The End

Hm? Suddenly sensing something, Xiao Xiao looked up.

The silver-gray monster landed without a sound. Its head was held high, carrying an innate arrogance. Even in such a bedraggled state, it was still... so cocky it made people want to punch it.

Xiao Xiao felt like laughing, but he was also wary.

Earlier, he had been dazzled by the battle between monsters he was seeing for the first time. Then he had been tortured half to death by the pain and had yet to recover when the Ear Mouse brazenly appeared before him.

Was it... over?

Xiao Xiao's body, which had just begun to relax, tensed again. From the corner of his eye, he glanced to the side but did not see any sign of the "bee."

Had it escaped? Or had it... been eaten?

Xiao Xiao gave the Ear Mouse's belly a slightly strange look. It did not seem any different from before.

Heh—Xiao Xiao jolted as a fierce gust shot past his ear like an arrow loosed from a bow. "Sssht~" That was the sound of it piercing through a tree trunk.

Xiao Xiao withdrew his somewhat presumptuous gaze. Didn't books always say that monsters could grow stronger by eating other monsters or something?

At that moment, he truly hoped this monster ate monsters, so that it would not eat people.

Though his entire body was weak, every nerve in his mind kept screaming, Danger, danger! Under such an intense sense of crisis, Xiao Xiao dug both hands tightly into the ground, leaned forward slightly, and stared unyieldingly at the Ear Mouse as it gradually approached.

But in the end, the Ear Mouse stopped three steps away.

It did not come any closer.

Its scarlet eyes seemed to retain the savagery and ferocity from the earlier fight, yet as they looked at him now, they clearly held a hint of scrutiny and contempt.

Though he knew it was a monster and could not be judged by common sense, such a humanlike expression appearing on a rabbit-like face was indescribably strange.

And this monster was looking down on him, wasn't it? Wasn't it? Wasn't it?!

Xiao Xiao no longer knew what expression he should make.

The earlier earth-shaking commotion had given way to utter silence.

The moonlight was like frost, shedding some of its pallor and taking on a gentle, clear beauty.

The Ear Mouse's silver-gray fur, like the finest silk, flowed with a soft, glimmering radiance.

It looked so soft.

But Xiao Xiao knew all too well how hard it actually was.

Those tail strikes earlier had hit quite satisfyingly.

Hm?

It... disappeared?!

Just as its arrival had been inexplicable, its departure was even more silent.

Just like that, right before his eyes... it vanished.

Xiao Xiao's back went slack. "Huff... huff..." His heavy breathing was especially clear in the quiet forest.

Was this... finally over?

This was... wonderful!

Xiao Xiao practically wanted to cry.

If this had gone on any longer, he really would have died here.

Wouldn't that have been absurd?

"Third Brother!" Zhao Luzheng shouted.

Earlier, after he and Eldest Brother had searched in their respective directions without finding anything, they had gradually regrouped and headed toward Xiao Xiao. On the way, they found the unconscious girl. In the end, they decided that Eldest Brother would take the girl to the university hospital, Second Brother would return the way they came to notify the other girls that the missing girl had been found, and he would go look for Third Brother.

"Yo." Xiao Xiao had wanted to stand up, but he truly lacked the strength. He could only put on as casual an expression as possible and greet him naturally. However, his sweat-soaked bangs, pale face, and the exhaustion between his brows all made his weakness painfully obvious.

At first, Zhao Luzheng was still some distance away, and with the dim light in the Small Forest, he did not notice anything wrong. He even teased him casually, "Still saying 'yo'? Third Brother, did you already know we'd found her? Or are you already done for that quickly?"

Xiao Xiao leaned against a large tree. His lower body was bathed in moonlight, while his upper body was hidden in darkness. Branches crisscrossed overhead, dotted here and there with a few dead leaves. The mournful moonlight cast mottled shadows, creating quite an artistic scene.

When Zhao Luzheng drew closer and saw this, he had been about to tease him a little more. Then he suddenly froze. Under the tranquil moonlight, Xiao Xiao's complexion looked even more terribly pale, with a faint bluish tint to it. He immediately turned pale with fright. "Third Brother, what's wrong with you?"

"Cough, I'm fine." Xiao Xiao rubbed his nose and smiled helplessly. "I'm just a little worn out. Give me a hand."

"And you call that fine?" Zhao Luzheng hurried forward to help Xiao Xiao up. "How did you end up like this? Come on, let's hurry to the university hospital too. Maybe we'll run into Eldest Brother."

"Third Brother, are you really okay? What happened?"

"Ah, Third Brother, did you run into something supernatural?"

Faced with Zhao Luzheng's endless stream of questions, Xiao Xiao's throat was dry and hoarse, and he could barely make a sound. He also did not know how to answer, so silence happened to be golden.

Tonight, he had been completely drained, with no strength left to say anything more.

What he wanted most now was to throw himself onto his soft bed and get a good night's sleep.

Everything else could wait until he woke up.

It was not until the afternoon of the next day that Xiao Xiao finally woke up.

At the time, he was the only one left in the dormitory. Having just woken up, he was still a little groggy.

Suddenly, the sound of the door opening rang out, followed immediately by Eldest Brother's booming voice.

"Third Brother, you're finally awake! So, how are you feeling? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"

"Xiao Xiao, I was worried sick about you," Zhuge Yun said in a nauseatingly syrupy tone. He made as if to climb onto Xiao Xiao's bed and give him a loving hug, but Eldest Brother grabbed him by the back of the collar, preventing his "wicked scheme" from succeeding.

Everyone rolled their eyes at Zhuge Yun in unison.

"Third Brother, are you hungry? We brought you some food," Zhao Luzheng said constructively.

Xiao Xiao really was hungry. He had missed both breakfast and lunch—how could he not be?

After quickly washing up, Xiao Xiao ate while asking about what had happened after last night's events.

There was nothing particularly noteworthy.

He naturally knew that the girl who had entered the Small Forest was all right.

However, he had ultimately arrived too late. Like the first few victims, although that girl had no external injuries, she had been severely frightened. She kept muttering deliriously and was still recuperating in the school hospital.

At that, Xiao Xiao felt somewhat puzzled. Judging by yesterday's events, that "bee" had genuinely intended to hurt people. If that was the case, then aside from one particularly unlucky victim who had been seriously injured, and excluding the girl he had saved yesterday, why had the others merely been frightened?

Though they had been frightened rather badly.

Xiao Xiao could not make sense of it.

Forget it. The matter was over anyway. Why think so much about it?

Very quickly, Xiao Xiao happily tossed the question aside.

As for his roommates' questions about why he had been so weak yesterday, he brushed them off with jokes and evasions.

Still, there was one thing he cared about. Pretending to ask casually, he asked whether they had noticed anything unusual while searching for people last night.

After all, those two monsters had fought so fiercely yesterday. They should have heard some commotion, right? Or perhaps seen something?

But clearly, Eldest Brother and the others had not noticed anything unusual, nor had they taken those sounds too seriously. They had merely assumed it was thunder or the aftereffects of an earthquake. Xiao Xiao did not say anything further, unsure whether what he felt was relief or something else.