Chapter 168: Safe, For Now

The forest trembled amidst the roar of artillery; a dark, twisted fairy tale burned fiercely in the demon fire. Packs of wolves born from the shadows were torn apart one after another, felled, as the entire region was forcibly ripped open by pure violence. Lush trees, fragile as young seedlings, were cut down and plowed into a wide avenue in the blink of an eye.

The squirrel stared blankly at it all, hiding inside Little Red Riding Hood's hood, its body shivering. The firelight shooting skyward from the forest reflected in its round, black eyes; the sight seemed to have melted the entire sky.

It wasn't like this. It had never been like this—

Reconnaissance, evasion, relocation, ambush, then evasion again, continuing to move to the next safe house. For many years, this was the only way Little Red Riding Hood, fallen into the Black Forest, could survive. This malicious, dense forest never allowed its prey to do anything beyond the "rules," and those unfortunate prey themselves had never possessed the strength to resist these rules.

Never had such a thing happened—prey tearing apart wolf packs with blood and fire, forcibly carving a path through the forest.

The squirrel stopped screaming. It just stared dumbfounded, as if its tiny brain could no longer bear the burden; the events unfolding before it had robbed it of the ability to think and judge.

Little Red Riding Hood was laughing. It was an unprecedented, joyful, and relaxed laugh. When the howling of wolves rose, fear would still spring from the depths of her heart. However, the barrage of fox-fire sweeping across her field of vision, the fox-tail missiles flying through the sky, and the viciously swinging spiked club in her peripheral vision would bring her another emotion. An unusual, unrestrained, indulgent excitement and joy repeatedly crashed against that fear, merging into a shiver she herself could not clearly describe.

She didn't know if she was actually afraid, or happy, or simply venting. She just felt that this was good. Even if it happened only once in a lifetime, it was enough.

She hated this place. She just wanted to see it burn fiercely.

Yu Sheng turned his head slightly, catching the smile on the red-clothed girl's face and the glint in her eyes.

It's good. Children should go crazy occasionally. She's not even eighteen yet; there's no need to be as cautious as an adult about everything so early.

Things that require being cautious can be left to true adults.

He flexed his wrist, rotating the threaded steel spiked club welded with blades, iron nails, and rebar fragments, relieving his numb, stinging muscles.

This thing was very useful. When swung with full force, it could easily smash the heads of those wolves. The monsters emerging from the shadows gained physical form when they lunged, giving Yu Sheng excellent opportunities to perform. Now, many wolves had become corpses with bursting skulls, lying on the blazing forest avenue.

Some of those corpses were already staggering to their feet, wandering blindly through the forest, waiting for a chance to gnaw on other wolf packs emerging from the shadows.

Yu Sheng was blood-linked with them.

It was precisely by means of this spreading blood that Yu Sheng could clearly grasp the changes in the Black Forest.

The forest could not yet be said to be burning fiercely. Compared to this boundless forest, the flames ignited by the fox-fire were at best an insignificant spark.

Countless wolf packs were emerging from the deeper darkness, their numbers endless, their malice increasing in real-time. The speed of their destruction far lagged behind the speed of their growth.

The largest evil wolf had not been eliminated. Although when the sixteen Fox-Radish missiles landed, Yu Sheng had momentarily perceived the gaze from the evil wolf dissipate, only a short while later he sensed the evil wolf's aura rapidly rebirthing. The monster born from the depths of Little Red Riding Hood's cognition and fear could reappear in the Black Forest unconditionally and infinitely. Now, the reborn one was slowly approaching.

The scale of this nightmare was too great; a single fire could not burn it clean.

And Little Red Riding Hood was unaware of this. Perhaps she would think of this after calming down, but now she was clearly still immersed in the joy of watching the Black Forest burn fiercely.

Then let her continue to be happy. Children should be happy.

Yu Sheng exhaled lightly, yet the excited and joyful expression on his face did not fade in the slightest.

He could still cause a bit more trouble. And with such a huge commotion... the Hunter hidden somewhere must have noticed. If that Hunter possessed even a shred of "sanity," they should now be sufficiently interested in this group of lawless intruders.

The small wooden cabin, lit up, appeared at the end of the view.

"Look! A cabin!" Yu Sheng raised his blood-stained Tetanus Staff, pointing it far toward the fantasy-filled small wooden cabin. "Let's go check it out!"

He strode forward.

Deep blue demon fire extended beneath his feet. Tall, twisted trees crashed down beside him. The piercing shriek of fox-tail missiles cutting through the air pierced the sky. Dusk had faded at some point; the night sky reflected the firelight shooting to the heavens. Wolf packs surged from the darkness wave after wave, only to be forced back time and again by Hu Li's dense barrage.

"Benefactor! It feels like we can't finish them!" Hu Li began to feel the strain. She sensed something was wrong and shouted loudly to Yu Sheng, "And the newly appearing wolves are harder to kill than before—several hits didn't even kill them!"

"It's fine. We've arrived."

Yu Sheng spoke without turning his head. Before his words had even finished, he had already stepped into the range of the warm light emanating from the cabin's window.

In the blink of an eye, the howling of wolves around them weakened.

The wolf packs began to retreat rapidly. Even those wolves that had already taken physical form and charged close, upon entering the cabin's range, quickly turned back into shadows and dissolved in the light.

Hu Li panted slightly, holding her large tail with both hands. Several detached fox-fires circled behind her as she watched this scene in amazement.

The squirrel poked its head out from Little Red Riding Hood's shoulder. It stared wide-eyed, looking back toward the direction they had come from, then turned to look at the small wooden cabin standing quietly at the end of the path of fire, emitting a sound of terrified, mournful distress: "What is going to happen next—"

Yu Sheng arrived at the cabin door, peered inside, then, with a smile on his face, raised his hand and knocked on the wooden door. "Is Grandma Wolf at home?"

Inside the small wooden cabin, it was silent. There was no response.

Yu Sheng knocked again.

"Guests have arrived—"

There was still not a single sound of movement inside the wooden cabin.

"It seems Grandma Wolf really isn't here." Yu Sheng shook his head, speaking to Hu Li and Erin, then pushed the door open with one hand.

With a creak, the wooden door opened. Warm light from inside the cabin rushed out, bringing with it an incredible sense of comfort and tranquility, as if protected by some power.

Yu Sheng, holding the dripping Tetanus Staff in one hand, stepped in cautiously but not excessively.

He heard a "Bang!" from above.

"What was that noise!" Yu Sheng instantly tensed his nerves, gripping the "battle club" and spinning around abruptly to guard.

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Then he heard the indignant voice of the small doll on his shoulder: "My head hit the doorframe! Didn't you look before you went in?!"

Yu Sheng then belatedly turned his head to look, seeing Erin holding her forehead and muttering: "Sss... damn, this doorframe is way too low... I lowered my head in advance and still didn't dodge it... Yu Sheng, you damn..."

The doll's misfortune quickly dispelled the remaining tension in the group. Everyone soon wore a knowing smile. Hu Li was the worst—she laughed out loud.

Erin's curses were quite foul.

"Let's rest here for a while." Yu Sheng casually leaned the "battle club" against the door, then turned to speak to Hu Li.

Hu Li made an "Oh," finally relaxing her tense nerves slightly. She walked to the dining table in the middle of the room, sat down, and pulled out a large handful of dried meat from her tail, stuffing it into her mouth and crunching away.

The Fox-Radish Smart Auto-Fire System is currently replenishing her ammunition. jpg.

Little Red Riding Hood also walked in, sitting on that empty small bed, looking somewhat dazed.

The squirrel climbed out from her hood, stood on her shoulder, and joined in the daze.

Yu Sheng glanced at the items on the wooden dining table. He rummaged in a wooden bowl, pulled out an acorn, and walked toward the dazed squirrel: "Here. Didn't you lose your acorn earlier? Here's a new one for you."

The squirrel hesitantly accepted the acorn but showed no intention of eating it. It just stared blankly up at Yu Sheng. After a long moment, it finally spoke: "Thank you..."

Seeing the other's reaction, Yu Sheng found it interesting and deliberately teased it: "What about the classic line that comes after?"

The squirrel stared blankly: "What line?"

"Just that line—xx is the squirrel's best friend—I give you acorns, am I your best friend?"

The squirrel froze, motionless for a long time, as if crashed.

Yu Sheng paid no attention to its reaction; he had only been teasing this strange little creature, so now he turned his gaze away and looked up at the night sky outside the window, which seemed to have calmed again.

The wolf pack had retreated; silence returned to the black forest, leaving only the hard-to-eradicate pale blue demonic flames slowly burning between the trees, gradually being swallowed and extinguished by the surrounding darkness.

The areas scorched by flame and torn apart by explosions were slowly returning to their original state.

"That wolf is still pacing around," Yu Sheng suddenly said, "but it has no intention of coming closer."

Little Red Riding Hood lifted her head, staring at him blankly.

"It's not dead—we just made a big racket; we're far from destroying this place," Yu Sheng said with a smile to the girl, then immediately shook his head, "Don't worry, if it comes, I'll hit it."

"I'm not afraid," Little Red Riding Hood lowered her head, her voice muffled.

As her words faded, she feared he might see through her inner tension and quickly changed the subject, pointing her finger at the fox happily gnawing on dried meat: "What's she eating? It looks delicious."

"... Delicious meat," Yu Sheng walked over, took a strip of dried meat from the fox, and handed it to Little Red Riding Hood. "Want to try?"

(End of Chapter)