Propping his palm against the ground, Adam Carter got up and walked to the corner to check his phone.

Except for some dents on the edges, the phone was undamaged. The screen still displayed the group chat interface, and the last message in the “work group” was sent by ‘Samuel Wright’: “I see you!”

“That’s it?”

He frowned, picked up the phone again, entered the work group’s personal settings, and directly exited the group.

He held the phone and waited quietly in the small temple for a few minutes.

Nothing unusual happened with the phone.

He wasn’t added back into the work group.

“It seems this weirdness spreads through ‘Samuel Wright’s social account, or that work group, and probably has nothing to do with the phone itself.

But, ‘Samuel Wright’ just said he saw me—does that mean he’ll target me?

If he catches me, will he drag me back to keep working overtime?

And, ‘Samuel Wright’ only made threats in the group but didn’t come out to take me away in person. Is it because the small temple itself avoids or blocks his attempt to capture me?”

At this thought, Adam Carter felt a surge of anger inside.

It’s already come to this, and that damned thing still wants to squeeze me dry!

‘Gurgle gurgle…’

Adam Carter’s stomach rumbled.

He rubbed his belly, feeling the hunger rapidly intensifying.

He’d already felt a bit hungry while browsing through all that information earlier, but he didn’t expect that after just a dozen minutes, the hunger would become almost unbearable.

Did my future self not have dinner?

Getting hungry this fast is ridiculous.

But this also served as a reminder: he needed to prepare some daily necessities in advance and find a place near the small temple to store them.

When it came time to really escape for his life in reality, it would save a lot of trouble. Plus, reducing the frequency of going out could effectively lower the chance of being killed by the lantern ghost.

Adam Carter left his phone in the small temple, dragged the ghost hand under his right armpit, and walked out.

At this moment, the sky full of red lanterns had just disappeared, and the neon lights on the street were flickering.

As soon as he stepped out of the temple, he locked onto a small convenience store dozens of meters away and strode toward it.

The hunger burned in his stomach like a ball of fire.

After only five or six steps, Adam Carter felt weak in his limbs, and his heart was pounding.

It was as if every step he took just now—even just standing in the temple for a moment—had consumed a huge amount of his body’s stored energy!

What’s going on?

Something’s really wrong!

Adam Carter slowed his pace, first suspecting the weirdness from the ‘Samuel Wright’ work group.

But he immediately dismissed that guess.

The hunger had been steadily increasing, and it had already started before he even turned on his phone.

So, the real culprit behind his rapid energy drain must be the ghost hand under his armpit!

It brought nothing but trouble!

To this day, Adam Carter still hadn’t found any positive value in it.

Luckily, this was just a simulation of the future—if he died, he could start over.

If this were reality, he’d definitely be dragged to death by the ghost hand, and dying then would really be the end.

The seventy or eighty meters to the store felt to Adam Carter like running a mountain cross-country marathon.

And it was a marathon with his energy nearly depleted and no food supply.

Wary of the lantern ghost’s appearance, Adam Carter tried to keep up his speed.

By the time he reached the convenience store, he had almost exhausted all his energy, kneeling in front of the freezer at the entrance, gasping for breath before barely managing to stand and enter the store.

At that moment, an electronic voice faintly sounded: “You have comprehended a temporary talent: Hunger Endurance (White).”

“Hunger Endurance (White): Among ordinary people, you are one of those who can endure hunger better. When extremely hungry, you can maintain 40% of your normal mobility.”

Adam Carter had no time to pay attention to the prompt in his ear and instead began to look around the convenience store.

This convenience store was located in a corridor.

Diagonally across was a nail salon with its lights on, but no one in sight.

The shop was very small, with only a row of glass counters in front and a row of shelves with snacks in the back.

Between the counter and the shelves was a narrow passage that only allowed one person through.

Normally, the shopkeeper would stand in the passage, and if a customer wanted something, he’d turn around and get it.

At this moment, the owner of the small shop was nowhere to be seen—no idea where he’d gone.

He might have already died somewhere unknown.

“Boss, are you there?”

“Anyone here?”

Adam Carter called out at the entrance while walking in to grab biscuits, milk, and various snacks.

He didn’t really expect anyone to answer.

But just then, from the pitch-black little door at the end of the passage, there came a thumping sound, as if someone had heard Adam Carter’s call and was banging on the door in response.

“Someone there?”

He looked toward the dark door at the end, slowly approaching as he asked, “Are you inside?”

The banging from inside the door grew louder and louder, but there was no verbal response to Adam Carter.

Finally, Adam Carter stopped at the door, grabbed the handle with one hand, and said, “If you don’t say anything, I’m going to open the door.”