Vol. 1 Chapter 3

The random teleportation didn’t take long; the familiar white light quickly filled his eyes again.

Wu Wang finally recovered from the dizziness. The first thing he did upon weakly opening his eyes was to tense the muscles in his neck and chest. Without thinking, he turned and bit down fiercely: “Woof!”

His teeth sank into the flesh, warm blood filling his mouth.

Wu Wang heard the person above him chuckle: “What a fierce dog.” The hand didn’t move, seemingly oblivious to the pain of having its thumb pierced.

The other person spoke with a smile, their gentle tone sending chills down his spine: “Nice teeth.”

“Ouch…!” Zhou Mo gasped, the cold air stuck in his throat as he watched helplessly as his brother Ha’s canine teeth sank deep into the unknown creature’s hand, bright red blood flowing down the creature’s long, beautiful hand.

He couldn’t help but steal a glance at his own hand, now only bearing teeth marks, secretly grateful that his brother Ha had shown mercy.

“Woof, sneeze!” Wu Wang quickly released its grip in disgust, spitting out the metallic taste in its mouth. This time, it didn’t care about the dirtiness of the ground and leaped down from Xiao Tao’s arms.

It showed its dislike with its actions, keeping a distance from the group as if avoiding something dirty. After a few steps, it stepped on something soft and oval.

Looking down, the ground was still clean and pure white. But the clear tactile sensation under its paws was enough to prove that there was indeed something on the ground, but it couldn’t see it.

It tilted its head, poked at it a few times with its paws, and couldn’t figure out what this snakeskin-like soft thing was. Turning back to call the two-legged creatures to come and see, it was astonished to find that the three people it had left far behind were now standing behind it.

Xiao Tao was facing away from it, with a shivering Zhou Mo hanging behind him. Holding the dagger in his right hand, he pressed it firmly against the silver-haired scoundrel’s seemingly casually raised left hand: “Friend, this isn’t very nice. Using a dog is one thing, but now you’re trying to ambush me from behind?”

Xiao Tao stared back defiantly, a thin layer of sweat beading on his forehead.

This is bad.

Just now, Ha Ge had easily pierced this guy’s palm with a casual bite. He thought he didn’t have much defense… but now, this guy could actually block the blade of the special item with the back of his bare hand?

Could he have been feigning weakness all along?

It’s unlikely that the toughness of his skin just happened to fall between the special item and Ha Ge’s teeth?

“Flirting?” The other party raised an eyebrow in surprise, then chuckled softly, as if trying to suppress a laugh. But those beautiful, shimmering golden eyes, hidden beneath snow-white eyelashes, held no hint of a smile: “Just asking whatever comes to mind.”

He paused, his gaze lingering on Wu Wang for a few seconds before sweeping over Xiao Tao and Zhou Mo, smiling slightly. “You two, are you on good terms with this dog?”

Xiao Tao: “…”

His tone was casual, as if it were just a casual remark.

But in that instant, a chilling numbness seemed to explode in the back of his neck, running down his spine to his hands, feet, and scalp, freezing him into a stiff icicle.

“Brother,” Zhou Mo’s voice, trembling with tears, whispered in his ear, “Why do I feel like he’s implying that if we’re on good terms with Erha, he’ll kill us too?”

No need to feel.

It had only been a three-second standoff; the seemingly composed man opposite him had already lost his patience. His gaze turned cold, and his free right hand fell to his sides, a golden, string-like object gradually solidifying at his clean, well-proportioned fingertips.

Wu Wang’s black lips suddenly parted, revealing gleaming white fangs that accompanied a threatening roar—

“!”

A faint orange light flashed from his sleeve.

His body suddenly stiffened, as if struck by something heavy, letting out a muffled groan of pain.

The golden string at his fingertips vanished instantly.

He staggered back half a step, his lower back bracing against the platform railing. His right sleeve, pulled up from the movement, revealed a small section of his long, strong wrist.

A chain, tightly wrapped around his wrist, shimmered with a golden-red light like molten iron.

The chain, about two fingers wide, wound around the raised wrist bone and disappeared deep into his sleeve. As the firelight flickered, the wrist tightened, carving deep indentations into the flesh.

Wu Wang stared at the severed wrist for a moment, then grumbled.

Xiao Tao, still bewildered, stammered, “?”

The silver-haired man was speechless.

Zhou Mo was stunned: “This… can it make you hungry, bro??”

Wu Wang was also startled by his rumbling stomach: “Gurgle… Woof!”

“…” The silver-haired creature widened its eyes slightly, then let out a sneer, its tone ambiguous.

It relaxed, leaning lazily against the railing, a gentle, harmless smile returning to its usual face: “Just testing you, seeing if you’re monsters or players.”

Xiao Tao: “??”

No, this is just as absurd, my friend. You can’t even turn the tables on me after all this?

Wu Wang’s reaction was even more direct: If you don’t understand, just keep baring your teeth and roaring.

Xiao Tao immediately echoed Wu Wang’s threatening roar, “Exactly! Even a dog wouldn’t believe that. Are you kidding me? I’ve already taken out my pocket watch item, how could I not be a player?”

“?” The other party tilted its head innocently. “Using an item automatically makes you a player? What kind of rule is that? I’ve never seen it in a pocket watch.”

He said apologetically, “I’m sorry, since entering this game, I’ve always been a solo player. Maybe information isn’t circulating well. Is this rule something that’s passed down among players? I’m not quite sure.”

Wu Wang looked at the two-legged beast carefully, somewhat puzzled, and then turned back and tugged at its spokesperson with its mouth.

Spokesperson Tao: “…Really? Then take out your pocket watch and use it to prove it.”

 

“I’m afraid that won’t work.” The other party smiled and shook its head. “Using the pocket watch would project my real information, wouldn’t it? I’m currently wanted, so it’s not convenient to take out the pocket watch to show people.”

Xiao Tao: “…………”

Just a second ago they said they wouldn’t interact with players! The next second you found out you were wanted??

The other person seemed completely oblivious to his glare, smiling warmly as he straightened up and naturally began introducing himself: “I can’t reveal my real name, but you can call me Fuguang for now.”

“Fu as in Fusang, Guang as in sunlight.”

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Wu Wang: “Please take care of me for the next while.”

Impatiently fiddling with the soft leather, Wu Wang lowered its head, wanting to taste it: “…Woof?”

Xiao Tao: “??”

What does that mean?

How is it taking care of me? Didn’t you say you were only going to work alone?!

Some people lie, going to great lengths to cover up their lies.

Some people lie, just throwing out a fabricated story, even if the first half contradicts the second, no one dares to call it out.

Wu Wang, however, didn’t have these human anxieties in its head, only staring at the empty space beneath its paws and licking its lips.

Its stomach was growling louder than thunder; it wanted to take a bite of everything in sight.

“Control yourself, you can’t just eat this,” Fu Guang said, reaching out to snatch the soft skin. Holding it less than half a meter off the ground, the object between its fingers gradually revealed its true form—it looked like a piece of milky-white silicone.

Wu Wang let out a low growl, clearly displeased with Fu Guang’s act of stealing its food supplies, showing no gratitude whatsoever.

 

Fu Guang chuckled and muttered “glutton” under his breath, turning to Xiao Tao. “This looks like a softened human skull. No wonder this gluttonous dog wants to eat it.”

Xiao Tao opened his mouth, but swallowed back his question, “What exactly do you want?” and instead launched into a probing question: “How did a human skull turn into this? Have you figured out any death mechanics in this dungeon? Have you seen any little angels?”

“No, I don’t know.” Fu Guang shook his head, clearly determined to play dumb. Not only did he refuse to divulge any information, but he also tried to get something out of Xiao Tao. “I only know that my mission is to adopt a little demon and feed it 10 times. Can you help me?”

…Help my ass—

Before Xiao Tao could utter this curse, a low horn suddenly sounded from the left front of the group.

Everyone, including the dog, instinctively clutched their heads, their faces contorted in agony. They felt as if their brains were about to boil from the sonic boom, their brains practically exploding into popcorn.

Wu Wang, lying on the ground, scratched at his ears, whimpered a few times, and then looked up. He saw a gigantic figure, its head reaching the ceiling, slowly appearing at the source of the sound. Looking closer, he thought:

“Ugh, what a disgusting bird.”

This monster had the body of a two-legged creature, complete with head and feet. It possessed broad, full wings on its back, but its head had no facial features, only countless mouths covering its entire body.

Long tongues protruded from these mouths, making it look like it was covered in fleshy tapeworms, writhing and twisting, sending chills down one’s spine.

Zhou Mo struggled and whispered, “I know… what this is! It’s an Angel of Authority! If I remember correctly, these angels are only supposed to patrol their own territories, quick, let’s move—”

Hey, escape this guy’s domain—before he could finish speaking, Zhou Mo stared in astonishment as Wu Wang pounced away.

Hunger.

 

True hunger isn’t about shouting or being picky; it’s about seeing food and having your eyes light up, eagerly pouncing on it.

Wu Wang bit down on the Angel of Authority’s ankle, viciously tearing off a piece of muscle. Before he could even savor the taste, the thin slice of meat in his mouth was like a piece of jelly, melting into a tasteless, warm current that flowed smoothly down his throat into his stomach.

Wu Wang: “Ugh?”

Tasteless, he took another bite.

The Angel of Authority, treated like a mobile buffet: “??”

The angel was enraged, its thousand mouths agape.

A magnificent hymn, so loud it completely drowned out the horns, instantly filled every inch of his eardrums. While Wu Wang was engrossed in the spectacle, he vaguely heard Zhou Mo’s cry behind him, a cry that sounded like a mixture of joy and sorrow:

“Itchy…so itchy! Brother! My back is so itchy!”

“Don’t listen!” Xiao Tao gritted his teeth, risking everything to lower his hand, gripping the blood-red dagger in reverse, and charging towards the Archangel with a steely resolve.

Long tongues, like startled snakes, coiled towards the attacker, only to be accepted by Wu Wang as readily available fodder.

Out of the corner of his eye, Wu Wang saw Xiao Tao nimbly dodge the pink tapeworms that were coiling around him, using their momentum to leap onto the Archangel’s shoulder. As he slashed off the long tongues aimed at him, he glanced down at Zhou Mo.

Zhou Mo was still flailing his limbs, frantically scratching his back. Fu Guang—

Xiao Tao: “…”

Goodness, that’s quite the performance. This scene of a “beauty frowning, weakly clutching her chest”—if it were filmed, wouldn’t it break the hearts of all those obsessed with looks?

A fleeting thought crossed Xiao Tao’s mind, but the pain and itching from behind, coupled with the oncoming long tongues, quickly brought him back to his senses. He swung her dagger at the Archangel’s back: “Brother Ha! Strike the snake at its vital spot! Bite where my dagger will go!”

Obsessed with eating, he ignored the two-legged creature’s warnings, something it rarely did.

Wu Wang continued its frenzied feasting, biting whatever was nearby. Despite the vast difference in size between him and the Archangel, he managed to devour the Archangel’s entire ankle in one go.

Even without a leg, the Archangel didn’t collapse. Only the tongues became more cunning, gradually irritating Wu Wang, who was engrossed in his meal.

The food wasn’t behaving itself.

The two-legged creature kept barking at him.

What did that mean? It kept pointing to the back of the neck, telling him to gnaw on the back meat first?

Where was it tastier? The creature below began banging its head against the ground, managing to regain some clarity: “I’ll try out my skill!”

A cheerful arcade tune blared, and as Wu Wang swaggered around, it suddenly found itself airborne: “Woof?”

Like a pinball, it was pushed by a platform about one square meter in size, flying straight up to the ceiling, where it was caught by a long tongue.

Wu Wang: “Awooo?”

Fine, eat it.

Wu Wang continued swiping its skills, inhaling the long tongue that bound it, and landed right next to Xiao Tao. Without hesitation, it opened its mouth towards the tenderloin that the two-legged creature had so strongly recommended.

Its canines gripped the hindquarters, which Xiao Tao had already cut a shallow gash in, and with a powerful rip, Wu Wang tore it apart.

“—”

The enormous Archangel let out a dying howl and collapsed with a crash. The hindquarters, ripped open by the canines, sprayed gushing, foul-smelling blood, instantly drenching Wu Wang and Xiao Tao into stinking, drowned rats. “Ugh!!” Xiao Tao almost vomited. Looking at Wu Wang again, the foul-smelling blood had only lingered on his fur for half a second before disappearing as if absorbed by a sponge.

 

…Even…Ha Ge’s fur seemed even fluffier and shinier?

“…” He turned his gaze to the top of Wu Wang’s head, seeing the skill’s scan barrage still flashing an ominous red light, only now it had changed from “Hunger Value: ???” to “Hunger Value: 999”: “…”

…Ha Ge, I mean, why does your hunger value look so terrifying?

He couldn’t help but glance at his own quest progress, then at Fu Guang, who was still playing the role of a weak beauty: “Has your quest progressed?”

Ha Ge, could he be the little angel or little devil mentioned in the quest? “No.” Fu Guang coughed twice, covering his mouth with his fingers, seemingly unsure how Ha Ge’s mental attacks had affected his voice. “This dog still looks like it hasn’t eaten enough. How about we go to Hell and see if there’s any other food?”

He lowered his snow-white eyelashes, his face filled with a beautiful melancholy, and spoke more eloquently than he sang: “Always killing angels, it’s a bit of a psychological burden.”

“…Huh?”

What kind of nonsense is this? Even a dog would find it absurd.

So, this wasn’t the time they were just thinking of killing them?