The stars were dim, and the night curtain fell.
On the shattered, silent, and dark street, accompanied by a piercing muffled sound, a convoy of off-road vehicles jolted, sparks flying, and suddenly came to a halt.
"It seems... the tire blew?"
Lin Tianhai cursed and went to fix the tire.
This was an Adventurer’s Guild composed of Red Copper members, here to explore the Bloody Wilderness. Within the Secret Realm, danger and opportunity coexisted, but every year, there were countless news reports of lucky individuals. Some swallowed natural treasures and advanced in power rapidly; some were recognized by powerful Pet Beasts and rose to prominence overnight; or some found the legacy of fallen experts, leaping to become top-tier Beast Tamers... For example, a few months ago, a teenager named Vortex Akira unexpectedly contracted with a young nine-tailed fox and was recruited by top financial groups.
Various reports inspired wave after wave of Beast Tamers, unwilling to remain ordinary, to venture into the Secret Realm like moths to a flame. Either return home in glory or have their corpses exposed in the wilderness. Even those Beast Tamers lacking strength clung to a sliver of hope.
Lin Tianhai was a peak Red Copper Beast Tamer. Due to innate deficiencies, he had not progressed for ten years and thus focused his energy on managing the team. This team consisted of mediocre Beast Tamers who had worked together for over a decade, forming a network of relationships.
"Dad, what happened?" Lin Xiaomeng, holding a Mosquito Repellent Frog, was startled awake from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes and peeked out from the back seat.
After completing the Fireball Mouse task, her father, who worked at the Adventurer’s Guild, had taken her out to broaden her horizons. Along with her were a group of children of her father’s friends, allowing the younger generation to interact and maintain the connections of the older generation.
Mediocre Beast Tamers could only rely on personal instruction when cultivating the next generation; they couldn’t afford expensive training fees. If they were ordinary people, they would indeed be quite wealthy. But in the Beast Taming Realm, they were a group of paupers. Cultivating Pet Beasts and becoming a powerful Beast Tamer was too expensive.
"It’s nothing, just need to fix the tire." Lin Tianhai reassured her with a smile, "Your dad is quite the car repair expert, don’t worry."
"Yeah, Xiao Meng, don’t worry, Uncle Lin is our all-around logistics expert here!" a freckled boy beside her said, petting a Fluffy Mouse as he smiled. He occasionally glanced at Lin Xiaomeng, his face slightly red, his youthful, tender affection for the girl evident.
Getting out of the car, Lin Tianhai felt a bit regretful. His daughter was beautiful, quite lovely. Originally, if she had connected with Zhang Han during the Fireball Mouse-dispelling rookie task and utilized the Wolf Fang Mercenary Corps’ connections, she could have had better development. But unfortunately, the Wolf Fang Mercenary Corps was annihilated in a Demon attack last night, thwarting his plans. This freckled boy is a backup. With a decent family background, he isn’t a bad choice, either.
However, Lin Xiaomeng did not understand her father’s intentions. She only exchanged a few words with the freckled boy before resting her chin in her hand, daydreaming.
She thought of that handsome, composed boy leading a Red Fox, sweeping through an entire village of Fireball Mice... truly like a deity descended... Tall and handsome, with exquisite features, a pair of beautiful eyes, and a mysterious background. When it came to first impressions, looks mattered a lot, and Lin Xiaomeng had a particularly good one of Chu Yi.
"Xiao Meng, I advanced to Black Iron Tier Eight," the freckled boy mustered up his courage, saying excitedly. "Once the Nourishing Spirit Potion my dad is sending arrives, by the end of the month, I’m confident I can reach Tier Nine!"
"In the future, let me protect you, okay?"
"Oh." Lin Xiaomeng responded perfunctorily, not reacting much.
She inadvertently compared him to Chu Yi. The gap between individuals, once compared, was instantly exposed—they were worlds apart! Alas, it was a pity she didn’t get his number.
"Huh? Did you hear that?" Her ears twitched, picking up a rustling sound stealthily moving in the night.
"What?" The freckled boy was startled, his face changing slightly as a low whisper brushed past his ears.
"Stars... murky... descending..."
The voice began to clear, gently drifting from all directions.
Lin Xiaomeng shivered and called out, "Dad? Are you there?"
There was no response, only endless rustling sounds drawing nearer, drifting from the distance.
The Adventurer’s Guild realized something was wrong and hurriedly turned on their high beams. Bright beams shone, emanating from the corners of this city ruin where shadows crawled. They unveiled a horde of grotesque poisonous insects and fierce beasts: One-Horned Demon Spiders, each with a skull impaled on one of its Spider Spears; human-faced centipedes with thousands of writhing legs, walking upright; and Three-Eyed Demon Wolves, half skeleton and half flesh...
They emerged from the corners of the city ruins, forming a blood-colored, dark tide that swept towards them!
Everyone’s pupils contracted sharply. They felt waves upon waves of coldness, as if drowning in a deep sea—sinking slowly in the dark, deathly stillness, unable to struggle...
"Gazing at the night sky, the stars align, the past has gone, yesteryears have faded..."
"Star’s brilliance blazes, the olden days return, descending from heaven, omnipresent..."
The most terrifying thing was that these Demons were speaking human language.
"De... Demons can... talk!?" The freckled boy turned pale with fright, nearly suffocating from unspeakable fear.
With a dull thud, a mark appeared on the car window. Lin Xiaomeng’s pupils shrank. Is this a... bloody hand?
The hand was half-eaten, bones exposed.
"Oh, crap!" The freckled boy panicked, his limbs trembling, without a shred of courage left to act. He cried out, seeking help from relatives in the vehicles behind. But he didn’t even have the courage to open the car door and escape, fearing that the outside was filled with these bizarre monsters.
"Dad, Daddy! Come back quickly!" Lin Xiaomeng, worried about her father who was changing the tire, clutched her Mosquito Repellent Frog tightly. She also feared that the blood-handed figure outside might be him.
But then, the bloody hand on the car window moved, revealing a distorted face. His face was pressed tightly against the glass, a bloody blur, muttering, "Help... help me..."
Unfamiliar features, an unfamiliar face... Not Dad.
Lin Xiaomeng breathed a sigh of relief.
The next moment, this Beast Tamer, who had come to annihilate the Three-Eyed Demon Wolf, was dragged back by a shadow. He left a trail of blood and screamed like a slaughtered pig. Having barely escaped from the Demon Wolf Nest, he was struck by this off-road vehicle, ultimately unable to escape death.
"Get out of the car, run!" Lin Tianhai, missing an arm and pale-faced, yanked open the car door, pulling Lin Xiaomeng out.
The next instant, a toxic sludge wrapped in dark purple mist splattered onto the car, corroding it violently. The freckled boy inside, still stunned, tragically died under the splattering toxic sludge, dissolving into a pool of pus.
Countless Demons moved out, launching an attack on this group of passersby.
A vertical pupil surfaced amidst the broken walls. Seeing this scene, it revealed a strange smile.