Chapter 12: Someone Is Here!?
Yu Sheng gave Irene a quick farewell before logging off, but this time he hesitated before disconnecting. It wasn’t that the monstrous creature before him had suddenly become a vegetarian, but rather that it seemed to be caught in a peculiar stupor. The grotesque behemoth stood there in the night wind, dozens of chaotic, overlapping eyes fixated on its prey with a bizarre and confused gaze. It was strange to think of it that way, but Yu Sheng genuinely sensed confusion within those eyes—as if the monster was trying to reconcile its mouth and stomach after half an hour of contradictory calculations.
Irene’s anxious calls echoed faintly in his mind, but Yu Sheng’s entire focus was locked onto the terrifying creature before him. Irene’s voice seemed distant, muffled behind thick curtains. His muscles were tense, his heartbeat pounded like war drums, and every twitch of the creature’s muscle fibers and pulsing vein was etched into his vision.
Despite being mentally prepared since his ‘resurrection’ in the abandoned temple, Yu Sheng couldn’t help but feel immense tension. Yet, unlike the first encounter, his fear had greatly diminished—replaced by something unfamiliar, something almost… exhilarating.
Then, he felt it—a subtle change.
It was the tightening of muscle fibers, the coalescing of thick, foul blood, and a surge of Hunger from deep within his soul, commanding him to consume. In that fleeting instant, his instincts screamed in alarm, precisely outlining the incoming danger.
The monster was about to strike—feinting from the left, while the real killing blow would come from behind: a barbed, bladed serpent tail lashing over its shoulder.
The beast lunged, a massive maw splitting open at the end of a limb, snapping toward Yu Sheng’s left side—but before it even left the ground, Yu Sheng had already moved. There was no thought—just raw instinct—prompting him to twist his body sideways and pounce forward with incredible speed, even faster than he himself believed possible.
He noticed that the sprain in his waist, which had plagued him earlier, had miraculously healed. Since his ‘resurrection,’ his body’s condition had been inexplicably perfect.
The monstrous beast missed, its tail whipping past Yu Sheng’s back with a gust of wind, the pressure enough to make his hair stand on end. The terror of narrowly escaping death was intense, but more than that, he felt an overwhelming disbelief.
[Did I really dodge that just now? What just happened?]
He didn’t have time to ponder, as another sense of danger surged from behind. There was no time to evade properly—he barely managed to land and roll upright before seeing a set of razor-sharp claws crashing down on him like a meteor.
Instinct took over. With no other option, he raised his frail human arm to block the descending force, bracing for impact.
A thunderous crash erupted, scattering dust and grass in all directions. Agonizing pain shot through his body, and Yu Sheng felt as if dozens of bones had simultaneously shattered. He groaned, forced back several steps as the air was knocked out of him.
But he had blocked it. The blow that should have been impossible to withstand had been stopped.
Yu Sheng looked at his hands in shock, noticing his left arm hanging at an unnatural angle, clearly broken. Yet, the pain was already fading, and the twisted bones seemed to be slowly mending themselves.
He vividly recalled the monster’s first assault—the raw power that could easily pulverize a human body. He was certain that if the creature had gone all out, there would have been no chance of surviving the hit. No matter how many bones shattered, survival should have been impossible.
But the creature wasn’t going to give him the luxury of thought. After just a second of recalibration, it let out an incoherent, furious roar and charged again, enraged by the persistent, bothersome prey.
The bone-piercing wind howled as the monstrous creature crashed down like a falling mountain. Yu Sheng reacted just in time, rolling to the side without a shred of dignity, then leaping away to dodge a tail swipe that could shatter stone. Yet, before he could even regain his footing, the recoiling tail whipped back, sweeping him off his feet and slamming him to the ground.
As he struggled to rise, the monster’s torso suddenly split apart, revealing a grotesque, tentacle-like tongue that lashed out from the darkness, wrapping around Yu Sheng and dragging him back. Gritting his teeth, he braced his hands against the tendril, desperate to avoid being crushed or strangled too quickly. His wide eyes fixed on the gaping maw that opened in the beast’s torso, countless sharp fangs grinding together like a ravenous, monstrous mouth.
Just as he was about to be devoured, Yu Sheng kicked off with all his might, the ground beneath his feet splintering from the force, even staggering the creature momentarily. He didn’t have time to ponder where that strength came from. Seizing the chance, he roared and tore apart the ensnaring tongue with a burst of wild power, snatching up a jagged stone and charging at one of the beast’s quivering, murky eyes.
The tongue snapped with a sickening squelch, prompting a bone-chilling howl from the monster as dark blood sprayed from its torso. Stumbling and struggling to balance, dozens of frenzied eyes focused on him, madness and unquenchable Hunger blazing in their gaze.
A tantalizing scent filled the air, intoxicating and almost euphoric. It slipped into Yu Sheng’s nostrils, stirring something primal within him—something long dormant. His heart pounded like a war drum, blood boiling with a feverish, nearly volcanic intensity. He couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming surge of ecstatic anticipation.
[This feeling… What is it?]
Then he understood. It was the joy of feeding, the blissful reward of Hunger soon to be sated. That massive, grotesque beast… that chaotic, corrupted spirit… that succulent, perfect meat.
The stone crumbled to dust in his grip, his breathing heavy and ragged. Time seemed to slow as he and the monster lunged at each other—prey embracing prey. In that delirious moment, he felt as if he had never truly eaten before—as if, in over twenty years of life, he had never tasted real food. His arms wrapped around the beast’s grotesque limbs, while the creature crushed him back with enough force to snap bones one after another.
Yet pain failed to register. Yu Sheng sank his teeth into the beast’s flesh, no longer in desperate retaliation but with a newfound determination. He would not die—not truly. This monster could kill him once, twice, countless times, but he would always come back. And with each resurrection, he would understand better how to defeat it.
It might take time—perhaps a long time—but he would savor every moment, every bite.
The cluster of frenzied eyes on the beast’s flank trembled. A grotesque, fanged maw tore into Yu Sheng’s torso, yet some of those eyes seemed to cloud with an emotion eerily akin to fear.
He felt his body being rent apart, piece by piece, fully aware that he would lose this round. Naturally, he would die, consumed by the monster. He wasn’t strong enough to win—yet.
Despite it all, he couldn’t help but feel oddly proud of himself. He had lasted far longer than expected. When he first saw the creature, he’d thought he’d die instantly, yet here he was, locked in a brutal struggle.
“Irene…” he called out faintly within his mind.
Her response was immediate, panicked and frantic. “Yu Sheng! Are you okay?! I’ve been calling you! You didn’t respond—”
“I’m fine… Just called it too early. I’m about to die now…” He didn’t bother answering her frantic cries, merely resigned himself to the approaching darkness.
But just before the oppressive void engulfed him, a voice cut through the air—a voice, clear and vibrant, undeniably human, resonating through the Night Valley.
“Don’t be afraid! I’m coming to save you!”
Startled, Yu Sheng’s mind jolted awake with a sudden clarity. Someone else was here? In this desolate place?
Barely managing to lift his head, he squinted toward the sound and saw a figure charging toward him—a raggedly dressed young girl. His mind, clouded by pain and confusion, couldn’t fully grasp her form. Behind her, more silhouettes seemed to fly through the night.
Was that… a tail? A fox? A person? No—a Sonic Headbutt.
To his dismay, the would-be rescuer didn’t even assess the situation. The Sonic Headbutt collided with his chest like a rocket, and just like that—he had no chest anymore. From the neck down, he was simply gone, as if evaporated into thin air.
“Young lady… you… messed up…” he muttered, just before being saved—straight into death.