As the sky gradually darkened, the night unfolded its canvas.
Several bright stars twinkled in the deep blue and crimson interwoven sky.
In a dimly lit office on the second floor of the appraisal office.
Luo Feng stood by the window, his figure somewhat blurred in the dim environment.
Watching Shao Zifeng gradually disappear, a faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"An interesting person."
...
"What, still angry?"
Shao Zifeng held the armadillo lizard, shaped into a ball, smiling at it.
The more it thought about it, the angrier it got. The little guy turned over, back facing Shao Zifeng. It decided not to pay attention to the one who sneak-attacked its belly until they got home.
Shao Zifeng looked at the sulking little guy, his smile growing wider.
This was not the kind of fake smile he showed others, but genuine happiness from the depths of his heart.
He scraped its scales with his fingernail.
The little guy quivered all over, its tightly curled ball relaxing slightly. But it still stretched a tiny paw from the center and gently pushed Shao Zifeng's finger a few times.
Shao Zifeng scraped the scales again; the little guy stopped pushing and whimpered.
It seemed to say it couldn't resist the big demon king.
Under the dim streetlight, Shao Zifeng's face became even more gentle.
After the appraisal office offered a price for the A-level mutant creature, Wang Hao, without a word, added 50,000 yuan on top of the base price of 500,000 yuan. In his words, even if it were a million, even if his dad beat him up, broke his legs, and threw him from the building, he would still buy it.
With the help of the appraisal office, Shao Zifeng settled the contract and transfer procedures, then got up to leave.
He had no attachment to the round spot viper, and even some fear. Every time he saw that triangular head and cold snake eyes, he felt a horror controlled by his kidney deficiency.
Putting the armadillo lizard into his pocket, Shao Zifeng intended to take it for a big meal.
Originally, he wanted it to lie on his shoulder, but the little guy absolutely refused. He tapped the little head poking out of the pocket with his finger. Shao Zifeng got into a taxi and headed to the snack street near his rental house.
...
Shao Zifeng's rental house was in the old town. Due to urban planning, the development focus gradually shifted to the current city center. If it weren't for Su City University and two other colleges nearby, this place might have fallen further into decay.
As night deepened, the famous snack street in the old town became crowded with people. The aroma of barbecues and stir-fry mixed with the loud laughter of diners, composing a unique, somewhat nostalgic symphony of life.
Shao Zifeng stood at the entrance of the snack street, slightly troubled. As expected, there were still too many people.
He glanced down at the little guy.
Its eyes were shining brightly, occasionally sniffing the air.
Shao Zifeng gritted his teeth and ventured into the snack street.
Shao Zifeng had no specific requirements for food; along the way, the little guy ordered the dishes.
Whenever it saw something it wanted to eat, it would tug at Shao Zifeng's sleeve with its little paw.
Before long, Shao Zifeng carried plastic bags filled to the brim with snacks. At this moment, the little guy was nestled in Shao Zifeng's pocket, happily munching on a large French fry, its eyes squinting in contentment.
After finishing the fry in its paw, the little guy skillfully clung to the pocket's edge and pulled out another one to continue eating.
≡ω≡
Leaving the snack street, Shao Zifeng ate a skewer, planning to take a shortcut home.
A secluded, almost deathly silent alley, the alley was very quiet. Walking inside at night, one almost felt no sense of time. The mottled walls embedded with old streetlights, most of which were broken, the few remaining flickered, emitting a buzzing current sound.
The advantage was that the alley ran through from north to south. Passing through it directly led to Shao Zifeng's rental house community, saving detour time.
Walking alone in the narrow alley, one could always smell a faint, sour odor.
Shao Zifeng felt a bit oppressed, unbuttoning the collar of his shirt as he quickened his pace towards the other end of the alley.
"Splat"
Shao Zifeng stopped; he felt like he had stepped on some liquid. A breeze wafted over, bringing with it a nauseating stench.
Shao Zifeng stood still. He knew he was in trouble.
"Plip"
Shao Zifeng trembled.
Warm liquid dripped onto his face. He wiped it off with his fingers; it was slick and sticky.
Shao Zifeng slowly looked up. A shadow the size of a millstone was crouching on the wall.
As Shao Zifeng stared, the shadow stopped eating. Eight cold eyes glimmered eerily in the dark.
A faint blue light curtain appeared.
[Name]: Blood-sucking Tarantula
[Growth]: Maturity
[Condition]: Healthy, Madness
[Strength]: Tier Three
[Phylum]: Arthropoda
[Class]: Arachnida
[Order]: Araneae
[Family]: Tarantulidae
[Attribute]: Poison
[Potential]: ★★
[Talent]: Blood-sucking: Within a period of absorbing enough blood, recovery ability and attack speed will slightly increase, while sanity is completely lost.
[Skills]: Poison Stinger, Tearing Claw Strike
[Description]: A killing machine artificially cultivated, fed with large amounts of blood during its wolf spider stage. Before it completely loses its sanity, run as far as you can.
Looking at the information before him, Shao Zifeng felt as though he had fallen into an ice cave.
It was actually a Tier Three mutant creature. This was the first time since he crossed over that Shao Zifeng had felt such primal shivers up close.
That was the desire for life imprinted deep within human genes through evolution.
He wanted to escape, but he couldn't move at all.
"Bang"
The Blood-sucking Tarantula threw down the object impaled on its front limb, liquid splashing onto Shao Zifeng.
A rustling sound drew closer, and the Blood-sucking Tarantula slowly moved toward Shao Zifeng.
Shao Zifeng watched the shadow approach him, the strong sour stench filling his nostrils.
The Blood-sucking Tarantula used its eight legs to brace against the walls on either side, its eight eyes shining with an eerie light, looking down at Shao Zifeng.
After a moment.
The Blood-sucking Tarantula slowly raised its front limb. At its highest point, it paused.
Watching the raised front limb, Shao Zifeng reached into his pocket, finding it empty.
"Gone, also good, at least it can live on safely."
Though he thought this, Shao Zifeng still felt a bit lost in his heart.
"Swoosh"
At that moment, the Blood-sucking Tarantula's front limb whistled down with a piercing sound.
Shao Zifeng's pupils contracted. He blankly watched the sharp limb descending towards his head.
"Bang"
In the nick of time, a small figure courageously met the incoming limb.
It then flew back even faster, crashing into Shao Zifeng.
Shao Zifeng was knocked to the ground by the sudden force, rolling several meters before stopping.
Intense pain surged through his body, making his head a bit fuzzy. He heard a trembling and childish call beside his ear.
"Ying ying~"
He struggled to open his eyes, seeing a small figure standing protectively in front of him.