**3:30 PM, Wilderness Border.**

The scorching sun hung high in the sky, marking the hottest time of the day in the Wilderness Realm.

Outside the vehicle, Wang Meng and Liu Yuqing were wandering around the barren land under the blazing sun, drenched in sweat.

They were trying to find the vanished wheat field.

"This is so strange..."

Wang Meng wiped the sweat off his face and plopped down on a scorching rock.

"When we drove over, we could see the golden field from afar."

"Why did it turn into wasteland as soon as we got closer?"

"Did the wheat field grow legs and run away?"

Liu Yuqing, equally exhausted, adjusted her glasses. "It shouldn't be."

"The broken-branched old tree Shishi mentioned is still there. The landmark hasn't changed, but the environment has."

"Could it be time? But that doesn't make sense either. It was daytime when we came, and we could see the wheat field!"

Wang Meng scratched his head.

Just as the two were puzzled beyond belief.

The RV door slid open with a "hiss."

Yu Shishi was sitting in front of the monitoring screen at the door, lost in thought, when she suddenly felt a presence behind her, nearly jumping out of her chair in fright.

Turning around, she saw Jiang Nan, fully dressed.

"Boss! You're awake!"

Yu Shishi quickly stood up, nervously rubbing her hands.

Jiang Nan nodded without speaking and walked straight off the vehicle.

The heat wave hit him head-on.

Seeing Jiang Nan come down, Wang Meng and Liu Yuqing hurried over, faces full of guilt.

"Boss... sorry, we're too dumb."

"We searched for ages but still couldn't find the entrance to the wheat field."

"There's nothing here but dirt and grass."

Jiang Nan waved his hand, signaling it was fine.

He walked over to the dead old tree, rubbing his chin, scanning the vast barren land...

And the glaring sun overhead.

Something felt off.

Earlier, from a few kilometers away, he had indeed seen the wheat field.

Why did it disappear when they got closer?

Was it because the wheat field had consciousness and sensed the threat he posed, so it hid?

Or...

Jiang Nan glanced at a few crows circling in the sky.

Did these feathered creatures inform the scarecrow inside, closing the door?

"No."

Jiang Nan shook his head, dismissing the thought instantly.

The mutant crows, though smart, were chaotic and evil beings.

If they could really inform, they wouldn't have hidden the scarecrow.

On the contrary, they'd want to lure Jiang Nan in and let him and the scarecrow fight to the death, so they could reap the benefits.

Since it wasn't "judging by appearances."

Then there was only one answer.

Jiang Nan looked up, squinting at the slightly off-positioned sun in the sky.

It was time.

The flow of time here, or rather the spatial rules, were different from the outside world.

Only at specific time nodes would the two spaces overlap, and the entrance open.

Jiang Nan had his answer.

But now the question was, what time could they enter?

Why could they see it from afar but not up close?

These details couldn't be guessed.

They needed to find a "local" to ask.

So, Jiang Nan began looking around, his gaze seemingly casual.

But his peripheral vision had already locked onto a mutant crow perched behind them, peeking at them.

Because it was daytime, this crow didn't have the violent aggression it had last night.

It looked just like an ordinary bird, even a bit dumb.

Jiang Nan's lips curled slightly.

It's you.

He suddenly turned, zero-frame start!

His right hand shot up, thumb raised, index finger extended, aiming at the spying crow!

He didn't activate Word Spirit, just made the execution gesture.

"Squawk?!"

The moment the crow saw the gesture, its beady eyes nearly popped out!

It was fear etched into its genes!

The demonic mark of the one who slaughtered hundreds of its kind last night!

"It's over! We've been discovered! It's going to explode!"

In extreme fear, the crow even forgot to flee, its body stiffening instantly.

With a kick of its legs and a loll of its tongue, it fell straight from the bushes.

Splat.

It hit the ground, instinctively playing dead.

However, after two seconds.

Huh?

It didn't hurt?

Its head didn't explode?

The crow cautiously opened one eye, just about to flap its wings and fly away.

A large hand, like an iron clamp, gripped its neck tightly, lifting it up!

"Squawk! Squawk!!"

Let me go! You demon!

The crow struggled frantically, but in Jiang Nan's hand, it was like a helpless chick.

Just as Jiang Nan thought, this creature was smart but not overly so, easily outsmarted.

Jiang Nan, expressionless, held the crow and took out a notepad, drawing a simple sketch:

A wheat field, a scarecrow, and then a moon.

He shoved the drawing in front of the crow, pointing at the drawing, then at the sky.

The meaning was clear: Is it only at night that we can enter?

The crow hesitated, looking at the drawing, a human-like surprise flashing in its eyes.

This demon is asking for directions?

Its eyes darted, nodding frantically.

"Squawk squawk!"

Yes, yes, yes! Only at night!

Jiang Nan nodded, then drew a person on the paper, pointing at the wheat field.

Then he drew the person next to the wheat field, finally pointing at the barren land.

He spread his hands, showing a "what's going on now" expression.

Why does the person disappear when they get close to the wheat field?

The crow struggled twice, indicating Jiang Nan should put it on the ground, and it would lead the way.

Jiang Nan sneered, giving Wang Meng a look.

Wang Meng immediately found a rope, tying the crow's wings securely, like walking a dog.

Under the crow's guidance, they arrived at an inconspicuous stone at the edge of the forest and barren land.

There, a small, tattered scarecrow, no bigger than a palm, was stuck in the ground.

The crow picked up the small scarecrow with its beak, handing it to Jiang Nan, its eyes full of cunning and glee.

"Take it! Foolish human!"

"As soon as you touch this thing, the big guy inside will target you! You're doomed tonight!"

However.

It never calculated that there was an appraiser in this team.

"Wait! Don't touch it!"

Liu Yuqing shouted, adjusting her glasses, a blue light instantly scanning the small scarecrow.

To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com.

A few seconds later, Liu Yuqing's face changed.

"Boss! It's a trap!"

She pointed at the little thing, quickly reciting the appraisal information.

**[Item]: Watchful Scarecrow**

**[Type]: Eerie Object**

**[Info]: This is an evil medium capable of creating a wheat field illusion node, specifically designed to lure the unlucky to their doom. Anyone who touches it will instantly be marked with the highest level of [Scarecrow's Gaze]. Once inside the wheat field, they will be the primary target of the terrifying scarecrow, relentless until death!**

Hearing this, Wang Meng and Liu Yuqing's faces turned green.

When the crow brought it over, it even rubbed against their legs!

Which means... they were all marked!

"Damn it! This feathered beast tricked us!"

Liu Yuqing was trembling with anger, and without thinking, she lifted her foot and stomped hard on the crow, still secretly pleased with itself!

"Squawk?!"

The crow was dumbfounded.

Before it could react, Wang Meng's size 48 foot also kicked over.

"That's for harming people! I'll stomp you to death!"

The two of them, in a mixed double attack, instantly turned the unlucky crow into a puddle of mush.

After venting, they looked at Jiang Nan in panic:

"Boss... what do we do? We've been marked with that gaze, won't we be hunted by the BOSS if we go in tonight?"

Jiang Nan looked at the small scarecrow on the ground, but there was no panic on his face.

On the contrary, he even felt like laughing.

Whether or not he had this mark, it was all the same to him.

He was planning to dismantle the scarecrow for materials anyway.

If having this mark meant the BOSS would come to him, it saved him the trouble of searching.

Perfect.

Jiang Nan picked up the small scarecrow, casually hanging it at his waist, then wrote on the notepad.

**[Return to the vehicle and rest.]**

**[Conserve energy, wait for midnight.]**

……

Meanwhile.

In the wheat field, a deathly silence.

Yang Wei and Guo Shuai were slumped on the ground, eyes bloodshot, their spirits nearly broken.

They had been walking, endlessly walking.

But no matter how far they went, it was always the damned wheat!

What drove them to despair was...

They had survived the night, endured until the sun rose.

But!

The system announcement in their minds never sounded!

No Awakening Fruit! Nothing at all!

It was as if the entire world had forgotten them!

"Why... why can't we get out..."

Yang Wei clutched his hair, his voice hoarse. "Are we already dead? Is this hell?"

Guo Shuai said nothing.

He stared intently at the mechanical watch on his wrist, something he hadn't taken off since arriving in this world.

The watch displayed the time as 3:33 PM.

3:30 PM.

Guo Shuai's mind raced, reconstructing every time node from the past day and night in his head.

Suddenly.

He burst into laughter, his whole body trembling with mirth.

"Hahaha! Old Yang! I get it! I get it!"

"Guo Shuai? Have you gone mad?" Yang Wei was startled.

Guo Shuai grabbed Yang Wei's shoulders.

"Time! It's time!!"

"Old Yang, do you remember? Yesterday at 10:30 AM, the sun set here!"

"And now, my watch shows 3:30 PM, which is 15:30, but here?"

Guo Shuai pointed at the sun that had just risen.

"It's just dawn here! Probably around 7 AM!"

"What does this mean?"

"It means the flow of time here is chaotic! Probably twice as fast as outside, or completely misaligned!"

Yang Wei's head throbbed from listening.

"So what? Didn't you say at 10-something?"

"Will that monster let us out? We haven't even seen it yet!"

"No! You didn't get my point!"

Guo Shuai, excited, took a branch and frantically drew a timeline on the ground.

"The night we came in, it was around midnight."

"I suspect that was the exact time when the [Real World] and [Wheat Field World] time overlapped!"

"Only at that specific time point would the barrier between the two worlds open!"

"We stumbled in purely by dumb luck that day!"

"And if we want to get out..."

Guo Shuai stared intently at the diagram on the ground.

**[Mechanical Watch Time: 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24, 6.]**

**[Wheat Field Time: 12, 18, 24, 6, 12, 24, 12.]**

"We have to wait for the next time overlap!"

"Two days per cycle! Which means midnight in real-time!"

"Tonight at midnight is our only way out!!"

After hearing this explanation, even Yang Wei, slow as he was, understood.

This wheat field wasn't the real Wilderness Realm, but an independent mini-instance!

Only when the time matched would the door open!

"So... we can get out tonight?!"

A fierce survival instinct erupted in Yang Wei's once dim eyes.

"Most likely!"

Guo Shuai nodded heavily, but then his face darkened.

"But... I have a feeling that monster won't let us go so easily."

"Tonight, when the door opens, will also be its last hunting moment."

Yang Wei gritted his teeth, his gaze fierce.

"Damn it! We'll fight!"

He dumped all the remaining food and water from his backpack onto the ground.

"Eat! Eat it all!"

"Don't save it! We need strength to run!"

"Tonight, a fight to the death!"