Wu Ya trembled all over, her feet spasming as they kicked nonstop, desperately trying to retreat.
The giant bee's sharp tail stinger gleamed with a cold light. The smear of crimson at its tip grew larger and more vivid in Wu Ya's eyes, while the increasingly foul stench made her nearly vomit, churning her stomach.
It was so uncomfortable, so unbearably uncomfortable!
Disgusting, so disgusting!
Go away, go away, don't come any closer!
Wu Ya was so terrified that tears and mucus streamed down her face, but her hands and feet were powerless. Like a fish thrown onto the shore, she could only struggle weakly.
Was she going to die?
The string stretched to its limit finally snapped with a sharp twang~.
Wu Ya's vision went black, and she fainted.
At the critical moment, Xiao Xiao arrived just in time. Without a second thought, he slammed the book in his hand at the monster. He had not expected much, only hoping to hinder its movements for a moment. To his surprise, the blow sent it flying.
Xiao Xiao was stunned for a moment.
He quickly reached Wu Ya's side, crouched down, and checked her over. Fortunately, she had only fainted.
"Shriek~" A sharp, ear-piercing sound, like fingernails scraping across glass, suddenly rang out. The hairs all over Xiao Xiao's body stood on end. His vision swayed, and it felt as though a knife were viciously stirring inside his head. His headache was splitting.
Xiao Xiao barely managed to steady himself, but everything before his eyes remained blurry.
Although it looked like an enlarged bee on the outside, its cry was unlike the low buzzing of an ordinary bee. Instead, it was this sharp and piercing sound, as if an endless, thick darkness were spreading out before his eyes, seeping with wisps of ominous crimson.
Xiao Xiao endured the discomfort in his body and slowly rose, looking up.
Perhaps the previous strike had made the monster wary, so it did not immediately launch another attack.
This gave Xiao Xiao some time to recover.
After all, he had not understood what had happened just now. Besides, he no longer had a book in his hands.
Xiao Xiao forced himself to remain calm. His hands hanging at his sides were so stiff they even spasmed slightly, the veins bulging as his fingertips turned deathly pale.
"Thump—thump—thump—" His heart beat in disarray, each thud so loud it made him panic.
Xiao Xiao clenched his fists. The slight pain of his nails digging into his flesh helped him stubbornly keep his eyes fixed on the "bee," watching its every move.
Its crimson eyes glimmered with a sinister, icy light in the night.
Its enormous body stood atop a high branch. The crescent moon cast a ghastly pale light, outlining a dense shadow.
A foul, fishy stench kept drilling into Xiao Xiao's nostrils.
It smelled rotten, like corpses buried in the sludge of a swamp, mixed with a slick, fishy sweetness. Cold and cloying, it was so nauseating that Xiao Xiao nearly vomited.
Xiao Xiao had not expected things to turn out this way. Even if he had wanted to take a look at the Small Forest, he would have chosen to come during the day.
He had not expected plans to be overtaken by circumstances.
That evening, Eldest Brother had generously invited everyone in the dormitory out for a better meal, using the excuse that he had been frightened.
When they returned, they happened to spot several girls pacing around outside the Small Forest, all wearing panicked and helpless expressions.
Eldest Brother and the others, being quite chivalrous toward women, went over to help.
After asking, they learned that one of the girls' companions had run into the Small Forest and disappeared, while they did not quite dare to go inside.
The Small Forest was practically a forbidden zone on campus now. The police cordon had only been removed that afternoon. If not for Wu Ya, they would never have come here.
Wu Ya had also been acting strangely just now, leaving them worried and frightened.
While they were debating whether to ask the boys in their class or the school's patrolling security guards for help, they ran into Xiao Xiao and the others. They immediately clung to them like drowning people who had grasped a lifeline, begging them to go inside and look for their companion.
"Uh..." Zhang Bo hesitated as he glanced at the gloomy and eerie Small Forest. But when he saw their faces on the verge of tears, he immediately patted his chest and said they could leave it to them.
Zhuge Yun and Zhao Luzheng slapped their chests even more loudly, one after another.
"Third Brother, what are you spacing out for?"
"Don't tell me you're scared?"
"Don't be afraid. Big Brother will protect you, haha."
Xiao Xiao did not respond. He only stared fixedly at the Small Forest.
He did not see that, at that moment, a faint golden gleam flashed and vanished in his eyes.
In his vision, a shadowy black aura drifted above the Small Forest, its tendrils clawing at the air and radiating an unsettling aura of death.
What was this...
"Hey, Third Brother, why are you suddenly so serious?"
"What is it? Is something wrong?"
"Don't tell me you're really scared?"
"It's nothing." Xiao Xiao withdrew his gaze. "Once we're inside, let's split up and search. It'll be faster."
"All right."
Xiao Xiao had originally wanted to stop Eldest Brother and the others from going inside. After all, the Small Forest gave him a very bad feeling now.
But it was difficult to come up with a reason. Besides, he was worried that if they delayed too long, the girl might be in danger.
He still remembered the photographs from that morning vividly.
Furthermore, he had noticed just now that the black aura was unevenly distributed. He had a feeling that the place where it was thickest should be where the girl was.
Since that was the case, all he needed to do was have Eldest Brother and the others avoid that direction.
As for what he might encounter alone, honestly, he had not thought much about it.
Of course, he was not the sort of person who would sacrifice himself for others. They were strangers, after all. If it had been Eldest Brother and the others, that would have been a different matter. If not for the changes in his body, he definitely would not have made this choice.
It was simply that, among everyone present, he seemed the most suited to go there.
Finally, after telling the girls to go find the security guards, Xiao Xiao followed Eldest Brother and the others into the Small Forest.
Once inside, Xiao Xiao rejected the suggestion that they search in pairs. He chose the direction where the black aura was thickest and went there alone.
He no longer had the confidence to protect anyone else.
Nor did he intend to tell anyone about his own secrets.
As for the current situation, Xiao Xiao did not know whether it was better or worse than he had expected.
At least, the fact that the monster was wary of him because he could smash it with a book was a blessing.
He really ought to thank the classmate who had asked him to bring the book back. Otherwise, he had no idea how he could have stopped the monster from attacking the girl.
But what was he supposed to do now?
Although the monster was somewhat wary of him, it showed no intention of retreating.
Its gloomy eyes had never left him.
The viscous malice made him feel as though he were suffocating.
Xiao Xiao was now caught between a rock and a hard place.
He had no means of dealing with the monster.
And now, he did not even have a useful weapon at his side.
What should he do? What should he do?
Drops of sweat trickled down Xiao Xiao's cheeks.
"Shriek~" The monster seemed a little impatient. It paced back and forth along the branch, but its gaze never strayed from the area around Xiao Xiao.
In the silent night, the monster's owl-like cry was utterly horrifying.
Its crimson eyes were so thick and viscous that they seemed ready to drip fresh blood.
Faint phosphorescence flickered against the pale moonlight, making it even more terrifying.
Xiao Xiao's mind raced. He even felt waves of stabbing pain from overloading it.
Damn it!
He still had no way to deal with this!
All he could do now was delay for as long as possible.
Heh, saving a beauty heroically to this extent was truly bizarre.
Indeed, being a hero was not so easy.
Before you continue