even find the opening and nearly dropped them altogether.

While he struggled, more gaunt phantoms began to materialize around him. Not just those who had followed him from the rock face, but several new ones as well, all staring at Li Tianque—this unwelcome intruder—with a gaze as deep as the resentment of a cursed soul.

The air thickened with the stench of rot, growing ever stronger. Li Tianque felt himself surrounded, no longer able to use his gloves, nor to care about the path ahead. He skirted the precarious pavilion and broke into a desperate sprint.

But the ground was slick, and he had barely fled a few steps before he stumbled and crashed heavily to the ground. The speed of his flight made the fall all the more brutal: he landed face down, his right hand and shoulder bearing the brunt of the impact.

A jolt of searing pain shot straight to his crown, and his phone flew from his grasp, spinning across the ground to land right in front of him, its bright flashlight illuminating his face.

Shielding his eyes from the glare, Li Tianque saw that whatever had tripped him had been kicked aside, now oozing viscous blood.

What had he struck?

Peering in that direction, he saw a furry shape silhouetted against the backlight—a black shadow, perhaps a wild cat or some other small creature.

Gritting his teeth, Li Tianque pushed himself upright, his body wavering.

When fear reaches its peak, it gives birth to rage.

That is why so many, when faced with the truly terrifying, will scream and shout wildly, ready to risk everything.

Now Li Tianque, too, was consumed by anger born of terror.

Ghostly shadows clustered around him, strange cries echoing, but Li Tianque was already furious. After all, these were merely nuclear insects—nothing to be afraid of!

Even if they weren’t, even if they were truly evil spirits, so what?

“Damn it! Come on! Let’s see what you can do!” Li Tianque roared, slipping on his kilovolt gloves and retrieving his blood-stained phone from the ground.

Curiously, the spectral figures halted once he had passed the precarious pavilion. Though their bodies remained poised for attack, arms outstretched, leaning forward as if ready to pounce, none could advance further, held back by some unseen force.

Li Tianque felt a measure of relief, uncertain if his own bravado had cowed them or if something else restrained them.

But it mattered little now. His mind was set: he must reach a place with signal and seek help from the outside world.

Most pressing, after his fall, he could barely run anymore.

Staggering, Li Tianque pressed onward, the flashlight illuminating the way. There were no more gaunt specters ahead, but in the corner of his eye he saw small, dark shadows dotting the ground, trailing long streaks of blood—wild animals slain in the mist.

Chaotic fog, a crumbling ancient pavilion, terrifying specters, shrill cries, dead beasts—

These horrors painted a nightmarish tableau before him, and the courage that anger had sparked now waned.

Fortunately, Li Tianque had run far enough that the specters no longer pursued him.

He resolved to climb the slope ahead and escape, but as he reached it, he discovered a four-meter-high earthen drop-off.

If he refused to turn back, this would be his only path forward.

Surveying the terrain, Li Tianque found the air damp and the soil loose; scaling the sheer, muddy cliff by hand, unaided, would be harder than reaching the heavens.

Damn it…

As he hesitated, the strange sounds returned.

A chill surged through him. Why now, of all times, did these monsters come again?

He turned and saw, through the dense fog, the faint approach of elongated black shadows, drawing closer.

He retreated, and the specters hidden in the mist advanced a few steps, their bizarre postures pressing in, the cacophony of rustling continuing.

The oppressive fog made it harder to breathe. Around him, most of the wild beasts had died in the mist, as if warning Li Tianque: should he attempt a reckless escape, their fate would be his own.

Clutching his beam of light, Li Tianque searched for another escape route.

At that moment, his wounded shoulder suddenly felt heavy. The stench flooded his senses, and a wordless pressure seized him.

God—there was a cold, sinister hand resting on his shoulder!

The hand was icy, sending his body into a frozen abyss. A terrifying thought flashed through Li Tianque’s mind; he realized that another gaunt specter had appeared behind him, unnoticed.

Somehow, it had circled around, now standing right at his back.

Without thinking, Li Tianque shoved his phone into his shirt, activated the kilovolt gloves, and swung a fist charged with eighty volts toward his rear.

Lightning crackled, thunder boomed.

With a screech, the electric arc burst from his fist, lighting up the specter’s true form.

This time, Li Tianque saw it clearly: its body was like a stone eroded for years in a pond, thick fur resembling algae parasitically clinging to it.

The electric shock jolted the specter’s arm aside. Seizing the chance, Li Tianque dashed forward, straight into the circle of specters ahead.

Nearly blinded, he stumbled into the ghostly mist, limping all the while.

His phone’s flashlight, muffled by his clothing, cast a flickering, fragmented glow. At close range, Li Tianque glimpsed these hunched, black shapes.

The specters reeked of decay, their stench nauseating.

As Li Tianque rushed forward, the specters converged, but curiously, their movements were slow.

He shoved aside the one blocking his path; the others failed to reach him.

One specter tried to bar his way, but Li Tianque swung his fist, arcs of electricity lashing mercilessly at these horrors.

He hammered at what might have been its head, and the blow landed—vibrating, the specter slid backward but did not fall.

Relentless electric punches struck, and the specters, unable to withstand Li Tianque’s assault, could not close in.

Li Tianque had no desire to linger; his body felt sluggish, barely obeying his will. Fear alone drove him on, ever faster, until he burst through the mist, racing up the slope…