Chapter 1 A New Path

Feng Bujue circled the wreckage of the car for a while, but couldn't figure out a way to climb the cliff. He had no choice but to look for another route.

At this moment, Brother Jue had lost his extraordinary ability to soar into the sky and burrow into the earth, his various supernatural skills and equipment, and even the most basic survival tools. As an ordinary person, being in this valley and dense forest was undoubtedly very dangerous.

Feng Bujue didn't know if there were any other nasty rules in this script, such as players having to drink and eat, otherwise they would starve to death (by the way, Feng Bujue was in sleep mode when he first played this script)... If there really was such a setting, based on his many years of watching *Man vs. Wild*, Brother Jue would probably survive half a day longer than the average person...

"So, the only option is to blindly move forward based on instinct..." Feng Bujue muttered to himself as he walked through the forest.

This was a last resort. With his current physical abilities, even climbing a tree to get a better view was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Even if he did climb up, it would be very dangerous to stick his head out of the canopy to look around. He had no protective measures on him, and if he slipped, he might die.

However, things developed more smoothly than expected.

After twenty minutes of difficult trekking, pushing aside branches and leaves, a small stream appeared before Feng Bujue's eyes. Looking up, the forest on the other side was much sparser than on this side, and a ready-made path could be vaguely seen among the trees.

Brother Jue came to the stream, looked left and right, and after confirming that there were no wild animals nearby, he cautiously squatted down, washed his face, and drank a few mouthfuls of water.

Judging from the dryness in his throat and the significant sense of fatigue, the character he was playing in this script definitely needed to eat, drink, and rest. Only the setting for going to the toilet was still non-existent, because there was no way to take off his pants.

After replenishing his fluids and resting for a while, Feng Bujue set off again.

Although he hadn't encountered any danger since the car exploded, his cautious nature and fear of Nightmare Mode still made Feng Bujue pay attention to everything and proceed step by step. Therefore, he was still very careful when wading through the stream, which was only knee-deep and less than five meters wide.

After reaching the other side, he dried his feet with the hem of his suit, put on his shoes and socks, and then walked along the path.

"Hmm... Judging from the reflection in the water, I still look like myself." He was constantly thinking as he moved, "All the pockets on my body are empty, and there are no embroidered patches or logos on any of the parts that can be turned inside out. So... what's this great detective's name..."

As he pondered, the path under his feet became clearer, but the surrounding terrain became steeper. Looking back, the forest behind him was already below his current height.

He walked for another half an hour. After passing through a pine forest, the surrounding terrain became flatter, and soon, a highway appeared before him.

Feng Bujue quickened his pace and came to the road, feeling an unspeakable sense of familiarity when he saw the telephone poles by the roadside. It would be even more familiar if there were a few small advertisements on those telephone poles.

In fact, he had just gone around in a big circle, only to return to the height of the highway from the bottom of the valley.

Whoosh—

He hadn't walked along the highway for long when he heard the sound of a car approaching from a distance.

Feng Bujue looked back and saw a rather flashy red convertible sports car driving towards him.

Without further ado, he stood directly in the middle of the road, opened his legs, raised his hands high, making a "big" shape, putting on an "If you don't give me a ride, just run me over" posture.

"Hey! Help!" As the car got closer, Feng Bujue waved his arms and shouted loudly.

The car was occupied by a middle-aged couple, both white. Their clothing and the car they were driving were both of mid-twentieth century style.

Someone was hailing the car in this remote place, and they were naturally wary, but upon closer inspection, the person hailing the car was thin and unarmed. Although his clothes were dirty, he was dressed like a decent person, and he was shouting "help," so he must have really encountered some trouble.

So, the sports car slowly decelerated and stopped by the side of the road. The gentleman in the driver's seat said to his wife, "Stay in the car, Carol."

"Be careful, Dennis," his wife cautioned.

Dennis pushed open the car door and got out, stopping about two meters away from Feng Bujue. He said, "Sir, what's the matter?"

Feng Bujue sized up the man in front of him. He was nearly 1.9 meters tall and around forty years old. He was burly, with brown hair and blue eyes, and a small mustache. He was wearing a beige short-sleeved t-shirt and white trousers, and his leather shoes were polished to a shine. A blue sweater was draped over his shoulders, with the sleeves tied in a knot in front of his chest. This way of dressing was already outdated in Feng Bujue's era, so he was even more certain that this script was set in the twentieth century.

"Uh... yes, sir, I had a car accident," Feng Bujue replied.

"What? A car accident?" Dennis looked at Feng Bujue. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Feng Bujue said. "But my car was wrecked and rolled off the side of the road. I walked for about an hour to climb up from the valley floor and found this highway." He revealed as much information as possible in an organized manner to dispel the other party's doubts in order to gain his trust. "Please forgive my abrupt behavior standing in the middle of the road, but I really need someone to give me a ride."

"I see," Dennis seemed to lower his guard and took a step closer. "Don't worry, buddy, I'm happy to help."

"That's very kind of you," Feng Bujue said. His tone was polite and normal at this time.

Dennis led Feng Bujue to the car and pointed to the woman in the car, introducing her. "This is my wife, Carol." He turned to his wife and gestured towards Feng Bujue, "This..."

"Feng Bujue," Feng Bujue said his real name directly, wanting to test the NPC's reaction.

"This Mr. Feng had a car accident and wants a ride," Dennis continued naturally. It seemed that the system had corrected the influence of names, appearances, and other factors on the NPCs.

"Oh, that's terrible. Are you hurt?" Carol asked.

The lady sitting in the car was wearing a red wool coat. She had blue eyes and black hair, and wasn't particularly beautiful. The contours of her face were slightly strange. Although she was heavily made up, the years had not been kind to this forty-year-old woman. The thick foundation couldn't cover all the wrinkles.

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern, Madam," Feng Bujue replied as he quickly got into the back seat. Even if the other party wanted to change their mind at this point, it was too late. There was no way to get this guy out of the car.

"Mr. Feng," Dennis got into the driver's seat and turned around to say, "My wife and I are going to a family gathering at a villa in the mountains. It's not far from here. If you don't mind, you can come to the villa with us first. There's a telephone there, and we can notify your family or friends to pick you up."

"I'm truly grateful," Feng Bujue said. "I haven't had the chance to ask yet, what is your name, sir?"

"Lovecraft," Dennis replied as he started the engine. "Dennis Lovecraft."