Helplessness

Ah... my new meal ticket had gone to heaven.

Qin Yi felt that he ought to let out a few screams now, like those terrified bratty kids in horror movies.

This fiendish calamity should have been a Killing Ape.

That older sister had once said that fiendish calamities like Killing Apes enjoyed toying with their prey. If it was entertained, it would not kill a person right away.

But Qin Yi was not thinking that now.

All he felt was speechless.

He had thought the girl was pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger, but it turned out she ate feed.

Tsk...

Still, she had been somewhat useful. At least she had blocked disaster for him.

The thought flashed through his mind, and Qin Yi moved.

Under the Killing Ape's gaze, he violently rammed open the courtyard gate before him.

The courtyard was not large, around forty or fifty square meters. Bluestone bricks formed a path across the dirt, with flowers and plants his sister had grown on both sides. At the far end stood a small raw-wood cabin, while two swings were tied to the trunk of a century-old locust tree in the corner.

Qin Yi ran along the bluestone path.

But before he could make another move,

Whoosh—

With a single leap, the Killing Ape landed atop the old locust tree in the courtyard, sending the swings below swaying wildly.

Their eyes met for an instant. The Killing Ape's protruding jaw pulled into a grin, exposing pointed teeth stained with bits of flesh and blood. A very human-like displeasure flickered in its tiny scarlet eyes.

It had wanted to see terror on the face of this frail human cub, thin as kindling, but it had not gotten its wish.

Under Qin Yi's still-water gaze, the Killing Ape suddenly smiled. Grinning, it raised the rich young lady's corpse before itself, its long, slender fingers clutching one of her arms.

Its massive body crouched on the treetop, making the thick branch groan and creak beneath its weight.

It had seen many rational two-legged beasts.

Whenever they saw such a sight—when they saw the corpses of their companions being handled by it—they invariably became agitated. Either fear or fury; yet neither of the scenes it had expected appeared.

This two-legged beast cub was indeed watching, but his gaze remained utterly flat, like a stagnant pool, simply fixed upon it.

If pretending to be afraid could raise his odds of survival, Qin Yi would not have minded putting on a heart-rending performance of terror. But the rich young lady had died suddenly, his sister's fate was unknown, and if the traps in the courtyard did not work, then with his current physical condition, facing the Killing Ape alone meant only one word: death.

Putting on a show would only provide this beast with emotional value, one-sidedly.

Then there was no need for it.

Cold silver radiance spilled across the forest courtyard, stretching the shadows of one boy and one ape long.

Within that uneasy, deathly silence,

Qin Yi raised his hand crossbow and aimed it at the giant ape amid the branches.

"Roar!!"

The Killing Ape was finally enraged by the other's affected calmness and provocation. It let out a furious growl and casually hurled the corpse in its hand at the cub below!

Qin Yi moved first. This body's talent was exceptionally high. Though its strength and speed were limited by its age, its reaction speed and bodily coordination were both of "heavenly talent."

His preemptive evasive movement allowed Qin Yi to narrowly avoid the crashing corpse. Yet the sounds by his ear warned him that the Killing Ape had not remained where it was.

The noise rising through the treetops was like a sudden downpour beating upon dead leaves.

Without the slightest hesitation and without taking aim, the instant Qin Yi turned his gaze back, he raised his hand and fired a crossbow bolt at that enormous figure.

The bolt tore through the air, drawing a fleeting silver line through the moonlight as it flew straight at the Killing Ape's airborne body.

It should have had no way to evade.

But in that instant, Qin Yi saw a clear, savage smile on the Killing Ape's jutting jaw.

The fiendish ape's huge body spun in midair, its grayish-brown fur sweeping out an arc as it turned. When it rolled to the ground, the cold-glinting crossbow bolt had already been caught between its slender fingers.

This Killing Ape had seen human crossbow bolts before!

The gigantic ape shadow slowly rose. The full moon's clear radiance poured over its broad shoulders and back, casting a vast, thick shadow over Qin Yi and swallowing his entire body in darkness.

The Killing Ape's grayish-brown lips split to either side, exposing two rows of interlocking fangs. Fragments of the rich young lady that it had not yet swallowed still hung between its teeth.

It smiled at him again.

Qin Yi tilted his head as he looked at it.

He discovered that this Killing Ape truly loved to smile.

The night wind suddenly stopped.

But replacing it was the swift rustling of ropes tightening at high speed.

That was the trap in the courtyard, and also the many layers of insurance Qin Yi had set up for himself. An adult's weight would trigger it upon stepping on it, let alone a massive Killing Ape.

The Killing Ape's broad foot was snared by the rope the instant it landed. The weighted stone bag in the corner of the courtyard dropped rapidly, and the rope passing through the old locust tree's trunk tightened at lightning speed, going taut in an instant!

Yet the intended upside-down suspension never formed.

Qin Yi retreated backward, rapidly cranking the hand crossbow's winch to draw the string.

The trap had been designed for humans. The weighted stone bag was insufficient to drag the enormous Killing Ape, merely pulling it into a face-plant before it grabbed the ground with its long, slender arms and stabilized itself.

"Roar!!!"

The sudden attack made the Killing Ape roar in fury. Its slender arm swept toward the cub before it with a sharp gale, but Qin Yi had already retreated more than twenty feet away.

When the strike missed, the Killing Ape struggled to cut the rope with its sharp nails.

"Whoosh!!"

Qin Yi, who had already retreated to the cabin entrance, gave it no such chance. The instant the crossbow was cocked, he fired another bolt.

The bolt struck the back of the Killing Ape's head dead-on, but its hard skull stopped it. It sank only half an inch before it could go no farther.

"Roar!!!"

The intense pain made the Killing Ape release a crazed, furious wail. After struggling and rolling on the ground for a moment, it suddenly seized the hemp rope binding its ankle. A savage, monstrous strength erupted from its long arms, and it actually flung the trap's weighted stone bag away.

Buzz—

The stone bag traced an arc beneath the moonlight before finally crashing down in the courtyard with a heavy boom!

The Killing Ape rose again, pulled the crossbow bolt from the back of its head, and looked at the blood staining it. It instantly lost all reason. Staring at the human cub before the cabin, it lunged at him like a small mountain!

But before its eyes,

the cub standing at the wooden door did not look at its terrifying charge at all. He merely thrust out a hand and slammed it against the wooden wall behind him.

"Bang..."

Then,

Tap... tap... tap...

A string of faint sounds rang out, as though some mechanism had been triggered.

Then,

"Whoosh—"

Accompanied by the sound of tearing air, a log over ten feet long, sharpened into a cone and laden with long-stored kinetic force, dropped from above the beam and swung out from that dark, deep wooden doorway!

The charging Killing Ape could not evade due to its momentum.

For an ordinary human, this was certain-death force. But for a fiendish calamity as massive as the Killing Ape, it was not unstoppable.

The Killing Ape gave a savage low growl and spread its long, sinewy arms. Before the conical log could smash down, it suddenly clenched both hands forward with all its might!

Pfft!

Its feet carved grooves a foot long into the earth. Accompanied by a faint sound of flesh being pierced, the potential energy carried by the conical log embedded it only an inch or so into its chest before being stopped!

The searing pain, along with the humiliation of being repeatedly outwitted by a weaker creature, drove the Killing Ape nearly mad. Growling low, it raised those bloodshot eyes.

Next, it would torture this two-legged beast cub to death in the cruelest manner possible.

But what entered its vision made it abruptly freeze.

What the Killing Ape saw was not panic after the trap had failed, but a hand crossbow already aimed at its eye.

"Roar!!!!!"

The Killing Ape realized what would happen next. It desperately tried to dodge, its shriek shaking the heavens, but the log clutched in its arms gave it no opportunity to evade...

"Bye-bye."

The crossbow string released.

The bolt became a streak of light, instantly piercing the Killing Ape's eye and the soft tissue of its brain. The iron arrowhead did not stop until its momentum had penetrated the skull at the back of its head...

Everything returned to silence.

The night wind brushed in from the mountains and forest, carrying the scent of blood.

The boy sat crouched alone before the threshold, holding a bamboo tube and sipping water mouthful by mouthful. Behind him, the conical log swayed within the deep doorway, making the swings creak and squeak.

Weak strength was not an obstacle to survival. Incompetence was.

The corpses of the Killing Ape and the rich young lady, lying flat in the courtyard, both spoke of this truth.

But what should he do next?

Moonlight reflected in Qin Yi's black eyes, revealing a calmness that did not match his age.

Because of the sudden Killing Ape and the abrupt death of his new meal ticket, all his original plans had been thrown into disarray.

As for his sister, her fate remained unknown.

Only six reusable crossbow bolts remained.

Though he had escaped the immediate crisis, his situation had not fundamentally changed.

An infant's brain could not carry the vast information of his previous life. He had forgotten the people and events of that life, even his own name. He remembered only a surname, along with the strange knowledge and habits within his mind.

Of course,

the most important matter was still the illness that caused him to lose consciousness intermittently.

In this world, without anyone to protect him, losing consciousness was no different from losing his life.

But... he had to find a way to stay alive.

As Qin Yi recovered his strength and pondered a solution, he soon found the best answer for the moment.

His brain ailment was gradually recovering as he grew older. He could find an uninhabited mountain cave, tie himself up, stockpile enough food and water, rely on instinct to eat and drink, and wait for his next awakening. He could repeat the cycle until the ailment was completely cured.

Though he knew the odds of scraping by like that were slim, there seemed to be no other way.

If the two bandits' companions saw the gruesome scene in the secret room, they might return to inspect this cabin at any moment. He could not remain here long.

His initial food could only come from this Killing Ape.

First, he would cut off the meat, use the cart at home to haul it into the mountains, then figure out how to smoke it. Water was a problem. Once he found a cave, he would first need to chisel out a water trough, so he also had to bring a proper tool.

Qin Yi sorted through everything he needed one by one. He pulled the short dagger from his waist and carved several marks into the cabin wall. If his sister was alive and saw them, she would naturally enter the mountains to look for him.

After finishing this, he walked toward the Killing Ape.

But,

a rustling sound rapidly approaching from afar made Qin Yi halt instantly.

The sound came from the forest outside the small courtyard.

It was the same sound he had heard only moments ago, like a sudden downpour beating upon dead leaves!

Realizing who the newcomer was, Qin Yi drew his hand crossbow and quickly cocked it, intending to hide in the cabin behind him, but it was already too late!

Rustle, rustle—

The forest canopy beyond the courtyard shook violently, thick branches snapping asunder. Then, a colossal humanoid shadow like a mountain tore through the moonlight and entered his vision!

Thud!

The ground trembled for an instant. Amid billowing dust, an even larger Killing Ape landed in the courtyard.

Its body was more enormous than the one he had hunted earlier, standing over ten feet tall. Its arms were still long, but no longer slender. Sinewy muscles bulged beneath its coarse, hard fur like a towering wall of flesh.

His gaze shifted downward.

Male.

The air froze once more.

Strategies raced through his mind. There were other traps in the courtyard, but against the behemoth before him, they were clearly no longer enough.

Every route among the countless countermeasures in his mind led to only one result:

Death.

Qin Yi took a deep breath, yet still gently placed his fingers on the hand crossbow's trigger.

"Tsk... one after another. What, was I guarding some arena today?"