Chapter 120: The Temptation of the Forest

The squirrel looked somewhat shocked, the small rodent frozen on the railing like a stone, its glossy little eyes staring at Yu Sheng, motionless for a long while.

To be honest, being stared at by a talking squirrel felt quite eerie.

Yu Sheng couldn't help but feel curious: what exactly was the origin of this squirrel?

If this Black Forest was the "Fairy Tale Otherworld" mentioned by Little Red Riding Hood that brought her a curse, then was this squirrel an entity generated within that Otherworld? An entity with such rich emotions and reason? Were those wolves also entities within the Otherworld? In the same Otherworld, could entities with such diametrically opposed stances appear?

Yu Sheng felt his understanding of the Otherworld was still far too shallow.

"Strange, strange," the squirrel stopped staring blankly and paced on the railing, its thick tail sweeping back and forth restlessly, "This has never happened! Never happened! Only Little Red Riding Hood could come here; I've never heard of anything about 'friends'... It's too strange, an unprecedented situation in the forest! Something's going to happen, I feel something's going to happen... How did you get in? How exactly did you get in?"

The squirrel suddenly jumped onto Yu Sheng's arm, gripping his sleeve with its claws, looking so anxious it seemed almost frantic, repeatedly asking, "How exactly did you get in?"

"... I don't know either," Yu Sheng shook his head.

He didn't tell the squirrel the truth—after realizing that this seemingly rational and friendly squirrel might essentially be just an "entity" generated by the Black Forest, he had to maintain a degree of wariness towards it.

After all, he still didn't know all the "rules" of this forest; who knew whether the stance the squirrel was currently displaying was truly out of reason, or merely a "simulation" by the Black Forest.

"You don't know... well, you don't know," the squirrel climbed onto Yu Sheng's shoulder, "Have you heard bedtime stories? Have you had a dream with a forest, little flowers, and candy? Did you?"

Yu Sheng's heart instantly stirred: "Did Little Red Riding Hood enter this forest after hearing a bedtime story and having such a dream?"

"It's always like this, always like this," the squirrel looked somewhat anxious, "But only children do this; adults don't, theoretically adults shouldn't..."

Yu Sheng frowned: "Why do you say that?"

"How would I know, how would I know, I'm just a damn squirrel!" The squirrel looked increasingly anxious, speaking rapidly while rubbing its face with its paws, "No time for chatting, the lights are dimming, this path is about to disappear, we have to go to the next safe place... Go, go, hurry, before they catch up..."

As the squirrel's words fell, Yu Sheng immediately noticed that the highly fantastical "streetlamps" on both sides of the path were indeed dimming at a speed visible to the naked eye, and with each lamp dimming, the forest path that had been clearly visible in the light followed suit, becoming blurred, as if the forest's own darkness was gradually swallowing them—some cold and viscous malice gradually invaded this small path, and the dangerous atmosphere originating from the forest spread from all directions.

Yu Sheng instinctively started walking, asking rapidly as he moved: "Which way? Where are we going?"

"Just follow the path, just follow the path," the squirrel's voice was shrill and tense, "As long as you keep walking along the path, you will see other paths with streetlamps, or see the light of a cabin—cabins are sometimes dangerous, but sometimes they can let you rest. But be extremely careful, careful of those things on both sides of the path tempting you; when the lights dim, those things will tempt you to leave the road and walk into the depths of the forest, that's a trap set by the wolves..."

Yu Sheng instantly recalled the warnings the squirrel had raised when it first appeared—do not be attracted by pretty little flowers and mushrooms.

"Don't worry, I won't be attracted by wildflowers and mushrooms by the roadside," he shook his head, "I'm not a child."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but think: if a child were truly trapped in this boundless Black Forest, what would happen? When did Little Red Riding Hood first fall into this forest? How old was she then? Had she ever been tempted by wildflowers and mushrooms by the roadside and left this path?

After all, according to the squirrel's account, being hunted by wolves could happen more than once—the "children" trapped in this forest gradually sank while being hunted by evil wolves again and again.

Even an "adult" like him found it hard to escape those wolves; how many times would a panicked child trapped in the forest have to be swallowed by wolves before gaining power like Little Red Riding Hood's...

"I hope you won't be tempted," the squirrel mumbled, "Things that confuse people always appear in the dark; the forest has ways, it always has ways..."

Yu Sheng smiled, quickened his pace, and hurried along the forest path where the streetlamps were growing dimmer and the road more blurred, while vigilantly watching the roadside situation with the corner of his eye.

Then he suddenly froze.

In the dim shadows by the roadside, Yu Sheng caught a glimpse of a flash; focusing his eyes, he saw it was a brand new *090 graphics card, lying quietly in the grass.

Then he looked again and saw a brand new laptop lying quietly in the grass, along with an **Elite 6th Gen Smart Feedback Game Controller** co-branded model with RGB lighting kit and carrying case.

Yu Sheng rubbed his eyes and saw hanging on the nearby tree a **Power Tool Expert Set Limited Edition with Case, 18-piece set**, cases of wild iced black tea, and a carbon fiber fishing rod set...

On the other side of the path, the sound of rushing water came again; Yu Sheng turned around and saw an open pond. By the pond was a stone nook barely enough to shelter from wind and rain, with folding chairs, a tackle box, half a case of beer, a sun umbrella, and a fishing enthusiast packing up as if about to leave immediately.

The squirrel standing on Yu Sheng's shoulder was dumbfounded, its glossy eyes almost popping out: "... What the hell are all these?!"

"They are adults' 'wildflowers and mushrooms'," Yu Sheng was greatly shaken, almost slapping himself to tear his gaze away, then lowered his head and gritted his teeth as he hurried forward, "Too dangerous, this forest is too damn dangerous..."

He walked for who knows how long; countless insidious and vicious temptation traps appeared on both sides of the path, and those illusions finally ceased to appear—meanwhile, the lights by the roadside had dimmed to almost complete disappearance, leaving only a few vague, firefly-like bright spots floating in mid-air, barely illuminating the outline of the path.

In the depths of the dense forest ahead, Yu Sheng saw faint light.

"There it is, there it is! A place to rest!" The squirrel immediately jumped up on his shoulder, letting out an excited scream, "Go over, go over, I hope there's a warm hearth fire there, and hot vegetable soup."

Yu Sheng unconsciously quickened his pace.

The "streetlamps" beside him had gone out completely; darkness once again shrouded the surroundings, the forest's malice whispering in the wind, bringing distant and faint wolf howls.

The wolf howls were gradually approaching; after the path disappeared, the invisible evil wolves once again smelled the prey, and a new encirclement gradually formed, closing in on the uninvited guest in the forest.

But Yu Sheng had already arrived near that warm light—he saw a cabin.

A wooden-built cabin, looking somewhat aged, stood quietly in the depths of the forest.

Warm light spilled from the cabin's windows; in such a dark and cold forest, that light was inexplicably cozy.

Yu Sheng arrived at the cabin door; he saw a piece of red rag hanging on the door, and many similar red strings, winding around the door frame, window lattice, and the wood under the eaves, though whether they held special meaning or were merely simple decorations was unknown.

"Don't rush to go in yet," the squirrel warned rapidly, "Go to the door, there's a crack, see it? Lean in, you can see the bed inside just right; check if there's anyone on it—if no one is there, the cabin is safe and you can go in to rest, but if 'Grandma' is inside, then we still have to continue deeper into the forest."

Yu Sheng frowned, followed the squirrel's hint to the door, and looked into the cabin interior through the crack in the door.

A warm hearth fire burned in the fireplace; a simple wooden table held bread, a bouquet of flowers, and candles; the bed was deeper in the room, with no one on it.

"No one is in the house," Yu Sheng said to the squirrel.

"That's great, we can go in," the squirrel immediately became happy, "So lucky—we can rest inside for a long time, even until you wake up!"

Yu Sheng nodded; accompanied by the increasingly clear and approaching wolf howls from afar, he reached out and pushed open the wooden door of the cabin.

The wolf howls vanished almost instantly.

Yu Sheng and the squirrel entered the cabin and closed the door behind them.

The light coming from the front and the heat released by the fireplace dispelled the unease and oppression brought by the forest with an inexplicable power; the crackling hearth fire brought a warmth that felt almost unreal, causing Yu Sheng's always somewhat tense heart to unconsciously relax a little.

"Relax, relax a bit; a cabin without Grandma is the only place in the forest where you can completely relax," the squirrel noticed the change in Yu Sheng's expression; it lightly jumped onto a nearby table, "I hope footsteps or knocking don't suddenly come..."

(End of Chapter)