Chapter 79 - Seventy-Seven: The Wilderness She Remembered

Chapter 79: Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Wilderness She Remembered

The woman standing beyond the portal smiled.

Lin Yue couldn’t move.

For one impossible moment—

she forgot the Golden Space.

Forgot the Heartline World.

Forgot the ancient Keepers.

Forgot everything.

Because she knew that face.

She knew those eyes.

She knew that expression.

She knew the scar beside the eyebrow.

It was—

hers.

But not exactly.

The woman looked older.

Perhaps five years older.

Perhaps ten.

Her clothes were different.

Her hair was longer.

But the resemblance was unmistakable.

Shen Rui stepped in front of Lin Yue.

"Stay behind me."

Lin Yue shook her head.

"No."

He glanced back.

"This concerns you."

"It concerns me too."

She stepped beside him.

Together—

they stared through the portal.

The woman smiled.

"Finally."

Lin Yue’s heart tightened.

"Who are you?"

The woman answered:

"You."

The Wilderness Blogger

The portal flickered.

The scene beyond changed.

A mountain.

A forest.

A river.

A small camp.

A camera mounted on a tripod.

And a young woman—

Lin Yue.

Not the Lin Yue standing beside Shen Rui.

The Lin Yue in the recording wore a weatherproof jacket.

Her hair was tied back.

A backpack rested against a tree.

She smiled toward the camera.

"Good morning, everyone."

Lin Yue stopped breathing.

Her own voice echoed through the portal.

"Today we’re going to test something a little uncomfortable."

The recorded Lin Yue lifted a simple metal cup.

"If you ever become stranded in the wilderness, don’t start by looking for food."

She pointed toward a stream.

"Water comes first."

The video continued.

She discussed shelter.

Weather.

Navigation.

Fire.

Water purification.

Emergency signaling.

How to read terrain.

How to recognize dangerous exposure.

How to conserve energy.

How to avoid turning a manageable problem into a survival emergency.

Lin Yue stared.

Memories began returning.

Not fragments.

Years.

The Life She Had Forgotten

She remembered her old apartment.

Her editing computer.

Stacks of books.

Maps covering her walls.

Field notebooks.

Her camera equipment.

Years of hiking.

Mountains.

Rain forests.

Cold camps.

Desert trails.

Long-distance trekking.

Training courses.

Wilderness medicine.

Navigation practice.

Botany.

Soil science.

Ecology.

Agriculture.

Mechanical systems.

Water treatment.

Emergency planning.

She remembered the countless nights she had spent studying.

Not because someone forced her.

Because she loved understanding how things worked.

She remembered her blog.

Millions of views.

People calling her:

THE GIRL WHO COULD SURVIVE ANYWHERE.

She had always laughed at that title.

Because she knew the truth.

Nobody could survive everywhere.

Survival was not magic.

It was preparation.

Observation.

Decision-making.

Adaptation.

And knowing when not to take unnecessary risks.

Her Old Philosophy

The memory became clearer.

She sat before her camera in her old life.

"If you remember only one thing from this channel..."

She held up one finger.

"Don’t confuse confidence with competence."

The recorded Lin Yue smiled.

"Being brave doesn’t mean walking into danger."

"Being prepared means recognizing danger early enough to avoid it."

Shen Rui looked at the recording.

"You really were like this?"

Lin Yue gave him a look.

"Apparently."

He smiled.

"You haven’t changed much."

She laughed.

"Unfortunately."

The Final Video

Then the memory changed.

Her final video.

The one she had filmed shortly before her death.

She was sitting beside a mountain trail.

Her expensive survival backpack rested beside her.

She looked tired.

But happy.

"To everyone who’s followed me..."

She smiled.

"Thank you."

"I started this channel because I wanted people to understand something."

She looked toward the forest.

"Nature isn’t our enemy."

"It’s not our servant either."

"We are guests."

"We observe."

"We adapt."

"And if we are lucky..."

"We come home."

The video ended.

Tears filled Lin Yue’s eyes.

She remembered.

The mountain.

The goat.

Her backpack.

The argument.

The collapsing slope.

The darkness.

Then—

waking in another world.

The Goat

Lin Yue suddenly laughed.

Shen Rui looked at her.

"What?"

"The goat."

"What goat?"

"My death."

He stared.

"You died because of a goat?"

"Technically..."

She sighed.

"Yes."

Lumi looked horrified.

"You were killed by a goat?"

Lin Yue covered her face.

"I don’t want to discuss it."

Shen Rui began laughing.

"I thought your greatest enemy was the Original."

"It was a very determined goat."

Lumi giggled.

Even Aster remained silent.

Perhaps wisely.

Why She Was Chosen

The woman beyond the portal spoke again.

"You remember now."

Lin Yue looked at her.

"Not everything."

"You will."

"Who are you?"

The woman smiled.

"The version of you that never crossed over."

Lin Yue frowned.

"What does that mean?"

"This world was created from the potential of your previous life."

"The Heartline World?"

"Yes."

Lin Yue stared.

"So this isn’t my old Earth."

"No."

"Then why does it look familiar?"

"Because the Golden Space remembered what you loved."

Lin Yue looked toward the wilderness beyond the portal.

Mountains.

Forests.

Rivers.

Wildlife.

Open land.

It was everything she had spent her previous life studying.

Everything she had loved.

The Survivalist Awakens

Lin Yue stepped through the portal.

Shen Rui followed immediately.

The moment her boots touched the soil—

she stopped.

She looked around.

Not emotionally.

Scientifically.

Her eyes moved automatically.

Wind direction.

Cloud movement.

Terrain slope.

Vegetation density.

Water source.

Animal tracks.

Potential shelter locations.

Sun position.

Rock formations.

Possible hazards.

Shen Rui noticed the change.

"What are you doing?"

"Assessing."

"Assessing what?"

"Everything."

He smiled.

"She really is back."

Lin Yue crouched.

She examined the soil.

"Clay-rich beneath the top layer."

She looked at the trees.

"Some are nitrogen-fixing."

She studied the river.

"Fast current."

Then she looked upstream.

"There’s a narrower section farther north."

Shen Rui raised an eyebrow.

"How can you tell?"

"The vegetation changes."

He stared.

She smiled.

"My old job."

The Old Training Returns

Her memory became practical.

When she encountered a new landscape—

she didn’t rush.

She stopped.

Observed.

Assessed.

Planned.

The same basic priorities she had taught her viewers returned instinctively: establish safety, understand water and shelter options, determine direction, and only then consider longer-term food and exploration.

She pointed toward a ridge.

"We’ll camp there."

Shen Rui looked.

"Why?"

"Higher ground."

She pointed farther.

"Good visibility."

Then toward the forest.

"Close enough to resources."

Then the river.

"Near water, but not directly beside it."

He nodded.

"Flood risk."

"Exactly."

He smiled.

"You really missed this."

Lin Yue smiled.

"I didn’t realize how much."

The First Night

They built their first temporary camp.

Shen Rui gathered structural materials.

Lin Yue selected the site.

Lumi provided magical light.

Aster monitored temperature.

Lin Yue constructed a simple shelter.

Not because she couldn’t use the Golden Space.

Because she wanted to understand the environment.

"This world may eventually interfere with the Golden Space."

Shen Rui understood.

"So you want to know what you can do without it."

"Yes."

She looked at the shelter.

"Tools can fail."

"Magic can fail."

"Technology can fail."

"But knowledge stays with you."

Shen Rui smiled.

"That sounds like something your old channel would say."

"It probably did."

Firelight

They made a small controlled fire.

Lin Yue sat beside it.

The flames reflected in her eyes.

Shen Rui sat next to her.

"You’ve changed."

"How?"

"Your eyes."

She looked at him.

"They look different."

"Better?"

"More alive."

She smiled.

"I remember who I was."

He took her hand.

"And who are you now?"

She thought about it.

"A farmer."

"A Keeper."

"A wife."

She smiled.

"And apparently still a wilderness blogger."

Shen Rui laughed.

"You’re going to start another channel?"

Lin Yue considered it.

"Maybe."

"What would you call it?"

She looked around the alien wilderness.

"Surviving Another World."

He laughed.

"That sounds like something you’d do."

The First Exploration

The next morning—

Lin Yue made a map.

Not a magical one.

A physical map.

She marked:

Water.

Elevation.

Forest.

Open ground.

Potential shelter.

Animal trails.

Unknown zones.

Hazards.

Food possibilities.

Shen Rui watched.

"You’re making a map before exploring."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because getting lost is easy."

She looked at the enormous forest.

"Getting lost somewhere unfamiliar is much harder to fix than avoiding it in the first place."

He nodded.

"So what’s the plan?"

"Short reconnaissance."

"How far?"

"Until we have enough information to return before dark."

He smiled.

"You sound like your old videos."

Lin Yue adjusted her pack.

"Good."

The First Creature

They had traveled for less than an hour when they found tracks.

Large.

Three-toed.

Fresh.

Shen Rui reached for his weapon.

Lin Yue raised a hand.

"Wait."

She crouched.

"Don’t chase it."

"Why?"

"We don’t know what it is."

She examined the tracks.

"It’s heavy."

"How heavy?"

"More than a deer."

She looked at the crushed vegetation.

"Probably herbivorous."

"Probably?"

"I’m not going to gamble our lives on a guess."

Shen Rui smiled.

"That is definitely the woman from the videos."

Lin Yue stood.

"We observe first."

They moved quietly.

Eventually—

they saw it.

A massive creature grazing near the river.

It had the body of a deer.

The neck of a giraffe.

And small crystalline horns.

Lumi gasped.

"It’s beautiful."

Lin Yue smiled.

"And probably dangerous if cornered."

The creature looked toward them.

Lin Yue immediately stopped.

She lowered her hands.

"No sudden movement."

The animal watched.

Then slowly returned to grazing.

Shen Rui whispered:

"How did you know?"

"Animals usually tell you what they’re about to do."

He looked impressed.

"You really can read them."

"Not perfectly."

She smiled.

"But enough to avoid being stupid."

The Poison Garden

Farther north—

they found a clearing.

Beautiful flowers covered the ground.

Blue.

Purple.

Silver.

Golden.

Lumi flew toward them.

Lin Yue grabbed her.

"Don’t touch."

Lumi froze.

"Why?"

Lin Yue pointed.

"Different leaf structure."

"What does that mean?"

"Unknown plant."

She looked closer.

"Until identified, assume it can hurt you."

Shen Rui nodded.

"Your old rule?"

"Exactly."

She smiled.

"Never let something beautiful convince you it’s safe."

Aster scanned the plants.

TOXICITY DETECTED.

Lumi backed away.

"I’m glad Lin Yue was here."

Lin Yue smiled.

"Me too."

The Strange Signal

That afternoon—

Aster detected something.

TECHNOLOGICAL SIGNAL.

Lin Yue stopped.

"Where?"

"Approximately three kilometers northeast."

Shen Rui frowned.

"There shouldn’t be technology here."

"Correct."

"Then who built it?"

Aster answered:

"Unknown."

Lin Yue looked toward the forest.

"That’s our next destination."

Shen Rui smiled.

"Of course it is."

The Abandoned Camp

They found the structure at sunset.

An old research station.

Broken.

Overgrown.

But not ancient.

Someone had been here recently.

Lin Yue examined the ground.

"Footprints."

Shen Rui crouched.

"Human?"

"Yes."

"How recent?"

"Less than a week."

Lumi became nervous.

"Then someone else is here."

Lin Yue nodded.

She examined the entrance.

The door had been forced open.

Inside—

were empty food containers.

Broken instruments.

Maps.

A sleeping area.

And one message carved into the wall.

DO NOT TRUST THE WOMAN.

Lin Yue stared.

"What woman?"

Aster suddenly activated.

"Additional message detected."

A screen flickered.

A recording appeared.

A woman’s face.

The same face as the woman from the portal.

She looked directly into the camera.

"If you’re seeing this..."

She paused.

"...then Lin Yue has arrived."

Lin Yue’s blood ran cold.

The Warning

The woman continued.

"I don’t know which version of you will arrive."

"But if you’re watching this..."

"You need to understand."

"This world wasn’t created for you."

Lin Yue stepped closer.

"Then why am I here?"

The recording answered:

"Because someone wanted you to come."

The screen flickered.

"And that someone is not the Heartline Tree."

Lin Yue’s expression hardened.

"Who?"

The woman looked frightened.

"The thing beneath this world."

The recording ended.

Silence.

Shen Rui looked at Lin Yue.

"You’re thinking."

"Yes."

"What?"

She looked at the maps scattered across the floor.

"Every ecosystem has a pattern."

"Every settlement leaves evidence."

"Every structure has a purpose."

She pointed toward the floor.

"And this station wasn’t abandoned randomly."

Aster scanned beneath them.

LARGE SUBTERRANEAN STRUCTURE DETECTED.

Lin Yue smiled slowly.

"There."

Shen Rui looked down.

"You think something is underneath us."

"I know something is."

The Wilderness Blogger’s Rule

Lin Yue shouldered her pack.

"We don’t go underground tonight."

Shen Rui looked surprised.

"Why not?"

"Because we’re tired."

She pointed toward the darkening forest.

"It’s almost night."

"We don’t know the structure."

"We don’t know the inhabitants."

"We don’t know the exits."

"And we don’t know what happens if the portal closes."

She smiled.

"Tomorrow."

Shen Rui nodded.

"Good."

They returned to camp.

That night—

Lin Yue wrote in her field journal.

DAY ONE — HEARTLINE WORLD. WATER: AVAILABLE. SHELTER: ESTABLISHED. FOOD: LIMITED BUT MANAGEABLE. WILDLIFE: UNKNOWN. TECHNOLOGY: PRESENT. SUBTERRANEAN STRUCTURE: CONFIRMED. PRIMARY RULE: OBSERVE BEFORE ACTING.

She closed the notebook.

Shen Rui looked over.

"Still writing?"

"Always."

"Why?"

"Because memory is useful."

She looked at the stars.

"And because I don’t want to forget who I was again."

He took her hand.

"You won’t."

She smiled.

"I know."

The Memory of Her Old Camera

Before sleeping—

Lin Yue remembered something else.

Her camera.

Her old wilderness camera.

The one she had been carrying when she died.

She looked toward the Golden Space.

"Aster."

"Yes?"

"Do you still have my old belongings?"

Aster paused.

"Some."

"My camera?"

"Yes."

Lin Yue’s eyes widened.

"Can you retrieve it?"

"Confirmed."

Golden light appeared.

A familiar camera materialized in her hands.

For several seconds—

she simply stared at it.

Then she laughed.

Shen Rui smiled.

"You missed it."

"Very much."

She held it carefully.

Her old life.

Her old work.

Her old identity.

Her memories.

All returned.

She turned the camera on.

The battery indicator was full.

Lin Yue stared.

"That shouldn’t be possible."

Aster answered:

"The Golden Space preserved it."

She looked at the lens.

Then at Shen Rui.

"Want to see something?"

"What?"

She smiled.

She turned the camera toward the strange wilderness.

"Welcome back to the wilderness."

Shen Rui laughed.

"You’re actually doing this."

"Yes."

She looked into the lens.

"I’m Lin Yue."

She paused.

"For those of you who remember me..."

Her smile became softer.

"I came back."

Beneath the Camp

At that exact moment—

deep beneath the ground—

something opened its eyes.

The underground structure awakened.

A system recognized the camera.

ORIGINAL OBSERVER IDENTIFIED.

Then another message appeared.

WILDERNESS ARCHIVE RESTORED.

A final message followed.

WELCOME HOME, LIN YUE.

The camera in her hands suddenly switched itself on.

The screen displayed a map.

Not of the surface.

Not of the surrounding forest.

But of the entire world.

And at the center—

a pulsing red point.

Lin Yue stared.

"What is that?"

Aster answered:

"Unknown."

The red point pulsed again.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Then—

the entire world map began filling with red lights.

Hundreds.

Thousands.

Millions.

Lin Yue slowly lowered the camera.

Her wilderness instincts returned instantly.

Observe.

Assess.

Don’t panic.

Don’t move blindly.

Understand the environment first.

She looked at Shen Rui.

"We have company."

He stood.

"How many?"

Lin Yue looked at the map.

"I’m not sure."

The red lights continued appearing.

She swallowed.

"But judging from the map..."

She looked toward the dark forest.

"...we may not be the first humans to arrive here."

A deep sound echoed beneath their feet.

The ground trembled.

Lumi flew upward.

The Heartline Tree flashed gold.

And from beneath the earth—

a voice spoke.

Not Elara.

Not the Original.

Not Seraphine.

Something else.

Something ancient.

Something that knew Lin Yue’s previous life.

"The wilderness blogger has returned."

Lin Yue froze.

The voice continued.

"Let us see whether you still remember how to survive."

The ground split open.

And the forest disappeared beneath them.

To be continued...