Chapter 98: Sacrifice and Corruption
“My Wolf… is me.”
Yu Sheng felt that there was something deeply complicated in Little Red Riding Hood’s expression when she said that, though he couldn’t quite grasp it.
The atmosphere around her felt heavy and stifling—clearly, identifying herself as the Wolf wasn’t a good thing.
Had the timing and mood been different, he would have pestered her for details, but even without asking now, Yu Sheng stored his curiosity about Little Red Riding Hood and her Wolf Pack deep in his mind, intending to explore it when they were more familiar, or when another opportunity arose.
Right now, his gaze returned to the white Exhibition Hall at the end of the corridor.
Even he could now faintly smell the scent of blood in the air.
The “Security” entities only responded to Intruders directly. They had vision but lacked hearing and smell. These guardians were rigid, acting entirely by the book—with many exploitable flaws…
Yu Sheng’s expression grew increasingly thoughtful.
Little Red Riding Hood lowered her voice again: “What do you think? Should we fall back for now? We can come back tomorrow—”
“No,” Irene suddenly interrupted. “Look at Yu Sheng’s face.”
“His face? What’s wrong with his face?” Little Red Riding Hood turned, confused.
“He’s got an idea again.” Irene sighed.
Before Doll could finish, Yu Sheng turned to the Fox Girl beside him and asked, “Do you think Foxy’s tails… count as part of her body?”
Everyone on-site froze. Little Red Riding Hood reflexively answered before her brain caught up: “Of course they do! They’re growing out of her body—”
“But her tails can be launched,” Yu Sheng said seriously. “Technically speaking, they’re treasures she crafted—and reloadable ones at that.”
Little Red Riding Hood stood frozen mid-sentence, mouth open as realization struck.
A second later, she stared at Yu Sheng in shock. “Wait! What are you planning?!”
“Just testing,” Yu Sheng said with exploratory enthusiasm. “If those plastic guys react, we just open a Door and bail. Didn’t you say those ‘security’ guys only have vision? If we block their sight without being seen ourselves, problem solved…”
Ignoring her stunned gaze, he turned to the still-bewildered Fox Girl. “I have a plan. I need to use your tails…”
“Wait, wait,” Little Red Riding Hood cut in, “Didn’t you say there are at least seven or eight ‘Security’ in that Exhibition Hall? Foxy already fired off two tails earlier—does she have enough left?”
She found her own words disturbingly bizarre, like a rational mind being forcibly stretched to accept absurdity. Yet, she realized she’d spoken too soon.
Foxy, having understood Yu Sheng’s intent, casually pulled out two tails and laid them neatly on the ground. Then two more. When she was nearly done removing the current set of tails, the Demon Fox Maiden turned to glance behind her—and after a moment of silence, there was a humming sound like a blade leaving its sheath. Nine more silver-white tails sprouted from her back.
Little Red Riding Hood: “…?”
“She stockpiles them,” Irene said knowingly, patting Little Red Riding Hood on the arm. “She eats a lot just to stockpile tails.”
Little Red Riding Hood: “…?”
She recognized every word, yet strung together, they made such an absurd sentence that she questioned if it was human speech at all.
Foxy began explaining: “This one costs twenty chicken legs. This one, ten…”
Little Red Riding Hood stared blankly, unsure whether her mind had caught up or if it had given up entirely. “Because the second one’s half-off?”
“Because that one only accelerates to subsonic speeds—it’s a subsonic cruising tail,” Foxy replied, giving her a baffled look. “Mass is proportional to energy. Don’t you know basic physics?”
Little Red Riding Hood seriously considered injecting herself with another dose of Sanity Blocking Agent.
Meanwhile, the ever-so-logical Fox Girl had lined up all the tails neatly—fluffy silver tails hovering just above the floor, shimmering with eerie Fox Fire. They gave off a low, pulsing tremor like rockets fully fueled and ready for launch.
The moment that image struck Little Red Riding Hood’s mind, she felt her fate was sealed. She had clearly been corrupted by the Hotel trio—even her thoughts were starting to warp.
Dealing with Entities is dangerous. Even Yu Sheng, who seemed harmless, was no exception.
At the same time, Foxy gently raised her hand.
The silver-white tails, each surrounded by arcane Fox Fire, slowly ascended into the air.
These refined treasures were capable of subsonic and even supersonic flight, but under the Demon Fox Maiden’s precise control, they glided with spiritual caution through the corridor of the Museum.
“If those ‘guards’ don’t react in a moment, just block their line of sight. We’ll go in and check the situation. But if they suddenly move, grab whatever’s in the center of the Exhibition Hall and fall back at once. I’ll open a Door for the escape,” said Yu Sheng, eyes locked on the high-precision maneuvers of the Demon Fox Maiden.
Even as he spoke, his hand reached into thin air, summoning forth a faintly glowing, illusory Phantom Door.
“I’ll get the Door ready. Awaiting your signal.”
“Mm,” Foxy nodded nervously. With delicate caution, she maneuvered her silver-furred tail inch by inch into the pristine white Exhibition Hall.
Only Little Red Riding Hood remained expressionless. She knew she should feel tense—after all, the atmosphere was charged—but somehow she just… didn’t. The tension had twisted so far it broke. Her brain couldn’t catch up to her worldview, and her worldview couldn’t catch up to her senses. It all felt like a bug in her internal system.
Even her Wolf had been in a daze since a moment ago.
“They’re not moving…” Foxy finally whispered, her tone laced with cautious hope. “I think I can block all their sightlines at once… This should work.”
Only then did Yu Sheng allow himself a breath of relief.
The Phantom Door in his hand silently dissolved into the air.
After Foxy confirmed once more, he waved to the others. “Let’s go. Check it out.”
They stepped forward, each carrying their own unease, into the unnervingly quiet White Exhibition Hall.
Their nerves spiked at the first glimpse of deep-blue security uniforms—only to slowly settle again as the lifeless plastic mannequins remained unmoving.
Everyone’s gaze instinctively fixed on the “guards.” Little Red Riding Hood immediately noticed the one stationed beside the main Door, seemingly posted to guard the passage—an Entity clad in that same navy uniform, motionless, its head completely wrapped in layers of gleaming silver fox tail.
It was a beautiful tail—an ethereal, floating work of art when on the Demon Fox Maiden. But wrapped tightly around the mannequin’s head, it looked instead like… a grotesque, sinister cocoon.
Then Yu Sheng’s low mutter cut through the quiet.
“…What the hell.”
Little Red Riding Hood spun around instantly, following Yu Sheng’s gaze toward the center of the Exhibition Hall.
Where the Weeping One Statue was supposed to stand—there was no statue.
In its place, a grotesque corpse lay, twisted in a nightmarish display: an adult male bound and pierced by thorny iron brambles, forced into a kneeling position, face buried in both hands—a perfect mimicry of the Weeping One’s posture described in all the reports.
The blood had long since drained away. The man had clearly been dead for some time. No murderer was in sight, only the acrid scent of blood thick in the air, clinging to every corner of the hall.
Yu Sheng’s heart clenched. Death was no stranger to him—he’d already died more than once, after all—but this… this was the first time he had witnessed something so brutal from a detached, third-party perspective. And it wasn’t just the gore that shook him.
It was the ritualistic horror of the scene.
A sacrifice, drained and entangled in iron thorns. The eerie imitation of a statue’s posture. Blood trailing down from the altar, staining the immaculate white of the Exhibition Hall. The mannequins encircling the altar like silent sentinels.
This was a different terror entirely than the threat of Hunger. This was something darker. Something religious. Something wrong.
“Little Red Riding Hood, do you recognize this—”
Yu Sheng turned instinctively, seeking insight from the only person present who might have context—only to stop cold.
The girl in red was not well.
She stared, unblinking, at the sacrificed man, eyes now the same deep crimson as her Shadow Wolves. A low, growling whimper rose from her throat. Tiny tufts of fur began to sprout from her cheeks and hands.
And then it happened.
Yu Sheng watched as her shadow twisted, stretched, grew. From it erupted a hulking beast—standing upright, draped in a Wolf’s hide, yet shaped with the bones and silhouette of a Human. A monstrous fusion of man and wolf surged forward—not with a roar, not with warning, not with showmanship.
But with purpose.
It didn’t lunge at Yu Sheng.
It lunged at Little Red Riding Hood herself.
It’s not easy to dodge an attack from your own shadow.