“I saw it with my own eyes—the Butcher’s master took Zhi back home, using a silver dog leash.”
The Orange Cat Boy offered this irrefutable evidence.
Sinclair stomped on a dry branch on the ground, the sharp crack echoing loudly.
The fur on the Orange Cat Boy’s tail flared up behind him; the animal’s keen sixth sense alerted him to danger.
“Siu, found… your… master?”
Sinclair ground his sharp tiger-like teeth, each word seeming to chew on the Butcher’s flesh and blood.
The Orange Cat Boy didn’t catch Sinclair’s choice of words and cautiously nodded.
The young new Little Kitten had no idea about the history of his own leader.
If it were someone else here, they would have fled at the first sign of trouble.
The Orange Cat Boy still looked at Zhi with a naive expression.
Suddenly, Sinclair twisted the corners of his mouth into a grin and, with the lightest tone, spoke the bloodthirstiest and cruelest words: “Enough of this. Let’s go kill the Butcher’s master!”
They were all abandoned dogs—why should Zhi be picked up again?
Because of the heavy snow, the outside was dazzlingly bright.
When Jiang Huaying was awakened by the light, she was still a little dazed, her mind fuzzy.
It felt like she had been dreaming that she had listened to the entire night’s cycle of the Recording of Black Mist Concentration -1.
She rubbed her head hard and let out a low moan.
But the next second, she realized the sensation was off.
Blinking blankly, Jiang Huaying was horrified to discover she was squeezed tightly in the Butcher’s arms!
The Butcher still held the posture she had fallen asleep in the night before, and she…
She had somehow crossed an entire sofa, her hands and feet wrapped vine-like around Zhi’s body, her cheek buried against his muscular chest.
The thick clothes she had worn had somehow been shed, leaving only a thin shirt rolled up at the waist.
Probably afraid she might fall, the Butcher’s arms circled her waist.
His iron-like arms pressed tightly against her slender waist, the contrasting bronzed skin making her fair skin appear even paler.
Jiang Huaying closed her eyes, wishing it had all been a dream.
The moment she woke, the Butcher knew.
He didn’t move, only lowered his head, his gaze fixed on her face.
His body temperature, far higher than normal, warmed the girl’s face until it was flushed like a ripe peach.
Unlike the quiet and obedient Siu she was when asleep, she looked lively and fresh awake; every tiny expression was utterly adorable.
Three seconds later, Jiang Huaying opened her eyes again.
Before her was the Butcher’s full, rising and falling chest with every breath.
So close that when she blinked, her lashes swept over the bulge.
The impact was overwhelming; instinctively, Jiang Huaying leaned back.
The scars stretching across the Butcher’s chest came into view.
Grotesque and rough, some resembled twisted centipedes, others were left by sharp blades, and still others… Suddenly, darkness enveloped her vision.
The Butcher pressed down on her eyes.
“Not good-looking.” His low, hoarse buzz echoed, then Jiang Huaying was placed back on the sofa.
Before she could say anything more, the Butcher grabbed his great axe and went out.
Because the Butcher didn’t need to eat, there was no food left in the house.
The supplies they had found yesterday were only enough for Jiang Huaying’s breakfast this morning, so the Butcher had to go out to find new food.
However, this was no hardship for the Butcher; his superhuman physique allowed him to withstand the freezing cold.
Outside, the wind and snow still raged.
After one night, the number of Two-Legged Sheep survivors dropped from 41 yesterday to 36 today.
Player Chen Sixi wrapped himself in four layers of discarded cardboard and three layers of plastic bags, his tangled curly hair hiding him as he shivered in the sewer.
Using the light leaking through the cracks of a manhole cover, he shakily struck a firestick, slowly igniting a pile of easily combustible trash.
The faint flame flickered uncertainly for a few seconds but finally refused to die out.
Chen Sixi wept with joy, ignoring the smell of burning garbage, eagerly drawing closer to warm himself.
He was more pitiful than even the little girl selling firewood.
Hungry, cold, and exhausted, Chen Sixi was mentally drained but dared not close his eyes, terrified that once asleep, he would never wake.
All he could do was pray for the blizzard to end soon.
The others who were still alive fared no better.
Players, despite having some self-preservation skills, were still suffering terribly.
They could only desperately comfort themselves that everyone was in the same boat, and as long as they grit their teeth and got through it, things would be fine.
The experienced players were even grateful for their clearance experience and survival items, which saved them from becoming cannon fodder in such a harsh game raid.
Yet the newcomers were the worst off, likely already in such pain and despair that they barely wished to live.
In a place unseen by others, there was a carefully crafted Sanctuary, coveted by many.
New player Jiang Huaying was warming herself comfortably by the fire.
The fireplace was newly made by the Butcher, with a thick felt rug laid on the floor before it and a small tea table nearby.
Everything was arranged according to Jiang Huaying’s preferences.
She slowly finished her breakfast, then lazily lay back for a while before feeling cold and curling up by the fireplace.
Warming herself, she opened her personal interface.
On the Butcher’s card, the lingering black mist concentration had significantly lightened, nearly half of what it had been before.
Jiang Huaying calculated the time.
She had entered the game at dusk on the first day.
With a seven-day survival countdown, she was set to leave the game on the evening of the eighth day.
Today was the fourth day of the game, so more than half the time remained.
Looking at it this way, barring any accidents, completing her personal mission shouldn’t be too difficult.
In the blink of an eye, it was noon.
Jiang Huaying heard noise outside and thought the Butcher had returned.
She immediately ran to the window.
In the vast blanket of continuous white snow, there was no familiar figure.
Jiang Huaying furrowed her beautiful brows; the Butcher had been gone quite a long time this time.
She stood on her toes and peered harder, still no sign of the Butcher, but she did see a plume of purplish-red smoke.
The vivid color stood out sharply against the snowy landscape.
The strange hue spread bit by bit from afar, looking surreal and almost dreamlike.
But Jiang Huaying knew that here, the more beautiful something looked, the more deadly it was.
Not good… Jiang Huaying hesitated between staying here to wait for the Butcher’s return or fleeing for her life.
The purplish-red smoke gave her little time to think, and within a few breaths, it was already floating toward her.
She heard the sounds coming from within the fog—sticky and thick—like something melting and re-forming.
Countless insects crawled out from beneath the snow, writhing densely, forming a purplish-red tide.
Jiang Huaying’s scalp exploded; her scream nearly shattered her throat!
She clenched her mouth tight, refusing to hesitate, and bolted for the door, running wildly.
The micro surveillance cameras hovering around the house immediately followed her.
One slowly rose in altitude to capture an aerial view.
The Insect Fog wasn’t just targeting Jiang Huaying but surged from all directions.
The Two-Legged Sheep hiding in corners were forced out.
Driven relentlessly, they slowly gathered and, clueless, ran toward the depths of the Swampglow Forest in the Adam region.
Viewers in the Upper City District were furious watching this unfold.
How could they let their little angel be sent to such a dangerous place?!
If there were another location with danger level comparable to the Butcher’s, it would definitely be Swampglow Forest.
Before the Adam region was sealed off years ago, all surviving deformities had been driven into Swampglow Forest.
Many years later, no one knew what had happened inside.
Only one thing was clear: none of the Two-Legged Sheep who had entered ever came back out.
Some had tried spending large credit points to disperse the Insect Fog, but they only received the reply: “Insufficient privileges, purchase denied.”
As Jiang Huaying neared the forest, more and more people started voicing protests on public networks.
But as the organizer of this battle royale game, the MF Group offered no response.
Jiang Huaying didn’t know how long she had been running.
The purplish-red fog had already caught up, enveloping her.
Once visibility disappeared completely, those restless insects would swarm and devour her to nothing.
Jiang Huaying tried to run faster, faster!
But her physique was what it was—her body felt like a rusted machine, constantly protesting with agonized squeals until she reached her limit.
Her legs gave out; she fell uncontrollably forward.
She tumbled on the ground for several rolls before barely stopping.
Jiang Huaying was too exhausted to get up and could only crawl backward using hands and feet.
Very soon, she noticed something strange.
The Insect Fog was being blocked.
The purplish-red smoke seemed to have hit an invisible wall, bunching together only to be forced apart.
The terrifying insects seemed to fear this patch of trees, not daring to come closer than three meters.
“Help, help me—” From the fog, a figure suddenly lunged out.
But his stamina was far worse than Jiang Huaying’s, and half of his body was still outside the forest.
Seeing that person about to be dragged away by the insects, Jiang Huaying summoned some unknown strength and grabbed his arm.
She braced her feet against a tree trunk and, like a sit-up, pulled fiercely backward.
“Thud!” Chen Sixi was pulled into the forest.
He fell beside Jiang Huaying in a dog-eat-dirt posture; his gaunt face was pale, eyes filled with post-traumatic terror.
“Th-thank you… thank you! *cough cough cough* Thank you for saving me!” He coughed violently, his chest racked with pain.
Jiang Huaying was no better off.
She lay on the ground, filthy and exhausted, gasping for air, her throat burning like fire and her lungs ready to burst.
She had no strength to reply to Chen Sixi.
The micro surveillance cameras still hovered inches away, like unshakable flies.
One even broke normal distance and flew directly above Jiang Huaying’s face.
The sensation was like being face to face.
She could see the flickering light within the camera—signals of recording.
Jiang Huaying stared straight into it.
The exquisite face of the beautiful girl suddenly magnified.
Viewers watching the live broadcast felt as if their hearts had been pierced by an arrow!
On the pitch-black ground, the girl lay on her back, her hair spread like silk, cheeks soft and delicate, her breath like a fragrance wafting toward them through the projection.
From this special angle, it was as if bending slightly could allow them to kiss this fallen angel.
Zhi watched the scene before him with delight: “I’m looking forward to this more and more.”
Without the Butcher’s protection, what would happen to his precious little sister next?
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