Useless Person

Great!

At this rate, I'd soon become a lunatic with a Sanity Value of zero.

[Sanity Value -1, entering Containment Scene]

Fu Qian chose to start over without hesitation.

His successive failures had successfully piqued his interest.

"You're awake?"

The Old Man's familiar voice came from behind him.

Mm-hmm.

Once again, Fu Qian gritted his teeth and reasoned with force. He climbed out of bed, made his way to the doorway, and peered outside through narrowed eyes.

There was something new in the yard—a torso and limbs more wolf than human, an absurdly long neck, and a head covered in shaggy fur.

At that moment, the peculiar creature was gazing up at the stars with two hollow eye sockets, completely motionless.

That freaky posture... Could it be the legendary werewolf that transforms under the full moon?

The problem was that, apart from its head, its body was completely bare.

He could even make out faint traces of human features.

Most eye-catching of all were the strips of torn cloth hanging from its body.

Was this thing a person before? Did it discover the beauty of the wild here and return to nature?

Fu Qian made an irresponsible guess.

Judging by its position, he must have walked right into its face earlier. No wonder one slap had sent him packing.

Those deformed claws, each bigger than his head, were probably the Murderous Weapon that had killed him.

As for why it had been invisible before but was visible now, Fu Qian felt he'd already guessed the reason.

The problem had to be that +1 to his Insight. It had let him see more things.

"The moon's about to set."

The Old Man's urging voice came from behind him again.

This time, Fu Qian didn't even turn around. He crouched low, stayed in the Werewolf's blind spot, and quietly slipped outside.

The Werewolf remained where it was, still gazing at the stars. It didn't react to Fu Qian's movements at all.

He quietly let out a breath of relief, surveyed his surroundings, and soon found the way out—a double door made of stone.

But the problem was that the door looked incredibly heavy, and it was only a few meters away from the Werewolf.

Could this get any more obnoxious? Why not just have it ride on top of the door?

Despite his complaints, Fu Qian didn't let anger cloud his judgment. Instead, he seriously analyzed his current situation.

No matter what difficulties he faced, he had to stay calm, assess the situation, and respond steadily—then elegantly chop off the boss's head.

That's what makes a man's heart race!

As things stood, he had two options.

First, play hide-and-seek with the Werewolf and bet that its eyes, nose, and everything else were useless. He could stay still as long as it didn't move and simply wait out the timer.

After all, the condition for completing containment was to survive for one hour.

Second, risk being run through the heart by one of its claws, open that door that looked a ton heavy, and flee to whatever dangers lay beyond it.

Fu Qian decisively chose to try the first option.

Everyone knew the first rule for surviving a long time in a movie: unless absolutely necessary, don't go poking around.

Fu Qian glanced at the prompt in the upper-left corner of his vision. He'd already managed to survive for fifteen minutes this time.

Careful not to make a sound, Fu Qian moved slowly, eventually turning his back to the Werewolf and hiding behind a tree.

Sixteen, seventeen... twenty!

At the twentieth minute, the Werewolf, which had been gazing at the stars, suddenly howled and sprang into action.

After dropping its strange pose, the Werewolf seemed exceptionally agitated.

It began leaping all over the yard at an unbelievable speed, spotting Fu Qian behind the tree almost instantly.

There was nowhere to run. Once again, Fu Qian was sent flying by a swipe of its claw.

[Containment failed, survival time: 20 minutes]

[Evaluation: Useless Person. The stupidest thing you can do is expect a lunatic to follow the rules.]

[Reward: None]

[Current Sanity Value: 15]

So hiding wasn't going to work?

Fu Qian let out a breath, fully aware of the malice this place held.

No wonder the mission was to survive for an hour.

The Werewolf seemed to go berserk right on the twentieth minute. His plan to hide in the yard until time ran out wasn't going to work.

If he retreated, there was still the murderous Old Man inside the house.

As things stood, his only option was to open the Stone Door and run outside.

Never mind how he could do it without being spotted—was that even something a person could push?

Back in the Containment Scene, Fu Qian stared at the heavy Stone Door with a look of grief and indignation.

No matter what, he had to try.

Fu Qian quietly picked a stone up off the ground and threw it into the distance.

The stone hadn't even hit the ground when a black streak flashed by.

The Werewolf, which had been gazing at the stars, sprang up at the sound of the stone cutting through the air.

It covered several meters in an instant and swatted the stone away with one claw.

Before Fu Qian could even curse, the Werewolf kicked off in midair without hesitation, changed direction, and leaped across the yard again, slamming into Fu Qian's chest.

Fu Qian's plan to distract it had failed instantly.

[Containment failed, survival time: 10 minutes]

[Evaluation: Useless Person]

[Current Sanity Value: 14]

What kind of freakish thing is this?!

Again!

[Sanity Value -1, entering Containment Scene]

Reason with force, get out of bed, leave the house, hide.

Watching the Werewolf pose in the yard, Fu Qian began seriously considering whether he should quit.

As things stood, this place offered absolutely no chance of survival. Making it through an hour seemed like an impossible mission!

If he failed again, he'd have only 13 Sanity Value left.

He'd be one step closer to becoming an idiot.

The Werewolf clearly had excellent hearing. The slightest disturbance would wake it.

But if he didn't open the door, then once the time came and it stood up, he'd still be dead for sure.

He looked back at the little house.

The Old Man was standing there with a gleaming sickle, watching him like a hawk.

Fu Qian had a thought.

What had the Old Man just said to him?

He'd told Fu Qian to come outside and look at the moon.

But he'd been looking at it for ages, and nothing seemed to have changed!

Could I be looking at it the wrong way?

Ever since he was little, Fu Qian had been known for his exceptional ability to think outside the box. He'd even earned a reputation for having the kind of broad imagination only a lunatic could have.

Watching the Werewolf in the yard, he came up with an idea.

Fu Qian found a spot, raised his arms, tilted his head up, and imitated the Werewolf's pose, gazing at the moon with deep feeling.

Nothing happened?

Fu Qian wasn't the kind of person to give up easily.

One minute, two minutes...

The Werewolf began to shake itself, about to get up and prowl around again, when at last something changed.

The Stone Door, which had looked incredibly heavy, opened soundlessly inward.

So that works too?

Though his guess had been proven right, Fu Qian wasn't exactly happy.

This place was quite strange, and he had no idea what else might be waiting for him ahead.

But the way was open, so Fu Qian quickly lowered his arms.

Taking care not to make a sound, he edged toward the gate, staying out of the Werewolf's line of sight.

All set.

He slipped through the door, and the scene before him instantly brightened.

Fu Qian finally understood why this place was called the Full Moon Garden.

Across the rolling ground, countless little flowers with white petals and yellow centers swayed in the breeze.

Each petal was like a tiny mirror, reflecting the bright moonlight, like a flowing sea of mercury.

At least he hadn't spotted anything else for now.

Fu Qian let out a long breath.

The next moment, he sucked it right back in.