A little earlier, the scene shifted to Third Brother.
A faint candle flame swayed across the freezing snowfield, rising and falling with the unsteady figure trudging below.
Third Brother walked through snow that reached his calves. Though the raging blizzard had stopped, there was still...
As far as the eye could see were rolling snowdrifts, dead trees encased in ice, and an endless white expanse.
"This doesn't look like a place with any prey at all..."
Third Brother muttered in frustration. He habitually wanted to scratch his head, but lowered his hand again when it touched his exposed external skull.
Third Brother sighed and asked in the group chat.
[Third Brother: Boss, how are things on your end? Did you find anything?]
[Boss: (sent image.jpg) I found something over here.]
The image showed a rather strange creature: it had a round yellow belly and a black, spiked shell with a metallic sheen, and it was slowly wriggling across the ground.
[Third Brother: ...Can that thing really be eaten?]
[Boss: No idea. Let's bring some back and study it first. How about your side?]
[Third Brother: It's all white snow. I can't see anything except snow.]
[Boss: How about using your summon? By the way, can Shadow Wolf be used as a hunting dog to track prey?]
[Third Brother: Sure, I'll give it a try.]
With a thought, the shadow beneath his feet pulsed and swelled like a living thing, rapidly becoming three-dimensional.
The next moment, a massive wolf composed entirely of darkness stood upon the snowfield.
Third Brother tentatively reached out his hand. Shadow Wolf obediently lay down and rubbed its head against his palm.
The sensation was not empty at all. Instead, it had the resilient solidity of something real, as though he were touching fur formed from highly condensed energy.
"It's a creation made of shadows, yet it actually feels solid..."
He scratched Shadow Wolf beneath the chin, and its scarlet wolf eyes narrowed happily into slits.
"Do you have self-awareness..." Third Brother asked softly, curious.
"Roar..."
Shadow Wolf answered with a low rumble, then nudged its head into his palm again in an affectionate gesture.
Though he could not understand its exact meaning, that clear sense of dependence felt incredibly strange to Third Brother.
"I'm counting on you. Help me see if there's anything nearby that can be used as food."
"Roar!"
Shadow Wolf seemed to understand the command. It rose to its feet and lifted its head, sniffing the air.
Under Third Brother's astonished gaze, its enormous body made a nimble leap and slipped into the shadow it cast as though diving into water.
"?" Third Brother froze. "It can do that too?"
He lowered his head in confusion, stared at the shadow beneath his feet, and tentatively reached out to touch it with a finger.
What reached his fingertip was not the cold touch of snow, but the empty sensation of passing through a viscous film of water.
His hand had actually gone straight inside!
"!"
Third Brother was utterly stunned. Just as he was about to further investigate this bizarre phenomenon—
The shadow before him suddenly rippled violently like water and expanded! Then, a massive wolf's head squeezed out from within it.
Third Brother took two steps back to clear the way, then his body suddenly went rigid.
Along with the wolf's head, it had brought out a... girl in its jaws!?
She was an Elafia girl with soft white hair and a pair of deer antlers.
She wore thick but somewhat worn winter clothes. Her face was a little pale, and she tightly clutched a basket covered with white cloth.
Their eyes met.
Third Brother: "..."
Elafia girl: "..."
A brief, dead silence.
When the girl saw Third Brother's inhuman appearance, she visibly panicked for a moment, her body trembling slightly.
But after realizing that he was merely standing there without making any further aggressive or threatening movements, she calmed down a little.
Her gaze moved back and forth between Third Brother and the Shadow Wolf beside him.
Then, she gathered her courage and said something.
Her voice was crisp and pleasant, but Third Brother could not understand a word.
Third Brother was extremely embarrassed right now. His Shadow Wolf seemed to have misunderstood his order and had directly carried back a living person.
And it had no idea how serious the problem was. It was crouched nearby, wagging its tail happily.
The girl before him had already calmed down and was looking at him curiously. Third Brother felt like his head was about to split in two.
Third Brother glared irritably at Shadow Wolf.
"I told you to find food, so why did you bring back a living person? Do I look like some monster that eats people?"
Shadow Wolf's ears and tail immediately drooped, and it lay limply on the ground.
"Awwooo..."
Seeing Shadow Wolf looking so aggrieved, Third Brother ultimately softened. He sighed and was just about to say something—
At that moment, the Elafia girl across from him timidly spoke.
"Hello... Do you need food?"
Third Brother nodded. "That's right, I really..."
Third Brother: "..."
Third Brother abruptly turned toward the girl and asked in shock, "You can speak Chinese!?"
The girl was startled by his suddenly raised voice and reaction, shrinking back a little.
"Chinese? Do you mean... Great Yan language?"
Third Brother immediately came to his senses. He remembered Fourth Brother mentioning that this world had a nation modeled after China, called Great Yan.
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded and followed her wording.
"Mm... Are you from Great Yan?"
"No..." The girl gently shook her head.
"One of my friends taught me this language."
After explaining, she brought the topic back to where it had started and looked at Third Brother with concern.
"Do you need food?"
Third Brother silently nodded, his gaze involuntarily falling back on the basket she held.
The girl followed his gaze downward. When she looked up again, there was even less fear in her eyes.
"Um... I have food here," she said softly.
Third Brother understood as well—Shadow Wolf really had found food. It had simply found the person carrying it!
He looked helplessly at Shadow Wolf, which let out a perfectly timed, aggrieved whimper.
"...Sorry. I wrongly blamed you."
Third Brother reached out and rubbed the wolf's head.
Shadow Wolf immediately became cheerful again, its huge body circling Third Brother over and over.
Third Brother became a little dizzy from all the circling, so he pressed one hand against its restless head and skillfully scratched beneath its chin. Shadow Wolf immediately let out a contented purr and quieted down.
Watching this, the girl's lips unconsciously curved upward. But when she remembered her own situation, her expression became serious again.
"Um..." She gathered her courage and spoke once more.
Third Brother stopped petting the wolf and looked at her.
"I can give you this food." The girl held the basket out toward him, her eyes pleading.
"Could you please... let me go?"
Third Brother immediately felt an intense wave of embarrassment. He really was not some kidnapper or cannibalistic monster!
"You..." Third Brother paused, trying to make his voice sound gentler.
"What's your name?"
"Alina," the girl answered honestly. "My name is Alina."
"Alina..." Third Brother repeated her name, his tone softening.
"You can go back whenever you want. I'm terribly sorry; my pet misunderstood what I meant."
"I told it to look for food, so it... brought you back."
Third Brother looked at the basket in Alina's hands again. He hesitated, but still forced himself to say it.
"I'm sorry for frightening you, but... could you spare me some food? There's... a child at home who's still hungry. I'll pay you for it."
"A child?" Alina froze for a moment, then her expression swiftly turned serious and concerned.
Without another word, she stuffed the entire basket into Third Brother's arms.
"Huh?" Third Brother was stunned by her action.
"Please hurry and bring this food to the child!" Alina's tone carried an unquestionable urgency.
"It's the coldest time of year right now. Children especially need food to stay healthy—they mustn't go hungry!"
Seeing her hand over all her food without the slightest hesitation, Third Brother became even more hesitant.
"You... Aren't you afraid I'm lying to you?"
Alina raised her head, her clear eyes, like those of a fawn in the forest, looking directly into Third Brother's.
"Are you lying to me?"
Meeting those pure eyes, which seemed capable of reflecting one's very soul, Third Brother silently shook his head.
I feel like anyone who lied in front of those eyes would be struck by lightning...
"No."
"Then it's fine." A warm smile returned to Alina's face.
"Please accept it."
Third Brother looked at the heavy basket in his arms, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
"You gave me all of it... What will you do? Won't you get in trouble when you go back?"
He noticed that Alina's clothes were not particularly thick. Alone in this frozen wilderness, returning with an empty basket would probably...
Alina's smile remained unchanged.
"I'll be fine. With Ta... ahem! With my friend helping me, food is still fairly plentiful, and besides..."
"Going hungry feels awful. Your child is still hungry, so please hurry home."
Third Brother stared blankly at this little white deer.
This... this was an angel!
The basket in his hands felt increasingly heavy. Looking at the pure white little deer before him, Third Brother felt an indescribable emotion well up in his heart.
"Wait a moment," Third Brother said, his tone turning firm.
"I'll take you back soon, but before that, I want to give you something in return for the food."
Alina hurriedly waved her hands, wanting to refuse. "No, there's no need..."
But Third Brother ignored her refusal, his mind racing.
What should he give her? He did not have any ordinary valuables on him right now, and he could not casually give away his weapons...
His gaze swept over the quietly waiting Shadow Wolf beside him, and an idea suddenly flashed through his mind.
The shadow beneath his feet boiled. Immediately afterward, several thick, fleshy vines burst from the snow, wildly twisting and lashing about.
A massive shadow instantly engulfed Alina completely. She cried out in fright and instinctively stumbled backward.
Third Brother reacted quickly and caught her.
She was shockingly light and frail. Even through her thick winter clothes, he could feel how slender her arm was.
So light...
Third Brother shook his head and cast aside the irrelevant thoughts.
He tried to control the restless shadow vines, willing them to contract and condense.
Accompanied by the sizzling sound of matter being forcibly compressed, those enormous shadow vines solidified into a spiral seed no larger than a walnut.
It lay quietly in Third Brother's palm. It no longer gave off a terrifying aura and instead looked like an ordinary stone.
Third Brother handed the seed to Alina and solemnly instructed her.
"Take this. If you encounter a danger you can't resist, throw this seed at the enemy."
"It'll immediately grow into vines like the ones you saw earlier and attack them. It should be able to hold them off for a while."
Alina hesitantly looked at the black seed in her palm. After several seconds of silence, she tucked it into the inner pocket of her clothes.
"Th... thank you."
Third Brother nodded. He was about to give her a few more instructions on avoiding danger, or ask which village she lived in—
A cry from Second Brother suddenly exploded in the [Mental Chat Group].
[Second Brother: Everyone, get back here now! Something huge happened! Ifrit ran into the Dungeon!!!]
[Boss: What?! I'm coming back immediately!!!]
"Dungeon..."
"Dungeon!!!"
Third Brother's body jolted. Of course he knew what a Dungeon was—
It was a maze filled with countless dangers and monsters everywhere!
Ifrit, a child, had run inside...
His intense reaction startled Alina beside him again, and she looked at him in confusion.
Third Brother had no time to reassure Alina now. He immediately pointed at Shadow Wolf beside him and ordered it.
"Take her safely home! Send her back wherever you brought her from!"
"Remember to protect her, and don't cause trouble. Come back immediately after you deliver her!"
Shadow Wolf nodded and habitually lowered its head to grab Alina by the collar.
Third Brother slapped its hard forehead in anger, making it stagger:
"Idiot! Can't you use your back?!"
"Awoo..." Shadow Wolf let out a pitiful, aggrieved whine, but obediently lowered its body.
Without another word, Third Brother lifted the still-dazed Alina onto Shadow Wolf's back.
"Sorry, there's an extremely urgent matter at home. I have to send you back first! Hold on tight!"
Before Alina could answer, dense shadows surged around Shadow Wolf, swallowing both her and the giant wolf.
The next moment, the shadows collapsed, vanishing from the snowfield along with the figures within.
Third Brother looked at the place where they had disappeared, took a deep breath of icy air, and forcibly suppressed the panic in his heart.
Go home!
Before you continue