Falling, being thrown up, and then falling again, this endless cycle repeated in the extreme cold and emptiness.
His thoughts were a tangled mess, chaotic sensations stabbing like knives in his mind, until his consciousness was almost suspended.
It was only at that moment, when he felt a sudden release from the brink of drowning, that he was jolted awake from the icy darkness of infinite descent.
He abruptly sat up in bed, but lost his balance and nearly fell to the ground.
At the last moment, he grabbed the edge of the bedside table, barely managing to steady himself, feeling as if his head was spinning.
The sharp and persistent pain made him even question whether his brain was truly boiling.
Fortunately, this sensation didn’t last too long.
Once he truly woke up, the unbearable feelings in his mind faded like a distant dream, leaving behind only some unpleasant impressions.
Yusheng sat on the edge of the bed, taking a few breaths, and then looked out the window.
The setting sun gradually approached the rooftops of the distant city, and the sky was growing darker by the moment.
“…An entire day has passed…” he murmured in surprise.
Supporting himself against the bedside table, he got up, first pouring a glass of water to drink, and then slapping his face, trying to shake off the remnants of an uneasy sleep.
He left the bedroom and headed downstairs.
“I really didn’t expect this ‘wake-up’ to be so painful,” Yusheng began complaining to the oil painting on the dining table as soon as he entered the dining room. “I thought I’d just have a bit of dizziness or a pounding heart, but my goodness, when I opened my eyes, I almost threw up last year’s New Year’s Eve dinner…”
After he finished complaining, Ailin didn’t respond with her usual chatter but remained quiet.
Yusheng felt that something was off.
Turning to the table, he saw Ailin slumped in her chair draped with red velvet, clutching a stuffed bear with a dazed expression, occasionally rolling her eyes and then getting up to retch.
Yusheng exclaimed, “…How did your ‘wake-up’ end up this bad?”
Ailin looked up at him, and just as she was about to speak, another wave of discomfort hit her.
But as a puppet sealed for countless years, she had nothing in her stomach—not even bile (in fact, Yusheng even suspected she might not have a stomach at all).
So she could only lean over the edge of her chair, suffering intensely as if her head might fall off any second.
After a long while, this unfortunate puppet finally recovered, lifting her head to glance at Yusheng, her voice weak, “It wasn’t me who ‘woke us up.’ It was you.”
Yusheng replied, “…Huh?”
“Your loud shout startled that fox awake, and I didn’t even react!” Ailin’s face was filled with indignation. “Why did you have to shout so loudly?”
Yusheng listened a bit dumbfounded, but he understood her meaning and awkwardly scratched his head. “I didn’t know! I just wanted to remind Huli that her state was very dangerous.”
“Well, you were right about that,” Ailin said, retching again and leaning over next to her chair, coughing a few times before catching her breath.
She glanced at Yusheng with annoyance. “The good news is you successfully woke that fox up before she sank deeper, even though when she woke up, she ‘ejected’ us both. But she should be able to stay conscious for a while.”
Yusheng walked over, pulled out a chair beside the dining table, and sat across from Ailin, his expression growing serious. “And the bad news?”
Ailin fell silent for a moment and then nodded gently. “You should have guessed it—she won’t be able to hold on for long.”
Yusheng frowned, saying nothing.
Yes, he felt it too.
He sensed it while trapped in the valley, that deep-rooted hunger and madness buried in Huli’s heart, gnawing away like a growing poison.
Although he couldn’t identify what it was at first, in their final confrontation with that monstrous creature, he realized the “hunger” was not as simple as it seemed.
What he saw earlier in the depths of that dream allowed him to grasp Huli’s situation more clearly.
“If you want to help that fox, you should take action quickly,” Ailin spoke beside him.
“That which is tempting her is trying to turn her into some kind of… ‘nutrient.’ It’s not trying to kill, but rather, it desires the ‘madness born from hunger’—that fox’s will is strong enough to last this long, which is incredible. But the longer she holds on, the greater the ‘transformation’ will be when it happens… the ‘nutrients’ she can provide will be enormous. This will be very troublesome, extremely troublesome.”
Yusheng listened with a serious countenance, piecing together what he knew based on Ailin’s description.
Suddenly, he sensed something and looked up at the painting frame across from him.
“Ailin,” he asked solemnly, “do you know something? About the situation in that valley, and what’s in it?”
Ailin hesitated, first shaking her head before gently nodding. “I don’t remember most things, including what exactly that valley was about, but I seem to have some impression of the situation that fox encountered. I think I’ve seen related materials before.”
As she spoke, her brow furrowed as she paused momentarily, as if she was straining to recall something useful from her fragmented memories.
“... Entity-Hunger, I think that’s its name,” Ailin continued while reminiscing. “It’s an entity with clear malice and high danger. It generates in sealed areas where the environment is toxic, spreading hunger. It has strong aggression, but even more dangerous is its ‘influence.’ Those whom this entity focuses on will fall into a terrible hunger, and their willpower will be greatly tested. I can’t recall specific incidents of those affected, but I remember that… it’s very dangerous and has harmed many. The even worse part is….”
Ailin stopped, looking into Yusheng’s eyes.
“Hunger turns people into beasts, consuming dignity and life. Most people can’t withstand it, and those who fall will become part of the Entity-Hunger, endlessly.”
Listening to Ailin’s account, Yusheng’s expression gradually tightened, a heavy feeling weighing on his heart.
Just then, another thought struck him—
The impulse to eat he felt during the confrontation with that monstrous creature!
Could it be that he had also been affected by the “hunger”?
Yusheng’s heart tightened, prompting him to quickly ask, “Wait, what are the main ‘symptoms’ after being influenced by ‘hunger’?”
Ailin looked at him with a strange expression. “... Of course, it’s ‘hunger.’”
“I don’t mean that. What I’m saying is…” Yusheng waved his hands quickly, organizing his words, “For example, when I saw that monster, I really wanted to have a bite. I even thought it might taste good, and when I got back, I cooked a couple of dishes. Wouldn’t that kind of reaction also be influenced by ‘hunger’?”
Ailin looked at him with a noticeably blank expression, immediately recalling the “local specialties” Yusheng brought back and the delicious dishes he made.
“Yes, yes, you ate…” she muttered, but then suddenly realized, and her tone changed. “No! That’s not it! The influence of ‘Entity-Hunger’ is to drive you mad with hunger to bite others, not to have you bite it! It’s not trying to lure you into madness by feeding itself!”
Ailin’s sudden outburst startled Yusheng, but he quickly understood the reasoning—hunger and appetite are indeed closely related, but in the context of strict rules governing ‘other realms’ and ‘entities,’ they are distinctly defined concepts.
Especially when an entity possesses active malice, its influence must operate strictly within its own rules.
In simpler terms, if he had truly been influenced by ‘hunger’ while in that valley, he would have wanted to bite Huli—not that monster, the source of temptation.
Of course, the first time he took a bite out of that monster, he was somewhat reluctant, but that was beside the point.
With that thought, Yusheng breathed a sigh of relief, confirming he hadn’t been contaminated by that strange entity.
He also recalled that after having his meal before sleeping, he felt a normal sense of fullness.
His heart settled, and he exhaled, “That’s good. It seems I’m still quite normal.”
Ailin paused at his words and whispered, “No, I think the fact that you can feel appetite towards that thing is already pretty abnormal…”
Yusheng waved his hand dismissively and quickly changed the subject, “So, that very abstract-looking but tasty monster is ‘Entity-Hunger,’ right? Taking it down would free Huli from its influence. I know entities can’t be completely killed, I mean temporarily taking it out.”
“Actually… I’m not so sure,” Ailin replied with some hesitation. “Hunger is a rather special entity. The monster you saw was its ‘manifestation’; but to my understanding, the true ‘hunger’ actually pervades the entire valley. Do you understand what I mean? What you saw was just its ‘tentacles’ coming out to hunt and sense the situation. Its true body… is the hunger that exists everywhere in that valley.”
Yusheng listened, his expression gradually becoming dazed.
Yes, he understood.
“Damn, a rule-based entity?!”
(End of chapter)