The Hunter
Yu Sheng belatedly noticed the deathly silence surrounding the cottage.
The invisible wolves had vanished, retreating into the shadows of the Black Forest at some unknown point. Silence blanketed everything, yet the most vicious wolf—the giant wolf belonging to "this generation's Little Red Riding Hood"—had never appeared. Still, Yu Sheng could feel that wolf's gaze.
The wolf that had once devoured him was now staring at the cottage from somewhere far away. It had sensed the appearance of its prey, but for some reason, it had taken no action.
What was it observing? What was it waiting for? Or was that wolf on guard, wary of something?
Yu Sheng cautiously extended his perception, trying to analyze the wolf's behavior and logic through its line of sight. But just then, he suddenly "saw" a shadow within that gaze.
In the open ground between the forest bushes near the cottage, a figure abruptly appeared—a human figure.
Yu Sheng's nerves tightened instantly, and almost at the same moment, he heard footsteps coming from outside.
They were human footsteps, gradually drawing closer. They stepped over the fallen leaves and rotten soil outside at an unhurried pace and were almost at the door.
Yu Sheng's heart suddenly clenched. He thought of something, immediately raised his head to look around, and then quickly hid himself in a corner.
Almost the instant he had concealed himself, someone pushed open the cottage door.
A tall figure appeared in the doorway. Beneath the dim, chilly starlight, Yu Sheng saw only a green-and-brown Hunter's outfit and a thick hood concealing the newcomer's face. The figure held a long hunting rifle and entered the room half-crouched, moving with a somewhat comical gait.
The Hunter had arrived.
But the Big Bad Wolf was already dead—it had died before the Hunter