In a way that he could not fully comprehend, Yu Sheng felt a connection to this valley.
His consciousness flowed among the rocks and soil, weaving through the undulating depths of the forest, mingling with the water and the wind.
From there, he observed the vast expanse of the sky through countless distorted and grotesque eyes.
One immense eye, large enough to cover the entire sky, gazed down upon the land with a calm and indifferent demeanor.
Its gaze remained unchanged, like a transcendent observer watching events unfold in a petri dish.
Yet, Yu Sheng sensed that this eye had noticed him—at the very moment he formed a connection to the valley, its focus fell squarely upon him.
There was confusion and curiosity emanating from that eye.
Though it showed no emotions or changes in gaze, Yu Sheng could almost directly "read" these thoughts—some vast "intellect" trembled in the space around him, each of its ideas causing ripples.
However, ordinary people could not perceive the rumbling echoes resonating in this foreign land.
Even Yu Sheng, relying on the valley’s perception, could only vaguely sense that behind that eye lay some form of thought.
Strangely, he felt no hostility from that eye—nor any goodwill.
After a while, he noticed that its focus shifted away from him, no longer watching the entire valley but honing in on a specific location within it.
The eye slowly swept over the ground as if it were tracking or searching for something.
Meanwhile, Yu Sheng's consciousness began to spread, gradually leading him to understand something important…
The entire valley stirred to life, an eerie and terrifying "vitality" transforming this foreign land into a ravenous entity.
Li Lin watched in horror as rows of razor-sharp teeth sprouted from a distant ridge.
Between the teeth were fearsome tear-filled trenches, with those serrated spikes rolling like waves, thunderous roars echoing from the depths.
He also saw entire groves of trees in another part of the valley come alive, black tendrils replacing the original trees, sprawling along the rocky creek like a swarm of hunting insects engulfing everything in their path.
All of this occurred under the cold gaze of that massive eye in the sky, like a sinister nightmare.
The wolf pack led by Little Red Riding Hood howled around them, gnawing and forcing back the tendrils and eyes sprouting from the earth.
Yet, no matter how fiercely the wolves fought, their space was continually diminishing.
The young special agent felt a pang of despair.
He turned to look ahead and spotted the girl with a multitude of tails sprinting in the lead, holding a doll in her arms.
She bent low, sprinting with surprising agility, like a nimble creature of the mountains—while he, as a human, could barely keep up with this "beast."
But just then, Hu Li finally slowed her pace.
Carrying Erin (along with Erin's kitchen knife), she reached a depression at the foot of the mountain.
Standing on a large stone, she craned her neck to look around, her furry ears twitching in the wind, as though sensing the slightest movement.
After a moment, she perked up her nose and finally focused her gaze in a certain direction.
"This way! The entrance is here!"
Before her words had finished, she had already jumped down with Erin in her arms.
The others hastily followed, racing towards the mountain wall and finding a hole just big enough for two to pass through.
"It's spacious inside!" Hu Li shouted back at the group before taking the first step into the cave.
An ethereal blue fire flickered to life, floating from the tip of Hu Li’s tail and illuminating the cave's interior.
It appeared to be an unremarkable natural cave, part of the mountain itself, with signs of human expansion on some walls.
In the corners, rough and crude tools suggested that someone had lived here for a while.
Xu Jiali pulled a palm-sized black device from her waist and carefully scanned the cave.
"No toxins, stable material structure, no signs of erosion," she murmured.
Little Red Riding Hood waved her hand, settling a few wolves near the cave entrance while the shadows of others returned to her side, merging into the darkness at her feet.
Hu Li cautiously placed Erin down on a stone platform near the cave entrance, a worried look appearing on her face.
"Are you... okay?"
She pointed at Erin's broken arm and her not-so-good right leg.
At first glance, Erin looked in a tragic state—only a step above their recently deceased benefactor.
The fox girl seemed unaware of the situation regarding the "living doll."
"I'm fine. This body is just temporary, and some parts are weak," Erin replied lightly, comforting Hu Li, "Don't worry; once we get back, Yu Sheng will fix it—this body is his handiwork. Well, his skill could use some improvement."
Hu Li's eyes widened slightly.
"So, he’s amazing?"
"…Maybe?" Erin hesitated.
"Sometimes, I feel like he’s not even human, with all his strange abilities and ideas..."
Just as her words trailed off, Erin suddenly seemed to sense something and raised her head toward the cave entrance.
From this vantage point, almost nothing could be seen beyond the entrance.
"What’s wrong?" Hu Li asked curiously.
"Could you… carry me to see outside? Just at the entrance," Erin suggested cautiously, "I can’t see what’s happening outside, and it makes me uneasy."
Although puzzled, Hu Li didn’t question it further.
She reached out and picked up Erin, carefully bringing her close to the entrance.
Erin stretched her neck and courageously peered at the sky.
That massive eye still floated above the valley, resembling the pupil of the sky itself, captivating and awe-inspiring.
"Feels like... that eye has been watching us since earlier," Erin quickly pulled back her neck, her expression tense as she mumbled, "Why hasn’t Yu Sheng come back yet…"
Hu Li paused, glancing down at the doll in her arms.
"He will be fine, right?"
"Of course, he’s fine," Erin whispered, glancing back at the three "temporary allies" in the cave, and quietly warned Hu Li, "Don't mention anything about Yu Sheng's ‘death’ to them. They should have forgotten about that by now."
Hu Li tilted her head, her furry ears twitching a bit, unsure if she understood.
Li Lin, curious, looked up to see the fox and the doll at the cave entrance.
He frowned, feeling as though he had missed something during the frenzied dash with those two, as an important matter slipped from his mind.
He glanced at Xu Jiali and Little Red Riding Hood nearby but found no sign of surprise on their faces.
Xu Jiali was cautiously searching and surveying deep inside the cave, while Little Red Riding Hood sat on a stone bench, her gaze fixed on the shadow wolves standing guard at the cave entrance.
Her red cloak was tattered from the previous battle in the woods, one sleeve completely torn, revealing her arm now covered in fine crimson lines, as though her flesh had once torn apart, barely reassembling into its original form.
The blue foxfire flickered quietly above, casting precarious shadows of Little Red Riding Hood that swayed and occasionally contorted, resembling the wolves emerging from the darkness.
Unceasing strange sounds echoed from the valley outside, making the cave's silence feel even more suffocating and heavy.
Li Lin stood up, approaching Hu Li and Erin at the cave entrance—he figured it was time to introduce himself.
But just as he took a few steps, an odd noise suddenly made him stop in his tracks.
It was an irregular scratching sound, like the clash of teeth, producing a noise as they scraped against each other.
A jolt of instinct surged through him.
Xu Jiali, who was inspecting the depths of the cave, and Little Red Riding Hood, who was sitting on the stone bench, instinctively looked up.
The "aura" in the valley had changed.
A couple of seconds later, the area outside the cave fell eerily silent, as if the entire world had plunged into a deep stillness.
But the quiet only lasted briefly, as strange scraping sounds returned from outside, accompanied by new sobbing noises, distinctly different from the chaotic howls before.
These sounds reached everyone’s ears, becoming increasingly clear and… loud.
The fox standing near the cave entrance immediately perked up, anxiously looking outside.
Erin leaned heavily against Hu Li, using her damaged arm to grasp her to confirm the situation beyond the cave—just then, the doll girl heard Yu Sheng's voice—"Erin."
"Yu Sheng?!" Erin exclaimed, startled, "You’re alive?! Where are you now? Can you sense my location? Hurry and come through the door! We’ve found a safe hiding spot. It’s not safe outside; there’s a big problem in the valley…"
However, she barely finished speaking when a voice within her mind interrupted her words: "Erin, don’t panic—this will be over soon."
Erin paused, "…Huh?"
The strange scraping sounds from the valley intensified, filling the entire foreign terrain, and the unsettling noise reverberated in the cave, tightening everyone’s nerves.
Yet, within Erin's heart, Yu Sheng’s voice was calmer than ever.
"Don't worry, Erin. I'm fine. I just discovered something—"
Erin’s eyes widened slowly as she seemed to decipher the sounds echoing from the valley.
"The hunger did not root within my mind."
She heard Yu Sheng's voice resounding deep within her.
She heard Yu Sheng's voice emanating throughout the entire valley.
"But I have taken root within its depths."
She finally understood—it was the sound of gnawing reverberating throughout the valley.
The grand banquet had begun.
The entity of hunger lurking in this foreign land started to consume itself.
(End of Chapter)