The eight blue frogs remained prostrated on the ground, trembling with fear.
In front of them floated an upright golden cocoon of light.
Inside, a brand new life was slowly taking shape.
At the same time—
“Let’s take a break up ahead,” Bai Xue suggested.
The Huaxia team had chosen to head toward the grassy forest region.
They hadn’t encountered any dangers along the way.
Still, each of them held a crudely made stone weapon for self-defense.
The makeshift tools looked completely out of place against their stylish outfits.
Ahead lay a rocky area with scattered weeds and towering boulders, a good place to rest.
Climbing one of the larger stones would also give them a better view of the surroundings and help avoid danger.
“Thank goodness. I’m exhausted~” a curvy young woman said with a breathy voice as she wiped the sweat off her forehead.
“Yeah, I’m wiped out.”
“I didn’t think wilderness trekking would be this tiring…”
“My legs feel like they’re filled with lead. This game is way too realistic.”
“Bai Xue really lives up to her reputation as a tennis champ—she’s not even tired.”
Hearing her name, Bai Xue, who was walking in the lead, gave a wry smile.
“Not tired? I’m so exhausted I could pass out and fall asleep right here.”
Her words prompted laughter from the others behind her.
Whether the joke was funny or not didn’t matter—everyone just needed a little emotional release.
***
At the rear, Zhao Gang followed with a pale face, sweat beading on his forehead, his body trembling slightly.
His eyes were filled with venomous resentment as he stared at the people ahead.
Ever since that black-haired beauty had kicked him flying, his status in the group had completely plummeted.
He had gone from being one of the core members to someone everyone ignored—like an insect.
His heart was filled with hatred.
He hated the black-haired girl.
He hated Ye Lian.
He hated Bai Xue.
He hated all these bastards.
He hated this entire world.
And he never once reflected on whether he might be the one at fault.
Bai Xue continued leading the way at the front, her nerves stretched taut.
They hadn’t run into any danger yet, but you could never be sure.
Accidents always came without warning.
The next moment could bring disaster.
She had to stay sharp.
Around the rock field, aside from sparse weeds, there was nothing else.
Bai Xue let out a quiet breath of relief.
At least for now, everyone was safe.
The group leaned against the boulders to rest, their expressions visibly more relaxed.
Zhao Gang didn’t sit with them.
Instead, he deliberately went around to rest at the back.
Leaning against a giant stone with a wide crack, he exhaled deeply, but the frustration still simmered within him.
Hearing Bai Xue’s voice chatting with the others only made him feel worse.
‘That bitch… once this game ends, I’ll find her house and take her by force!’
As a degenerate to his core, Zhao Gang really was capable of doing such a thing.
If he couldn’t have something—
‘Then I’ll destroy it with my own hands!’ he thought, clenching his fists as his face twisted with rage.
Just then, a strange sound came from behind him.
***
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Zhao Gang instantly went on high alert, spinning around in panic to look at the crack behind him.
Whoosh!
Several gray-black octopus-like tentacles suddenly reached out from the rift.
A moment later, a distorted body began squeezing through as well.
Twisted and densely packed eyes locked onto their target ahead.
Seeing this grotesque sight, Zhao Gang’s scalp went numb and a chill ran down his spine.
This thing wasn’t an octopus at all!
“Mon–Monst—” He opened his mouth, trying to shout.
But before he could, the creature launched itself like a gray-black arrow, shooting straight into his mouth.
It rammed in with such precision that it forcibly silenced the scream he was about to let out.
Not only that—the octopus-like monster kept burrowing deeper, as if trying to explode his body from the inside.
Zhao Gang convulsed like someone having a seizure, his eyes nearly bursting from their sockets.
He was terrified.
More afraid than he had ever been in his life.
Within three seconds, the creature had fully entered Zhao Gang’s body.
Strangely, he didn’t explode.
Instead, he staggered a few times, then slowly stood up straight.
His pale face now had eerily red eyes—though they quickly returned to normal.
A devilish smile curled up at the corners of his lips.
He still looked like Zhao Gang on the outside, but something else had taken over inside.
“Wonder how he’s doing now…” Bai Xue murmured, gazing up at the gray sky.
The “he” she referred to was Ye Lian.
It might sound ridiculous, but Bai Xue had fallen for him at first sight.
Call it love at first sight or a case of hormones—either way, she liked him.
“I didn’t even ask for his name… or his number. Am I stupid?”
She sighed inwardly.
It had been her first time trying to talk to someone like that, so it was only natural she hadn’t been prepared.
Still, she couldn’t help feeling a bit of regret.
“Hopefully I’ll get to see him again…”
As she whispered softly, a sweet smile bloomed on her face.
She didn’t notice the sinister gaze Zhao Gang was casting from nearby.
***
Underground river.
The golden cocoon rapidly shrank, forming into a human shape.
Before long, the golden energy was fully absorbed, revealing a snow-white body.
“Huh? What just happened to me… wait, why does my voice sound like this!?”
Golden eyes flew open in shock as Ye Lian gasped.
But even more shocking changes came one after another.
“This long, flowing silver hair… this smooth, pale skin… this slim, curvy body… and these absolutely massive world mountains—what the hell is going on!?”
He—no, it would be more accurate to say she now—
“Did I turn into a girl!?”
Ye Lian stared at her trembling hands in disbelief.
Her voice was laced with unmistakable fear.
Just then, a system prompt echoed in her ears.
[Ding!]
Tftc!
Ah yes… The evil bad guy. He’s such a monster that even monsters decided to take over his body so that they could be more monstrous. In fact, the demon king specifically took time out of his day to seek him out to bring him into the fold. No character in any book has ever reached this level of menacing. That’s right. This guy has no choice! but to search out this one person that is pretty. Someone this stupid would certainly be capable of surviving in the dark side of society. Since he is a foolish arrogant nitwit, he most certainly wouldn’t charge at every pretty woman he sees… and that wouldn’t put him at odds against the organizations running everything. Sure, they might think he’s useful due to his strength, but would they really let him develop such a misplaced sense of superiority? People like this usually end up getting shot or part of evil organizations. If they are part of organizations and are incapable of controlling themselves, they will have handlers. This guy should have already been educated on how the world works. Why does he want to search out someone who is obviously a rich family’s daughter? There are plenty of poor women that can’t resist. Cowards don’t look for pretty people. They look for helpless people. SHM. This author has written one of the most lazy face slappable characters. UUGH!!! I’m so annoyed that I just want to keep ranting. Imagine you’re an idiot, yeah? Now let’s say you’re a lecherous idiot. Now add on selfish to a narcissistic level… Oh, and cowardice. Got it? Now that you’re imagining… hey wait a moment! Nothing has changed!! LOLOLOL…. jk,… anyway where was I? Oh yeah… Would you really want to go after them? Yeah I guess, but let me shine a light on the subject of idiocy. Idiots still have a sense of self preservation. They still learn… kinda. However, if they are self destructive, that might be different… but this guy doesn’t seem particularly suicidal. He’s just Idiot Rapist Face Slap Target #1. Uegh. It makes me sick just knowing that the author is this lazy… alright… I’ve run out of rant steam. I guess I’ll just delete this and pretend like I… no. I’m still gonna read about him and get annoyed again. Best to post this so that I can reread it over and over with a tts to know that the person who has the most in common with myself (me) agrees with one such as I.
smh*