Chapter 99: Evil Wolf
Little Red Riding Hood remained utterly motionless, as if her mind had been nailed to the spot. Her body was frozen in a trance when the shadowy Giant Wolf lunged at her from behind.
But Yu Sheng reacted in a flash.
With the fastest burst of speed he had ever mustered, he slammed his foot into the marble floor so hard it left a deep crater. In the next instant, he launched himself like a cannonball toward the girl in red.
Just as he shoved Little Red Riding Hood out of harm’s way, searing pain tore through his shoulder—razor-sharp fangs had sunk into his flesh.
Yet before the bizarre “Giant Wolf” could land a fatal second strike, a web of pitch-black threads lashed out and sealed off every opening behind Yu Sheng. The strands pierced through the shadowy wolf form, binding the seemingly Entity-less monster in layers of darkness.
Then a surge of azure Fox Fire erupted into being.
Wrapped in spectral blue flames, the Demon Fox Maiden—Foxy—screamed through the air above Yu Sheng like a sonic missile, leaving afterimages and explosive thunder in her wake. She slammed directly into the humanoid wolf creature.
The impact shook the entire White Exhibition Hall.
This was no lightheaded bump—it was a fully fueled rage headbutt from a well-fed Foxy, completely different from the one that had once accidentally killed Yu Sheng. The gust from the strike nearly blew Yu Sheng off his feet. The Giant Wolf was smashed into a spray of ink-black shadow.
But only two or three seconds later, those black fragments reformed, as if simple physical damage meant nothing. Even a headbutt that could pierce tank armor only disrupted it momentarily. The creature reassembled, rising once more on two legs. Its misshapen head twisted grotesquely as two blood-red eyes locked onto Yu Sheng.
Fresh blood still glistened on its fangs—his blood.
“What the hell is this?!” Irene gasped, sharply inhaling. She raised her hands again, weaving more of her black Spiderweb threads in an attempt to hold back the immortal shadow. “Idiot Fox! Stop headbutting! I don’t think we can kill this thing!”
But the moment she spoke, the towering humanoid wolf froze—mid-pounce, its limbs locked stiff in the air.
Echoing howls resounded.
The “Wolf Pack,” which had been frozen just like Little Red Riding Hood moments ago, suddenly came back to life. Howling madly, they surged toward the immobilized Giant Wolf. Compared to the monstrous beast, they looked like puppies—but they pounced, bit, and tore without mercy.
In mere seconds, they shredded the monster that had tanked a headbutt from Foxy into pieces.
Black fragments fluttered down like feathers, pooling on the ground and condensing once more into inky shadow—drifting slowly behind Little Red Riding Hood.
Yu Sheng noticed the blood-red tint fading from her eyes. A flicker of reason returned. A few seconds later, she blinked—fully awake.
“Are you alright?”
“Are you alright?”
Yu Sheng and Little Red Riding Hood shouted at the same time.
Then both fell silent.
A heavy atmosphere hung in the white-lit Exhibition Hall.
“What just happened?” Yu Sheng finally broke the silence. He looked seriously at the girl in red. “That half-human, half-wolf thing—it came out of your shadow.”
Irene quietly moved to Yu Sheng’s side, her little doll face cautious.
Foxy, too, was wary.
“…That was the Evil Wolf sent to hunt me. A Fairytale Curse,” Little Red Riding Hood said softly, head bowed, avoiding the sinister sacrificial scene at the center of the Exhibition Hall. “That thing—the one sacrificed in place of the Weeping One statue—is a source of intense psychic pollution. I saw something I shouldn’t have, which let the Evil Wolf briefly manifest in reality. Sorry… I got you hurt.”
Yu Sheng glanced at his shoulder. Blood had soaked through, but he could already feel the wound starting to heal.
“It’s not serious. But your ‘loss of control’ was extreme. You said it was a curse from ‘Fairy Tale’—but isn’t that the name of your organization?”
Little Red Riding Hood fell silent for a couple of seconds before whispering, “…Fairy Tale is an Otherworld.”
Then, without another word, she reached into her bag and pulled out a small item.
A needleless injector.
Inside the glass chamber glowed a faintly luminous liquid.
Yu Sheng immediately sensed it was expensive—because Little Red Riding Hood hesitated before injecting herself, her face torn with reluctance and pain.
“Don’t worry, I won’t lose control again—at least not during this operation.” Only after injecting the fluid from the syringe into her veins did Little Red Riding Hood exhale lightly and lift her gaze to Yu Sheng. “The reward for this mission… if there’s still any reward to be claimed after all this… it’s all yours.”
Yu Sheng frowned, puzzled. “Why?”
“I dragged the team down. I’m just following protocol,” Little Red Riding Hood sighed.
“No need for that,” Yu Sheng waved it off with a casual air. “Let’s stick to the original split—what happened just now counts as an accident. In a team operation, accidents happen. Doesn’t mean anyone dragged anyone down.”
He suddenly smiled, faint and inexplicable. “Compared to the reward split or who’s slowing who down, there’s something I’m far more curious about.”
Little Red Riding Hood blinked, staring at him in confusion.
“Curiosity,” Yu Sheng said seriously, his eyes glinting. “That ‘Fairy Tale’ Otherworld you mentioned—it intrigues me. And the Fairytale Curse you bear—if I’m not wrong, all of you are cursed. I want to know the story. Why were you all cursed by an Otherworld? And why name your organization after it?”
His eyes were sincere—too sincere.
Yet Little Red Riding Hood, meeting that gaze, was suddenly overwhelmed by a strange sensation.
Fear. Dread.
It wasn’t that she sensed malice. Nor was she afraid of Yu Sheng himself. It was something else—like staring into something burning and pure, utterly devoid of ill will, yet fundamentally beyond Human understanding. [Was that truly just curiosity?]
She hesitated. Normally, she never spoke of the organization’s secrets. But this hesitation held more than just protocol.
And under Yu Sheng’s unwavering gaze, she finally gave in.
“If you truly want to know, I can tell you… But it’s a long story.”
“Sure, then let’s save it for when we’ve got time,” Yu Sheng agreed easily, visibly pleased. “Now’s definitely not the time for storytelling… we’ve still got this mess to clean up.”
He lifted his gaze toward the sacrificial victim.
The chaos moments earlier had left the Exhibition Hall scarred—craters littered the ground, and scorched marks from the Fox Fire marred the walls. Still, thanks to swift action, the central exhibit platform remained untouched.
Two of the “security guards” had been blasted off their feet by Foxy’s Sonic Headbutt, but the silver-white fox tail remained tightly coiled around the plastic dummy’s head. These rule-bound Entities lay sprawled awkwardly, unmoving, with an eerie touch of dark comedy.
“…You think this was done by the ‘security guards’?” Yu Sheng asked, eyes fixed on the sacrificial corpse.
“No,” Little Red Riding Hood shook her head immediately. With the extra dose of Sanity Blocking Agent in her system, she could finally look at the offering without severe backlash—though even now, static buzzed faintly in her mind whenever her gaze lingered. “The ‘guards’ only execute rule-breakers. They’d never construct such an elaborate, symbol-laden ‘sacrifice.’ This… this was done by a person.”
“So someone entered the Museum before us, stole the original Weeping One Statue, and replaced it with a living person as a ritual offering,” Yu Sheng muttered, brows furrowing deeper. “…And this triggered the ‘guards,’ bringing them down on us?”
“That’s a logical deduction,” Little Red Riding Hood nodded, but seeing Yu Sheng standing nonchalantly beside the ritual platform, she couldn’t help but ask, “You… feel nothing from the sacrifice? You didn’t use any Sanity Blocking Agent beforehand?”
“Nope,” Yu Sheng shrugged. “I don’t even know where one buys that stuff. I probably haven’t even finished my newbie tutorial yet. You said this offering messes with your mind—I feel nothing.”
Little Red Riding Hood blinked. Then turned toward Irene.
“Doll ain’t afraid of a little mental corruption!” Irene declared proudly, hands on hips.
She turned to Foxy.
“She held off ‘Hunger’ solo in the Night Valley for decades,” Yu Sheng said. “Drove it nearly insane.”
Little Red Riding Hood: “……”
[What kind of people are these?!]