The Vicious Dog

"Don't go to the clinic in the east, even if you're injured."

"Don't provoke the stray dogs in the neighborhood."

"There's a female resident in Building Six. If you've got strong kidneys, you can go see her."

"There's a Madman on the roof of Building No. 4..."

"Back Street is a mess..."

Li Ran carefully committed Grandpa Ge's warnings to memory.

"One more thing: in ten days, it'll be the Night of Madness!"

At the thought of it, a sense of despair and panic inexplicably rose within Li Ran.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Just as he was thinking about how to face the monster-filled night ten days from now, several gunshots rang out from the park ahead.

"Gunshots?"

Li Ran's expression changed as he looked toward the sound.

"Eek?"

Scarlet Iris leaped from Li Ran's pocket onto his shoulder and stared at the park in surprise.

"Scarlet Iris, let's go take a look."

"Eek."

"Y-you stay back!"

Xiao Yi, his face twisted with terror, pulled the trigger. Another gunshot rang out.

A tongue of flame burst from the shotgun in his hands, sending pellets toward Chen Jiabin, who stood not far away.

The shot blew a bloody hole in Chen Jiabin's abdomen. The blood streaming from it was horrifying to behold.

Chen Jiabin's shoulders, abdomen, and legs were riddled with gruesome bloody holes, yet he seemed not to feel any pain. An eerie smile tugged at his lips.

The Cursed Demon Dog followed behind him, as obedient as a pet dog.

"Bang!"

Xiao Yi's face went ashen. He'd already used his escape skill, but he'd still been caught. The shotgun in his hands was his only remaining hope.

It was a fine-quality piece of equipment with a piercing effect that could ignore an enemy's armor.

The shot struck Chen Jiabin's arm, the one that had been severed before. The tremendous force blasted it away, spraying blood everywhere.

Xiao Yi's eyes lit up at the sight. He'd finally managed to hurt this monster, Chen Jiabin.

But soon, his expression froze.

At the stump of Chen Jiabin's arm and the severed wrist, countless writhing tentacles began to grow. They looked like frenzied worms...

The severed hand even crawled back to Chen Jiabin across the ground.

Countless tentacles joined together, and the hand that had been blasted away grew back onto Chen Jiabin's right arm, good as new.

Xiao Yi felt like his head was about to explode.

It's over! Xiao Yi realized.

Before the thought had even passed, Chen Jiabin shot forward like a shadow. Before Xiao Yi could react, the severed arm holding his gun flew past his eyes.

Xiao Yi froze for a moment, inexplicably struck by how familiar the arm looked.

He instinctively looked at his right arm. There was now a gaping hole where it had been, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

"Ah... Ah... Aah!!"

Xiao Yi's face twisted as he let out several screams in a row.

"How does it feel to lose a hand?"

Chen Jiabin brought his face close to Xiao Yi's. Wormlike creatures writhed in his eyes, and black veins like centipedes crawled across his face, making him look like a possessed demon.

As he spoke, countless tentacles from Chen Jiabin's left arm turned into a blade and swung down again.

"Squish!"

Another severed arm went flying.

Xiao Yi trembled as he collapsed to the ground, his lips purple, his face pale, and cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

"Jiabin, I was wrong! I'm guilty! I shouldn't have pushed you out there... Please... please spare my worthless life."

Looking at Xiao Yi, as lowly as a stray dog, Chen Jiabin's eyes flashed with disdain and viciousness. He picked him up with one hand and casually tossed him in front of the Cursed Demon Dog.

Black slime dripped from the Cursed Demon Dog's gaping maw. Seeing a human tossed in front of it, it was already ravenous, just waiting for its master's command to start its meal.

Xiao Yi was nearly scared out of his wits. Using only his legs, he crawled like a maggot back to Chen Jiabin's feet.

"Please don't kill me... W-what do you want? I'll give you anything—equipment, Mysterious Power, or points. I'll give you all of it."

Chen Jiabin kicked him away in disgust. "Relax. You won't die that easily."

"I'll make you wish you were dead! Hahaha!"

With that, he swung the Blood Blade.

"Ah! My leg!!" Xiao Yi screamed in agony.

Laughing like a devil, Chen Jiabin tossed the severed leg to the Cursed Demon Dog. "Those are all your reward."

Then, Xiao Yi watched as the Cursed Demon Dog chewed up both his hands and one of his legs. The sensation was so complicated it made him wish he were dead!

"Oh? Were you just thinking that if I let you go, you could still get them reattached at the clinic?"

Chen Jiabin had seen right through him. Xiao Yi's face went white as paper, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.

"Ugh!"

Just then, the Cursed Demon Dog retched and spat out a leg. It licked it on the ground, then swallowed it again.

The sight made Xiao Yi pass out on the spot.

He had a dream. In it, someone cut off all four of his limbs.

He jolted awake, relieved that it had only been a dream.

He reached for his forehead to wipe away the sweat, but the next second, he froze.

His hand... was gone.

Not only that, his other hand and one of his legs...

It wasn't a dream. What had happened in the dream was real.

Just then, the demonic face from his dream appeared in front of him.

He screamed in terror, nearly passing out again.

Chen Jiabin grinned viciously. Countless tentacles sprouted from his palm, forming a sharp Blood Blade, which he slowly extended toward Xiao Yi's heart. "My little dog says your flesh smells just as foul as your heart. I don't believe it. I want to dig it out and see for myself."

Xiao Yi had lost so much blood that his face was deathly pale. He was so weak he could barely speak.

His heart was already dead. He didn't want to fight anymore. He only wanted Chen Jiabin to put him out of his misery!

"Just kill me," Xiao Yi said weakly.

"You want to die?" The Blood Blade in Chen Jiabin's hand disappeared.

He turned and slashed at Xiao Yi's leg. His last remaining leg was gone!

"Ugh!"

Xiao Yi let out a muffled groan of pain and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Now he was limbless, no better than an invalid.

Even worse, the Cursed Demon Dog chewed on the leg right in front of him.

He was utterly desperate now, consumed by unbearable pain!

"Hahaha! You won't die that easily. I haven't had my fill of fun yet."

"I told you, I curse you to die a miserable death!"

"Hahaha!!"

Chen Jiabin burst into laughter, his twisted, terrifying appearance just like a demon's.

"If you've got something delicious, don't keep it all to yourself. Learn to share, understand?"

Chen Jiabin patted the Cursed Demon Dog's head with a mocking smile. The dog slowly raised its head and barked at the sky.

"Woof! Woof, woof!"

"Woof! Woof, woof!"

"Woof!"

"Woof, woof!"

"Woof, woof, woof!!"

Suddenly, dogs answered from across the neighborhood, barking from every direction!

Soon, one by one, ugly, rotten, vicious, demonized dogs appeared from all around.

"Don't... No, no!"

"Jiabin... Jiabin, just kill me... You wanted my heart, didn't you? Take it... Take it!"

"Please... please, just put me out of my misery!"

Xiao Yi's face showed a terror and despair he'd never felt before. He would rather Chen Jiabin stab him through the heart than feed him to that pack of dogs!

Chen Jiabin slowly stood up, his face full of amusement. He stepped aside and ordered the Cursed Demon Dog, "Chew slowly when you eat. Anyone who dares smack their lips will end up just like him!"

The Cursed Demon Dog and the pack obeyed without question.

Chen Jiabin nodded in satisfaction and gave the order.

"Children, dinner's served."

At his command, the pack of dogs pounced on their "meal."

"Ah... Aaaah!!!"

Piercing screams echoed through the neighborhood.