I'm quitting!

Chapter 15 Human abilities have limits, but...

Blood plasma spread over his ankles, thick and sticky like glue.

Lin Xiaofan gripped the ice spear horizontally, its blade tracing a sharp arc of light in the darkness—

"Die!"

A cold glint flashed across several scarlet chains, causing the eyeballs on the chains to roll back in their heads, gushing out turbid liquid. Yet, the broken ends sprouted even more segments adorned with crimson pupils.

"Damn it, why does it have to have this tentacle characteristic?!"

He fought and retreated, his boots sinking deep into the bloody mud, each step feeling like tearing his flesh apart.

A foul stench swept over us, and chains, like a swarm of venomous snakes, danced relentlessly, threatening to coil around our necks—the clock struck midnight, its tolling echoing from the void!

With a backhand stroke of the strings, the mournful sound waves of the Great Compassion Mantra swept out.

The chains convulsed collectively, and blood and tears gushed forth, but those eyeballs merely rolled around blankly, showing no sign of repentance.

Emotionless?

He switched songs with lightning speed; the catchy rhythm of "The Most Dazzling Ethnic Crazy" exploded, and the chains twisted and turned to the beat, splashing bloody fluid everywhere. But the more frenzied the dance, the more ruthless the pursuit.

"This...this is cheating, isn't it?!"

Seeing that he was being targeted by the system, Lin Xiaofan fled with all his might. In the hazy light, he noticed that the fog was thinner to his right, so he simply headed straight for it.

Once we get to that place…!

Lin Xiaofan let out a long roar and charged forward, smashing through the thick fog barrier.

The chains behind him snapped shut at the edge of the mist, and Akame stared intently but did not cross the line.

"Safe zone?"

Before he could catch his breath, the maxims from the "Star Shadow Military Manual" in his mind suddenly pierced his nerves:

The starlight illuminates your path, while the shadows bear witness to your journey.

"Wha...what do you mean?"

Lin Xiaofan rubbed his temples, and it took him a while to regain his senses.

Starlight? Shadow?

He reached for the sleeping hemp ball in his arms, then looked down at his feet—where the shadow had disappeared, only a pool of crimson reflected the pale light of the sky.

"squeak--!"

A piercing screech shattered the deathly silence, and Lin Xiaofan abruptly looked up.

The thin mist lifted like a curtain, revealing a giant gray-haired figure over ten feet tall—its limbs, withered and bony, were deeply sunken in crimson, its mutilated left ear oozed pus and blood, and its only remaining right eye was cloudy and yellowish, yet deep within its pupil were starlight points exactly like those of Ma Qiu.

The ice spear in Lin Xiaofan's hand cracked with a "crack".

It wasn't fear, but the aching, throbbing feeling in my heart as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.

"Have you developed empathy for rodents after spending so much time with them?"

He shook his head, trying to dispel the sense of absurdity.

The massive creature's swollen nostrils twitched, and its single eye suddenly locked onto the spot in his arms, letting out a whimper like that of a cub. Its enormous body clumsily moved forward with small steps, its sharp claws carving deep furrows in the sticky, scarlet liquid.

"Don't come any closer!"

Lin Xiaofan retreated several feet, and three ice spears flew out of his hands.

As the spearhead pierced the massive creature's shoulder blade and its viscous fluids splattered, its single eye trembled with an almost aggrieved expression.

It staggered half a step, but stubbornly twisted its mangled body and lunged again, rotting flesh peeling off between its ribs.

Lin Xiaofan gritted his teeth, gathering his chilling energy, and his spear pierced the sky like a meteor—

puff!

The gun barrel pierced through the massive chest and protruded from the other end.

"squeak…"

A faint, mournful cry drifted in the turbid wind.

The giant rat collapsed to its knees with a thud, blood flowing over its rugged back. A few drops swirled upwards, hanging from its single eyelash like two tears that refused to fall.

Lin Xiaofan's fingers curled, and his Adam's apple bobbed: "Something's not right..."

"Is this wretched place disturbing my peace of mind?"

He pinched his tiger's mouth hard to expel the soreness, and as he turned around, he caught a glimpse of half a charred strip of cloth peeking out from between the giant rat's claws—faintly embroidered with the patterns of Qingyun Sect disciples. The moment the red liquid soaked into the cloth, the mangled body turned into black smoke and dissipated.

Time collapses here, thick as congealed blood.

Lin Xiaofan didn't know how long he had walked; his throat was dry and cracked, and his legs felt heavy.

When that familiar "whoosh...whoosh..." sound came again, he almost laughed out loud—this strange noise had become the only signpost.

"It's better than being trapped here to die..."

He rubbed his blurry vision and staggered as he pushed aside the last layer of blood mist.

Pupils suddenly contracted—

Three zhang away, a human-shaped silhouette of the same height as him stood with its back to him.

Beneath the tattered robes lay purplish-blue, rotting flesh; a gaping hole the size of a bowl was torn open at the waist; the left foot was pinned to a twisting, crimson chain, while the remaining right arm was tearing it off and stuffing it between the lipsless teeth.

The eyeball on the broken chain burst between its jawbones, and blood, tears, and mucus fell.

Click.

The chewing sounds stopped abruptly.

The humanoid figure abruptly turned around! Its skull and flesh had completely shed, and ghostly blue flames rose from its empty eye sockets. It broke free of half its chains and pounced forward with incredible speed.

Lin Xiaofan hastily formed a shield, and the ice crystal barrier shattered instantly. The force of his punch, still lingering, struck directly at his center.

"Cough!" Crimson blood splattered onto the tattered clothes.

I'm going to die! I'm really going to die!

Fear flickered in his eyes, yet his body advanced instead of retreating. His left hand clenched, conjuring an ice sword that slashed horizontally!

However, when the sword blade cut into the monster's shoulder blade, it was reversed by the monster's cold energy and completely devoured.

puff!

The severed arm with exposed finger bones pierced through Lin Xiaofan's abdomen.

"Well…!"

In the instant the excruciating pain exploded, the monster slammed him into the crimson abyss.

Lin Xiaofan lay on his back, his body almost completely submerged in blood.

Sizzle—!

The rotten claws tore open the clothes, and the monster couldn't wait to enjoy its meal.

Suddenly, it paused—the finger bone was holding the sleeping hemp ball.

Do not!

Lin Xiaofan's remaining true essence surged, and he conjured a short blade in each of his palms, stabbing them into the monster's temples.

The ghostly blue flames flickered slightly.

It let out a muffled whimper and gently placed the hemp ball back onto Lin Xiaofan's blood-stained chest.

Under Lin Xiaofan's astonished gaze, it took the initiative to grasp the two short blades and smash its own head to pieces.

The fire died down, and the monster lay lifeless in the blood.

"Huff...huff..."

Lin Xiaofan gasped for breath, gritted his teeth and propped himself up, his fingertips touching his calves—rotten flesh was rapidly climbing up to his knees, and bluish-purple veins were spreading like poisonous vines.

"Hahaha…"

He held the hemp ball and burst out laughing.

"It's a 'bad ending'..."

"I'm sorry, Maqiu, I might really just be a 'good-for-nothing'..."

He trembled as he pulled out the Cloud Pattern Token, channeling the last bit of true essence into his left arm, whereupon a frost-colored barrier gently enveloped the sleeping hemp ball.

"And you...you must live on..."

Picking up the ice blade that hadn't completely dissipated, a flash of cold light, and his left arm was slashed down at shoulder level!

"Ugh—!"

His face was deathly pale as he desperately threw the severed arm away from the thick fog.

The faint light of the barrier quickly disappeared into the distance, and Lin Xiaofan breathed a sigh of relief as he lay back in the blood.

swoosh...

In his hazy consciousness, he heard a series of faint noises, and he slightly turned his head—

The monster's remains are slowly dissipating.

Looking at it, and then thinking about himself at this moment, Lin Xiaofan's mind was suddenly jolted.

Ah... I see...

I... am it...

A self-deprecating smile froze on his lips, and his eyes closed.

……

"who I am?"

"I'm so hungry..."

Splash... splash...

"This...is hard...and doesn't taste good..."

……

Splash... splash...

"I've been hunting all this time... why am I still hungry...?"

Snap... Snap...

"It smells so good..."

I looked back.

"What's that? Standing on the ground like me..."

"I want to eat it!"

I dropped what I was holding and pounced on the "food".

"This feels so familiar..."

I swallowed the cold air, but my thirst only grew stronger.

puff!

My claws pierced through my prey, and I tore open its skin, but what I picked up with my finger bones was not its internal organs.

"hairy…!"

Sizzle—!

Something pierced my skull, and my vision... is gradually clearing.

I looked down at the face that was all too familiar... it was "me".

But his shadow seemed to have become a little more real?

"Starlight illuminates the path we take... Shadows bear witness to the path we came from..."

"So... that's what it means..."

I sobbed as I placed the little guy back on his chest.

"I want to tell him... but I've lost the ability to speak... and I've forgotten how to communicate..."

"I...can't do anything..."

I grabbed the two short blades—

click!

……

……

……

Starlight? Shadow?

Lin Xiaofan gently rubbed the sleeping hemp ball in his arms, then looked down at his feet—

"Hiss... In this godforsaken place where there's no sunlight, why... is my shadow so deep?"