A short man found himself before the creature.
"What the f***..." Before he could finish the words, an oppressive aura suddenly pinned him to the ground.
Lying flat, his already injured, bloodied body became even worse as some of his recovered wounds burst open.
"Hiss!" he gasped in overwhelming pain. On the verge of death, veins popped out on his forehead, but he smiled faintly.
"It's time to take a rest," he murmured as sweet memories flashed before his eyes.
Waiting for death, his eyelids trembled. Is this death? No wonder everyone says dying is eternal rest. I can feel...
Strange? Why am I feeling sharp pain in my shoulder?
Shouldn't be felt in all my body?
Unable to comprehend the situation, he opened his eyes.
"F***, I didn't die!" he exclaimed.
Then this pain?
His pupils constricted as he realized his entire arm had been ripped out from the shoulder. His body shuddered.
Casting a glance toward the creature to satisfy his overwhelming confusion, he noticed it was still pinned to the ground, though freed from the whip. Its body was covered in fire—but strangely, the flames were orange.
His eyes widened.
Isn't it said that orange flames don't exist, that they were wiped out by heaven to calm the rage?
He raised his hand to slap himself for his stupid thoughts but hissed instead, "Ouch! The pain is unbearable!" Despite everything, there was a faint relief on his face given his grave condition.
His face hardened for a moment. "Is that the boy?" he muttered, casting a glance toward the werewolf.
The werewolf just shrugged its shoulders, its expression seeming to say, Don't know if he's our charm or disaster.
The short man gave a fake smile, as if saying, That's worse than death. All the joy of being alive disappeared because, before them, stood another beast.
Calming his despairing thoughts, he decided to focus on the present. Now, before him stood a humanoid monster, its body blazing with fire, while its flaming hand ravaged the creature's back.
"God bless the creature's body!" the short man prayed for the creature.
Bang! Bang!
With all its strength, the humanoid beast swung at the creature's back.
"AHH!" A ferocious roar escaped the creature's mouth as its body began twitching, as though God had heard the short man's heartfelt prayer.
"F***! The odds of this happening are one in a million!"
The short man gave a blank stare at the sky.
Never completed my wish but now...
Was that really necessary to hear my prayer?
The humanoid beast's action halted, and it stood like a statue, analyzing all the odd outcomes. Then, suddenly, it appeared before the short man and picked him up in one arm. The same happened to the tall man, who found himself lying in the humanoid beast's other arm.
Without troubling the creature further, the humanoid beast ran fast, as if it had grown an engine in its feet.
Meanwhile, oblivious to everything, the creature's body began shedding its outer layer...
Camp Scene:
Katch, katch!
All the monitors in the camp shattered one by one.
In the middle of the chaos, a laptop, already shut down, rested in the lap of a broad-shouldered man. Casting a glance outside the camp, he sighed. "The world is too mysterious to even be considered real."
All his subordinates nodded, marveling at the miracle of nature.
"What do you think the odds are of him surviving?"
The subordinates exchanged glances.
"No need to be so formal. Just give your thoughts," the broad-shouldered man encouraged.
"The chances of him surviving are too high," one subordinate replied.
"Oh! It seems that boy left quite an impression."
Shaking his head, the subordinate clarified, "No, he's too calculative."
Tapping his finger as if recalling something, the man said, "He knew from the start what was going to happen but still led both into his hands. You must have noticed there was something wrong with the flask."
That struck a chord with everyone.
Clap!
"You're attentive. Consider this a training period," the broad-shouldered man said.
Without sparing a glance at the other subordinates, he continued, "Don't miss out, or you'll regret it. In the worst case, your life won't be in your hands."
Rising from his seat with the laptop in hand, his words trailed off: "You may be the best here, but in the jungle, there are countless others like you."
"It's not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change."
His back disappeared from their sight.
Lowering their heads, some subordinates muttered, "It's not like this is my first time. How was I supposed to know what would happen?"
"Yeah. Brought here in the name of patrolling..."
"Hey, buddy, keep your mouth shut, or you'll lose your ...."
Taking a sharp breath, they tightened their lips as a depressing atmosphere filled the camp, though some were busy recalling their mistakes.
Cave Scene:
"Hey, buddy, will he survive?"
"Don't know, but we have to treat him."
"Yeah, though we're raiders, we're not bloodthirsty. Besides, he saved our lives."
The tall man gave the short man a blank look.
"Even if you had motives, you wouldn't even touch a hair on his head."
The short man choked. "Hey, some things are better left unsaid."
"Okay, enough nonsense. We don't know what's happening inside him, but his condition is too severe to even treat. Do you have any bandages?"
The short man's face darkened. "Don't remind me. I ended up here without my consent, so I only have my clothes and weapons."
The tall man clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Then have to go outside to find Osmanthus plants."
"Okay, I'll manage myself," the short man replied before disappearing from the cave.