Chapter 92: The Extra Fourth Side Peak.

Chapter 92: The Extra Fourth Peak.

The fierce wind whipped past the cliffside. Even though this was the most sheltered leeward area, occasional ice particles of varying sizes still drifted in, making faint crackling sounds.

The chaotic, disorderly clatter of rolling ice particles seemed to pound in their chests, intensifying the growing unease of the players gathered around the footprints.

Their minds were filled with countless unsolved mysteries, weighing heavily on them.

Eurus asked the scholar seriously, "Can you confirm these are our footprints?"

The scholar nodded with certainty.

Enhanced by the Truth Domain, his eyes were as precise as lab instruments, capable of measuring down to the millimeter.

He had scrutinized the footprints for a long time, repeatedly measuring, comparing, and analyzing them—even assigning each print to its owner.

Thus, he was absolutely certain that these footprints belonged to the four players and...

Hmm? Wait.

The scholar suddenly noticed something odd: most of the footprints belonged to Zhang Ming and the players, but none matched Yi Fengchu's.

But why?

What was so special about that mysterious NPC...?

"If all these messy footprints truly belong to us, it's as if we've been circling this place many times..." Eurus mused before suddenly turning to Lena with a smile. "What do you think, little Lena?"

Her words immediately drew the other players' attention to Lena.

Only then did they realize that Lena had been unusually silent ever since the footprints appeared.

"......"

Lena glared at the grinning Eurus, clenching her jaw.

She hadn’t intended to share any information with the group—her instincts warned her that not all these companions could be trusted.

But now, Eurus had her cornered, forcing her to reluctantly reveal the rumors about the mountaineering team.

"So that's the kind of eerie incident that happened on this snow-capped mountain," Eurus said, pretending innocence while adding smugly, "Little Lena, next time you uncover clues, remember to share them with everyone promptly."

Lena snorted and gave her an exaggerated eye roll.

Meanwhile, the scholar stood aside, lost in thought.

He, too, suspected that time within the mountain might differ from the outside world. Perhaps these footprints belonged to their alternate timeline selves...

In other places, their traces might have been everywhere, only for the fierce wind to sweep fine snow over them, covering all traces—except for the sheltered leeward spots where faint prints remained as clues.

Judging by the footprints, the scholar estimated they'd circled through the same location at least three times. This suggested two possibilities:

First, they might have gotten lost in the vast snowy mountains in the future, forced to circle the terrain repeatedly.

Second, these footprints could belong to three separate groups—themselves, operating across three timelines.

Regardless of which scenario was true, the absence of Yi Fengchu's footprints made him conspicuously absent... and suspicious.

The scholar turned his gaze toward Yi Fengchu, only to meet his eyes directly.

Yi Fengchu pretended not to notice the wariness and suspicion in his gaze, instead curving his lips into a polite, innocent smile.

The scholar's gaze faltered momentarily before he quickly averted his gaze.

His instincts told him this NPC was no ordinary NPC—unless absolutely necessary, it was better not to pry recklessly.

While the group analyzed the footprints and speculated, Chen Hui stood to the side, his focus gradually drifting.

What were these people even yammering on about?

Chen Hui felt as if the more he listened, the sleepier he became.

It reminded him of his student days, dozing off during math class—even the scholar's stern, aloof manner was eerily similar to the teachers who used to make him do extra work and standing penalties...

Amid the ongoing discussion, Chen Hui's eyelids grew heavy as he idly kicked at the snowdrifts on the ground.

Then, suddenly, his toe struck a small, raised mound—as if something was buried beneath.

The unexpected discovery instantly jolted him alert. He immediately attempted to use his Ability to break open the mound.

Just as he prepared to act, the System's prompt sounded again:

「We all know that the effectiveness of an Ability largely depends on the Ability user's physical and mental state, as well as their environment.

At this moment, you wish to use your Ability—but how effective it'll be? Deep within this unfamiliar snow-capped mountain, you're not even sure about your control over the earth and rocks.」

「This is Player Chen Hui's personal passive dice-roll session, which will not affect the external timeline.」

「Please roll the dice to determine the effectiveness of your Ability.」

Chen Hui paused mid-action before grumbling irritably, "What kind of nonsense is this? Don’t I know my own Ability? Since when do some stupid dice get to decide how well I perform?"

He pressed his palm against the ground, trying to activate his power like normal—but it felt as though an invisible barrier had risen between him and his power, blunting his normally sharp senses of the earth.

Chen Hui was momentarily at a loss.

What was the difference between an Ability user robbed of their power and a normal person losing their limbs?

The System coldly reminded him:

「You have one minute to complete the dice roll. Countdown begins now.」

「60, 59, 58...」

Not far away, Yi Fengchu also noticed Chen Hui's actions—first kicking the ground vigorously as if discovering something, then muttering under his breath...

The sheer expressiveness of his body language and facial expressions made it impossible for others to ignore.

Given Yi Fengchu's understanding of the other players, he figured they'd all spotted Chen Hui's odd behavior but were pretending otherwise, secretly watching closely.

Only Chen Hui himself likely believed his actions weren’t particularly conspicuous.

Yi Fengchu observed him with keen interest, curious about what he might uncover.

Under the System's countdown, Chen Hui swore quietly but had no choice but to raise his hand and roll the dice.

As the illusory silver dice spun rapidly, Yi Fengchu's expression shifted slightly as he watched.

He couldn't understand why Chen Hui's luck was so abysmal!

—Without external interference, this unlucky player was about to roll his second "1" of the day.

For someone’s dice rolls to be this consistently terrible, even Yi Fengchu found it hard to believe.

In Yi Fengchu’s vision, the dice spinning above Chen Hui’s head gradually slowed before finally coming to a stop—just about to land on the lowest possible number...

Yi Fengchu sighed silently.

Alright, alright. He’d secretly help Chen Hui this once.

After all, he was still very curious about what Chen Hui might have discovered.

So, Yi Fengchu subtly flexed the fingers of the hand tucked in his pocket, making a slight flicking motion toward the dice.

In that instant, the dice that had been about to land on "1" paused almost imperceptibly before slowly flipping twice—finally settling on "6," the opposite face.

Chen Hui’s jaw dropped in disbelief, then he was over the moon. Had his luck finally turned?

This roll was so, so...

Scrambling for words, his brain finally managed to cough up two: *freaking amazing!*

He was absolutely going to rub this in the faces of those players who’d mocked him earlier—his previous low rolls had clearly just been flukes!

Yi Fengchu merely smiled, keeping his role under wraps.

With the "6" in play, Chen Hui suddenly felt a rush of strength, as if he could lift not just that little mound of dirt but the entire mountain itself.

Under his control, the mound curved like something alive, shaking off the snow covering it before the frozen soil began to crack and shift.

Amid the crunch of breaking ice, the long-frozen earth churned like dark, flowing water, revealing what had been buried deep within—

Seeing that a new clue might emerge, the other players dropped their pretense of indifference and immediately crowded around.

What the mound had concealed was a square metal plate.

Brushing off the dirty ice and grit revealed white lettering on a black background—a signpost, complete with the local tourist bureau’s logo in the upper right corner.

"Ugh," Chen Hui’s enthusiasm tanked. "Just a sign... What good is this? There are tons of these at the base and along the trails."

He wasn’t wrong.

This snow-capped mountain wasn’t particularly high, and as a somewhat well-known tourist spot, the local planning bureau had naturally prioritized hiker safety.

So, at regular intervals along the path, signposts were installed, displaying rescue hotlines, safe paths, and attraction guides, with a basic topographic map of the mountain range on the back.

Yi Fengchu had examined one of these signs at the base earlier, noting that this area—nicknamed "Snow Dragon Ridge"—consisted of one main peak and four smaller peaks extending in different directions.

The signs even listed each peak’s name and the legends behind them.

For example, Snow Dragon Ridge supposedly got its name from local claims that, after extreme weather, people had spotted dragons winding through the mountain fog.

Yi Fengchu had eaten up these stories.

His phone murmured, "Forget the rest... that dragon legend. You really have no idea?"

Receiving no response, the phone grumbled from his pocket, lamenting, "Talk about seeing dragons where there are none!"

The Scholar wiped the sign with a gloved hand, tapping the tourist bureau logo. "No, this sign is older than the ones we’ve seen before."

Upon closer inspection, the logo was indeed different.

The current design depicted four smaller peaks surrounding a central one, crowned by five stars.

This older emblem, however, showed only a single blue mountain, its base sketched with a few rippling lines for water.

The Scholar explained, "I dug through the local tourist bureau’s archives earlier. This logo appeared in their notices from decades ago—it was axed over twenty years back."

"So this is an old sign from decades ago?"

Olorus edged closer curiously. "But there aren’t any lakes or water features in this area. Why would the old logo include a water symbol?"

"Turn it around."

A voice spoke up from behind the players, startling Chen Hui so badly he nearly dropped the sign.

Spinning around, they realized Yi Fengchu had somehow slipped behind them undetected, his dark eyes calmly observing.

"Shit, when did you get here?" Chen Hui grumbled. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! How can someone walk without making a sound? Like a ghost..."

The other players stayed silent but tensed warily.

Having battled through the amusement park, their senses were far sharper than any ordinary person’s—yet Yi Fengchu had slipped past their radar completely.

This alone marked him as an NPC worth their utmost caution and full alert.

Still muttering, Chen Hui turned the sign around, revealing an outdated terrain map.

Just as Yi Fengchu had guessed, the reason for the water symbol became clear: just decades ago, this area had looked completely different.

The old map showed only one main peak and three subsidiaries. Where the fourth peak now stood, there had once been a lake labeled "Heavenly Jade Lake."

"...How is this possible?"

Everyone was stunned into silence.

For terrain to change so drastically in just a few decades broke every law of nature and logic—mountains didn’t just pop up out of nowhere.

Even stranger, none of the locals at the base had ever questioned the number of peaks.

It was as if some unseen power had not only reshaped the land but also subtly rewrote everyone’s memories, making them truly believe there had always been four peaks—and that Heavenly Jade Lake had never existed.

The Scholar whispered, "Something extraordinary must have happened here. The truth we’re seeking might be tied to this 'extra peak.'"

Yi Fengchu drifted into thought.

Did he leave something behind in these mountains before leaving, causing all this?

Just what had he been doing here back then?!