I don’t know how long I walked, but the sky had completely darkened.
As Lin Ran continued forward, a sudden sense of familiarity washed over him.
This place?
The pitch-black night, the moonlight completely obscured by towering pine trees, the primal forest thick with a damp, icy chill.
Lin Ran trudged step by step through the overgrown weeds, moving straight ahead.
Until a cave appeared before him—Lin Ran froze.
Why did this scene feel like something he’d seen in a dream?
Lin Ran peered into the cave entrance but saw no sign of any eyes. He let out a slight sigh of relief.
Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream echoed from inside the cave.
That sound—it was like the voice of death itself.Lin Ran stiffened, then rushed to the cave entrance in a few strides. The moment he stepped inside, he looked down and saw a pair of crimson eyes staring back at him, nearly making him stumble in fright.
At his feet, Little Black was so terrified he leaped straight into Lin Ran’s arms.
[Little Black: "What the hell is that thing?! Scared the crap outta me!"]
Lin Ran didn’t answer. He was just as shaken.
Those crimson eyes were unnerving, yet somehow familiar.
They were positioned slightly lower than Lin Ran’s own height, much shorter than him.
Gulping, Lin Ran was about to speak when the bloody mouth beneath those eyes stretched open, glistening ominously in the faint moonlight.
"Hehehe—I won, I’m the… one who gets to live."
"Are! You! Here! To! Play! With! Me! Too?"
A childlike voice laced with bone-chilling coldness.
Lin Ran’s hair stood on end. This thing was speaking human words.
"I’m not. Stay calm."
Lin Ran immediately signaled his harmlessness.
"Hehehe—They said… only one person… who comes here… gets to leave… alive!"
The voice was halting, as if spoken by someone with a speech impediment.
As soon as those words ended, a shadow suddenly lunged from the darkness.
[Little Black: "Holy shit, let’s get outta here! This is way too scary! If you die, that’s your problem, but don’t drag me down with you!"]
Lin Ran: "No, I haven’t found who I’m looking for yet. Besides, as the so-called ‘Creator,’ you’re scared of a kid?"
[Little Black: "I was lying! I’m nothing special! Any random person could slaughter me in seconds! I’ve only survived this long by being a coward! Waaah, let’s just go!"]
In the instant the shadow leaped, Lin Ran caught a glimpse under the moonlight.
It was that frail little boy from earlier in the evening—the one who’d been pitted against a much stronger opponent.
The kid clearly had some skill, but Lin Ran wasn’t intimidated.
Among children, he might’ve been exceptional, but to Lin Ran, he was just a slightly tougher brat.
Lin Ran dodged the boy’s attack and was about to counter when the child suddenly collapsed to the ground.
Lin Ran paused, then cautiously approached.
"Hey… you okay?"
The boy didn’t answer. Lin Ran leaned closer and, in the dim moonlight, realized the child was injured.
A dark liquid—blood—was seeping from his body onto the ground.
Logic told Lin Ran time was running out, that he shouldn’t waste it here.
But his conscience screamed that if he left this boy, he’d die—the wounds were severe.
After a moment’s hesitation, Lin Ran turned and walked away.
One minute later, he returned.
"Damn it, do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused me?" Lin Ran scooped up the boy and carried him into the cave.
Inside, he was startled to find a small fire burning.
And beside it—a corpse.
The dead man’s throat had been torn open, his carotid artery severed. The blood hadn’t fully congealed yet; he must’ve died recently.
A chill ran down Lin Ran’s spine as he glanced at the boy in his arms, suddenly hyperaware of his own exposed neck.
With no proper medical supplies, Lin Ran tore strips from his own clothes to bandage the boy’s wounds, hoping to stem the blood loss.
This was as far as his goodwill extended.
As he looked at the unconscious boy, an uneasy feeling nagged at him.
Those crimson eyes…?
Just as he leaned in for a closer look, the boy’s eyes snapped open.
The moment he saw Lin Ran, he attacked without hesitation. Lin Ran pinned him down, preventing any movement.
In desperation, the boy sank his teeth toward Lin Ran’s neck. Lin Ran’s eyes widened, recalling the corpse on the ground—his pupils constricted in sheer terror.
[Little Black: "We’re done for! I told you we should’ve left earlier! Now you’re gonna die here, and I might not even escape! It’s over, completely over!"]
In the split second before impact, Lin Ran twisted aside. Instead of his neck, the boy’s teeth clamped onto his shoulder—the exact spot Luo Yao often bit.
Lin Ran grunted in pain and hurled the boy away.
"You psycho! I save your life, and you try to kill me? What kind of ungrateful monster are you?"
Fury burned through him.
The boy seemed momentarily stunned.
"You… saved me."
Lin Ran nodded. "Obviously?"
He touched his bleeding shoulder and grimaced. Would he need rabies shots now? And if so, where? Did this hellhole even have vaccines?
The boy fell silent, staring at his bandaged wounds, then at Lin Ran’s torn clothes. A strange expression crossed his face—as if he’d been given something he’d never had before.
But what was it?
Seeing the boy’s rationality return, Lin Ran relaxed slightly—though he remained on guard.
"You should say ‘thank you,’ not just sit there."
The boy murmured, "Th… thank you?"
"Yeah. Look at you—no manners at all. Do you realize how much you’ve screwed up my plans? Damn it."
"Now you owe me. You ruined everything, and I still saved you. That means you have to repay me."
A flicker of something unfamiliar passed through the boy’s eyes.
"What’s… ‘repay’?"
Lin Ran nearly facepalmed.