Chapter 167: Cyber Fox Immortal Beats Up Children’s Literature
Following the two gunshots, the depths of the Black Forest temporarily fell silent.
There were no howls from the Wolves, no further gunfire, not even the sound of wind—everything came to a standstill, as though the entire Forest was holding its breath, awaiting a response from the group on the path.
At this moment, those two gunshots seemed more like a kind of guide, as if the hidden Hunter was attempting to communicate with Yu Sheng and his companions, pointing them toward the correct direction.
Irene glanced at the Squirrel nestled in Little Red Riding Hood’s hood. “The rules say not to be lured off the path by temptations from the Forest—do they say anything about gunshots coming from outside the trail?”
The Squirrel froze for a long moment before snapping back to awareness. It stammered in distress, “This has never happened before! Never! The Hunter only appears when the Wolf Granny shows up… I-I don’t know! I’m just a Squirrel!”
Yu Sheng furrowed his brow tightly. He had already gripped the menacing Tetanus Staff from his shoulder, tapped it on the ground, and said in a deep voice, “Still just a temptation off the path.”
Little Red Riding Hood didn’t immediately understand. “What do you mean?”
“We’re here to find the Hunter,” Yu Sheng exhaled slowly. His mind, once clouded by confusion and doubt, now cleared sharply. “And what could lure purposeful explorers off the path better than the sound of the Hunter’s gun?”
Little Red Riding Hood froze. Once she understood what Yu Sheng meant, a look of shock surged into her eyes.
“Ignore the gunshots. Keep moving forward,” Yu Sheng ordered calmly, stepping ahead.
Just as he predicted, as the group resumed their march, another gunshot rang out from the shadows of the Black Forest—a sharp “bang,” and this time it sounded much closer.
Like the illusions before, the gunshots too were “flowers and mushrooms” outside the path—temptations of the Forest.
A shiver of fear surged in Little Red Riding Hood’s heart. She knew that being lured off the trail was the earliest and most dangerous of the Forest’s taboos. And just seconds ago, she’d nearly faltered—something that should never have happened to a seasoned and awakened Little Red Riding Hood like herself.
She had fallen into a deadly blind spot: it hadn’t occurred to her that even the “Hunter” could be used by the Black Forest to deceive them. Nor had she imagined the Forest could so swiftly identify and deploy the most tempting bait to confuse nearly everyone present.
“This Black Forest is… cunning,” Irene whispered. “Its tricks are impressive.”
“It may not be ‘thinking’,” said Little Red Riding Hood, walking beside her, shaking her head. “A higher level of blind instinct can mimic ‘intelligence’—even surpass what Humans call ‘thought’. Rules are always unreasonable that way.”
“Doesn’t matter. Its temptations don’t work on us,” Yu Sheng slowed his pace and looked up. “Listen—the gunshots stopped. Nothing showed up.”
“I thought that ‘Hunter’ might pop out and invite us over for a chat,” Irene said with a smirk. “Looks like the Black Forest still has limits—if the Hunter really had shown up, we might’ve been fooled.”
Yu Sheng pondered. “Could be a limitation of the Forest… or perhaps, it’s due to the Hunter’s uniqueness.”
He fell silent and continued leading them down the path.
After some time, the lanterns on either side of the trail began to dim—just as the rules dictated: all forms of protection in the Black Forest were temporary. Light would fade. Roads would vanish. Even the flames in the hearths would die, and the Little Houses themselves would be swallowed by the Forest’s depths.
As the light faded, the path blurred. The boundary between trail and Forest began to dissolve. The howling of Wolves returned—one after another, growing louder and nearer.
Yu Sheng finally felt the gaze—an oppressive stare cast by the Evil Wolf.
“The Wolves are coming, the Wolves are coming,” the Squirrel suddenly muttered in a panic. “Where’s the Little House… why hasn’t it appeared yet…”
Yu Sheng looked up and spotted a faint light deep in the Forest, still distant. But in the Dense Forest around them, blurry and indistinct shadows had already begun to form.
The Wolf Pack had arrived—faster and more swiftly than before, already taking shape.
“It’s over! Worst case! The Little House isn’t connected to the path, the road is cut off by the Wolf Pack!” the Squirrel cried, fur bristling in alarm. It turned to Yu Sheng, urgently yelling, “We have to run! Run fast! Don’t stop no matter what, understand? Never engage the Wolf Pack—wait, what are you doing?!”
The Squirrel gawked at Yu Sheng, who simply hefted the terrifying staff, then raised a hand and pointed.
“Miss Foxy,” he gestured toward the Forest where he felt the stare emanated from, “Distance: 3500. Spread: 120. Sixteen shots, rapid fire.”
“Roger!”
Miss Foxy’s face lit up with a burst of excitement. Without warning, and to Squirrel’s utter astonishment, she threw her arms wide open.
In the twilight-drenched Dense Forest, her silver-white tails flared to life, unleashing a surge of radiance. Mystical light shimmered behind the Demon Fox Maiden as Fox Fire ignited in an explosive roar.
A volley of silver cones launched into the air, propelled by flickering blue flames. These Fox Radish Missiles adjusted midair before flaring again in a blinding cascade of fire that illuminated the forest canopy. The sound of screaming propulsion split the sky as the first wave of eight projectiles hurtled forward.
Simultaneously, Miss Foxy inhaled sharply, stabilizing her aura, and with a resonant “whoom,” another set of tails emerged. The second barrage rocketed skyward.
The spectral blue trails streaked across the Black Forest like inverted meteors, heralding death from above.
Another hum echoed as her tails replenished once more. But this time, she withheld the launch. Instead, each tailtip maintained a flickering fire, casting wary light toward the forest shadows.
The ground trembled. Distant explosions echoed like thunder. Trees swayed violently, some toppling under the force. The Black Forest groaned as though awakening. Wolf Pack howls paused for mere seconds, then erupted into a crescendo of wrathful chaos.
The illusion shattered. Ferocious Giant Wolves surged into reality, barreling out from the Dense Forest. They charged to confront the intruders who dared defy the Black Forest’s rules.
Fox Fire transformed into tongues of flame, lashing out like waterfalls of gunfire. Seven or eight converging torrents swept through the Wolf Pack, ripping through monsters and ancient trees alike. The flames consumed dry underbrush, blending the eerie blue Fox Fire with scarlet wildfire into a roaring inferno.
“Da-da-da-da-da-da-da!”
Miss Foxy cheerfully mimicked her Fox Radish Gatling, eyes aglow with golden-red ecstasy, her expression ecstatic.
Yu Sheng raised his Spiked Club, slick with his own blood, and brought it crashing down on a Giant Wolf that lunged at him. The beast shrieked and crumpled, pulpified in a single blow.
He spun, swinging the club sideways to knock away another wolf attempting to flank Miss Foxy.
Irene had her hand entangled in Yu Sheng’s hair, preparing to summon threads, but he interrupted her sharply:
“Don’t act yet! These are just normal Wolf Pack creatures. Save your strength for anything beyond what Foxy and I can handle.”
“Got it!” Irene replied instantly.
Yu Sheng crushed another Giant Wolf and pointed toward a distant glimmer in the forest.
“That direction, Foxy. Clear a path.”
“On it!”
With a cry, Miss Foxy clutched two tails and swept them forward in a blaze of destruction. Another trio of Fox Radish Missiles shot upward and then plunged deep into the Dense Forest.
Under the relentless bombardment and rampant demonfire, the forest and the encroaching Wolf Pack were forcibly parted, a burning road carved through rage and chaos.
“Yes! This is what I wanted to see!” Yu Sheng grinned wildly, radiating childlike joy, as if playing with a long-desired toy. “Exactly this! Cyber Fox Immortal obliterates children’s literature! Keep blasting, keep clearing! We’re going to find Wolf Granny!”
Swinging his gruesome club, he marched forward into the blazing corridor carved into the forest. More wolves spawned from the shadows, driven by rules alone, unafraid of pain or death. Wave after wave fell upon Yu Sheng.
Many were instantly shredded by the concentrated barrage, while those who slipped through were swiftly dispatched by Yu Sheng’s brutal swings—and those that slipped through even further found themselves torn apart by the summoned Shadow Wolves of Little Red Riding Hood.
Squirrel watched in stunned horror.
It trembled uncontrollably.
It shrieked, fainted, then jolted back to consciousness as if plunging from one surreal nightmare into another more twisted. The entire Black Forest echoed with horrifying detonations. Something deep within the forest roared back.
The Forest’s order had been challenged, scorned, ravaged. And now, it retaliated. The stronger the Intruders became, the more wolves the Forest summoned. Countless creatures began to gather.
“No, no, this isn’t right…” Squirrel screamed, its voice nearly drowned in the cacophony of explosions and howls. “It’s not supposed to be like this!”
“But I think it’s perfect,” Little Red Riding Hood alone heard Squirrel’s squeal. She turned slightly, her face glowing with a joy buried since childhood. “Even just once—this feels perfect to me!”