Blood Drink

"Plop." Drool hit the floor with a sound that vanished almost as soon as it came.

The sound was faint, but it struck Renee's heart like a weight dropped onto a piano. For an instant, she felt like a thief caught in the act, a chill rising from the soles of her feet.

She instinctively looked toward the sound and saw a huge, twisted humanoid crawling through the darkness deep inside the warehouse.

It crawled like a ghoul from a horror story, though it wore heavy plate armor. The armor did not fit. Layers of yellowed fat had burst through its rivets and chains, and purple-blue veins showed clearly across folds of flesh that rolled in waves, giving off a constant stench of decay.

The creature was clutching chunks of meat from the floor and feasting on them. Drool mixed with bloody water spilled around it, while the movement of its massive spine sent the meat hooks on the ceiling clanging.

There was no doubt this filthy, profane creature was the "bandit leader" recorded in the ledger.

Suddenly, it stopped swallowing. It wrenched its head around and stared straight at the warehouse door.

Darkness surged. Pressure almost tangible swept toward Renee like a tide, and a mix of revulsion and fear crept into her heart.

She always acted brave in front of others, but if she was honest, she did not like fighting. She was even afraid of conflict. Yet she bore the responsibility of saving the world, and she could not back down.

I won't be a burden. I have to prove myself!

Thump, thump... Thump, thump...

Her heartbeat quickened and her vision slowly narrowed. Renee suppressed her surging panic and forced herself to study the powerful enemy.

But in the next instant, Xia Lun silently stepped in front