"Ten meters?" Gregory Lawrence gestured, "How much is ten meters?"

Hannah closed her eyes and lazily replied, "Probably about as high as a three-story building."

Gregory Lawrence imagined a mutated beast as tall as a three-story building.

People tend to have a subconscious fear of things that surpass common understanding.

For instance, the pitch-black depths of the ocean, or a mutated beast so large that one couldn’t make out its entire shape.

The mere thought was enough to drive one "crazy".

Suddenly, Gregory Lawrence had a guess and muttered, "The center of the white fog, could it really be home to a Jiao?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone turned to look at him.

Even Hannah woke up, "What Jiao?"

Feeling a bit embarrassed with all the attention, Gregory Lawrence scratched his head, "It’s something I heard from someone else. They said that there has always been a legend in the Blackwood Forest, that at the center of the white fog, there is a Jiao about to transform into a dragon. But this legend is thousands of years old, I never took it seriously."

Even before the First Year of Stellar, not many people believed in such mythical tales anymore.

One reason was that they couldn’t be explained, another was the so-called complete lack of evidence.

That’s why Gregory Lawrence didn’t think about mentioning it.

He thought it wasn’t important.

...

The Blackwood Forest became exceptionally dangerous in the torrential rain, the sound of the rain seemed to mix with the roar of mutated beasts, and the faint smell of fresh blood carried a nauseatingly sweet stench.

The temperature was dropping, and the fire filled the entire cave, yet it brought no warmth.

Arnold Simmons gave his coat to Hannah to wear.

"Aren’t you cold?"

"Not cold." Arnold Simmons shook his head, zipping up the coat for her.

Hannah reached out to touch the back of his hand.

It was warm.

At least warmer than hers.

She held his hand in her arms, a look of great satisfaction and comfort on her face.

Gregory Lawrence happened to look over, first at the long sword pressed to the side by Hannah, then at her face.

Sensing his gaze, Hannah looked up, then pushed the long sword back a bit, shifting it to block his view.

Gregory Lawrence paused for a few seconds, then lowered his head again.

On the side, Gregory Lawrence curled up into a ball, reached out to get closer to the fire, his voice trembled, "Is it going to be winter soon?"

The cold seemed to be coming on too quickly.

Arnold Simmons explained, "The closer you are to the borderlines, the more capricious the weather gets."

He added more branches to the dying fire.

Because of the rain outside, they had just picked up some dead leaves and branches nearby, and now there wasn’t much left.

Chilled, Gregory Lawrence withdrew his hand, his breath turning into a white fog, "When will this rain ever stop!"

Outside the cave, raindrops pattered against the leaves, slid down the stone walls, and finally formed a curtain of water at the entrance.

Everything beyond the curtain of water was blurry.

Hannah leaned on Arnold Simmons’s shoulder, already feeling sleepy.

Arnold Simmons reached out to touch her cheek and, seeing her open her eyes, asked again, "Sleepy?"

"A little." Hannah pulled the coat’s collar higher, hiding half her face inside it.

Arnold Simmons put the hood of her coat on her, "Go to sleep, I’ll keep watch."

Hannah nodded, found a comfortable position, and closed her eyes.

The cave was very quiet, and from time to time, the burning branches in the fire made small "popping" noises. Sparks circled around the fire before quickly dying into tiny black dots.

The rain seemed to lessen. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The cave gradually warmed up.

Gregory Lawrence, also drowsy, half-closed his eyes and looked at Gregory Lawrence on the side, asking him, "Aren’t you cold?"