Deep in the dim depths of the Nanqing Forest, the bright moonlight shone down from above. It pierced through the thick canopy, leaving only faint glimmers of phosphorescence on the ground. A humanoid shadow stood beneath a steep cliff, raising a pair of sharp claws to dig a hole in the earth.
The night wind whistled against the cliffside, creating a rustling sound that harmonized with the metallic screech of claws scraping against the ground. Amidst the quiet sounds of the night, the woods beneath the cliff swayed, and the flowing creek rippled.
A giant bear, nearly 3 meters tall, lay by the stream with its eyes rolled back. Its chest and abdomen had been ripped open and were now completely empty. Blood pooled beneath the creature, seeping into the creek and leaving a crimson trail that gradually spread downstream.
‘This guy could really run.’
Once she finished digging a hole about half a meter deep, Gu Lian, covered in blood, wiped away the nonexistent sweat from her forehead. She casually kicked the giant bear to the side. Hunting this bear hadn’t been difficult; finding it was the real challenge. She had spent a long time tracking the beast before finally catching it.
The white patient gown she wore, which had barely qualified as clothing before, was now riddled with holes from tree branches. It looked more like a collection of rags than an outfit.
Looking up at the moon hanging high in the sky through the gaps in the leaves, Gu Lian let out a yawn. She rubbed her sleepy eyes with a metallic beast claw and lightly kicked the foul-smelling organs nearby, shoving them into the freshly dug pit.
She turned and scooped the excavated soil back into the hole, burying it to prevent the disgusting stench from ruining her appetite.
Finally, Gu Lian stomped on the ground several times to ensure the soil was packed tight. She turned her head and walked to the giant bear’s side. With a single claw, she lifted the bear — which was twice her size — and carried it to the creek to carefully wash away the filth.
Though the feeling of hunger was miserable, a little wait was nothing compared to the explosion of flavor on her taste buds and the satisfaction of consuming fat.
A light breeze carried away the scent of blood. Gu Lian took a tree trunk with a sharpened tip and skewered the bear. She lifted it with both hands, propping the cleaned carcass up for roasting.
“Now for the fire…”
Gu Lian piled up some dry wood she had prepared earlier and gave a small smirk as she raised her two metallic claws.
*Clang!*
The sharp, metallic sound of the impact echoed as her claws scraped together, sending a shower of sparks into the pile of kindling. With a slight tremble in her claw tips, Gu Lian controlled her movements and struck the claws together again.
*Clang, clang, clang!*
The sparks fell, and thin wisps of white smoke began to rise from the wood. A soft breeze blew, making the smoke grow thicker until a tiny flame flickered to life, consuming the surrounding dry grass.
Enveloped by the flames, the dry wood gradually blackened and finally turned a pale white. A scorching bonfire rose, and the charred remnants drifted away with a burnt aroma.
‘Sigh, when will these days ever end?’
Having finished her work, Gu Lian stood up and stretched. Her bones popped and cracked like frying beans. She lumbered toward the stream and leaped, diving headfirst into the water.
The current made her hair drift. Gu Lian sat in the water with an expression of pure comfort. The cold water surrounded her, washing away the rags and the grime from her body. It revealed her chest, which looked as though it had been coated in a layer of black lacquer. Two long strands of hair fell into the water, veiling her private areas.
However, compared to the pitch-black limbs, the black V-shaped tattoo on her chest was much less striking than her abdomen. Her stomach was still fair and white, showing the faint outlines of abdominal muscles. Besides her face, this was the only part of her that still maintained human characteristics.
She scooped up a handful of water to wash her face, scrubbing away the mud she had smeared on earlier. The cool water slid down her cheeks like morning dew on a lotus leaf, light and refreshing. Through the dense leaves, a sliver of moonlight tinted her face a pale green. She shook her head.
Crystal droplets of water flew into the air as her damp gray hair draped behind her. Furry ears, distinct from the rest of her body, twitched. Under the faint moonlight, the curves of her body were partially visible in the shadows, creating a hazy, ethereal beauty.
The insects hidden in the bushes began their music, and the aroma of roasting meat started to fill the air. Gu Lian finished washing and stepped onto the shore, warm droplets of water sliding off her skin.
Sitting before the roasting bear that was currently dripping with hot oil, Gu Lian shook the water from her body. Her hair, which was as tough as metal, now appeared fluffy and a bit frizzy.
She grabbed the bear hide she had stripped earlier and draped it over her shoulders. Rubbing her hands together, she breathed out a puff of warm air. She extended her index finger, using the sharp tip to slice open the roasted bear’s arm. Tender red juices burst from the cut, and the blissful scent of fat drifted into her nose.
‘It’s 50% done. I can eat it at 70%.’
Gu Lian wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. ‘Should I wait until it’s fully cooked? Actually, 80% tastes pretty good, too.’
The bear roasted slower than Gu Lian had expected. After waiting another half an hour, the meat was barely 70% done.
***
Inside the Nanjiang District branch of the Energy Detection Bureau in Shenzhou, Xin An was remotely controlling a drone. He was searching the mountain areas for something — a Singularity Class Weiyi. No matter where they appeared, such entities were worth paying close attention to.
Weiyi were generally classified from C to SSS rank, but that was for standard cases. The Singularity Class consisted of outliers that existed independently of normal Weiyi.
Their forms were not fixed, and they were sometimes even weaker than a C-rank Weiyi when they were first born.
However, they all shared common traits — an extremely fast growth rate, a natural ability to evade detection, and an intelligence that rivaled humans. Compared to normal Weiyi that lacked the ability to think, the Singularity Class was often far more difficult to deal with.
Therefore, whenever the Tianyou Federation discovered a Singularity Class Weiyi, it was either killed immediately upon birth or it would only reappear after growing to a terrifying level of power.
‘Hmm? Firelight?’
As the drone flew over a cliff, white smoke drifted up from between the trees. Xin An frowned and adjusted the controls to zoom in on the image. In the midst of the firelight, a young girl with long hair draped behind her sat in front of a roasting animal.
With the help of the bright firelight, he could see the girl was buried in a large, furry cloak. Her face was exquisite, bordering on breathtakingly beautiful.
Xin An’s brow furrowed deeper. This was Qinglin Cliff, located at most 10 kilometers away from the suburbs. It was quite close to the villa district where the wealthy lived, and it was usually considered a great spot for outings.
‘Could it be some rich girl who ran out to play and got lost?’ Xin An picked up the walkie-talkie on the console. He pressed the call button with his index finger and shouted, “Traveler below, please extinguish your fire immediately. Stay alert for forest safety; do not be negligent regarding wildfires.”
“Huh?”
Gu Lian looked up in a daze. Through the leaves, she saw the drone hovering in the sky. She lowered her head, initially thinking it was nothing, but in a flash, she felt she had missed something.
Suddenly, her eyes widened and she snapped her head back up. The TFV logo on the drone was incredibly prominent.
‘I was caught?!’
That was Gu Lian’s first thought. Her second thought was: ‘Damn it, why is it another Hunter?!’
“Miss below, open flames are strictly prohibited here. Please extinguish the fire immediately. Otherwise, if any property damage occurs, the TFV will not be held responsible.”
“I get it!”
Since the other party mentioned the fire twice, they probably hadn’t realized her identity yet.
Feeling a bit irritated, Gu Lian walked to the fire and quickly shoved the surrounding wet sand and soil onto the flames. In the sky, the drone continued to hover.
Inside the control room, Xin An stared intently at the girl on the screen. Everything seemed reasonable, yet he felt there was something wrong with her.
It wasn’t until Gu Lian reached out her hand, revealing what looked like a long black glove, that his expression changed.
Xin An hit the pause button. He operated the controller to open the footage sent earlier by that Level 3 Hunter and began a comparison.
The computer’s rapid calculations finished quickly. Xin An narrowed his eyes and pressed the walkie-talkie button again. “Miss, please stay safe tonight. Things haven’t been peaceful lately, so be careful.”
Gu Lian was still filling the hole with dirt, but her thoughts were racing. That sentence felt a bit off… wait, she was a Weiyi now.
If he was saying that to her, it meant he wasn’t afraid of her running away after hearing it. Therefore, it must be literal.
‘Right, exactly. He probably hasn’t noticed me!’
The drone watched her from above until she completely extinguished the fire. Only then did Xin An put down the walkie-talkie and pilot the drone away.
Once the drone was gone, Gu Lian let out a sigh of relief. She reached out, grabbed the roasted bear, and began to gnaw on it.
The meddling guy was finally gone. She could only say she was lucky she had bathed earlier, which had softened her hair enough to cover half her face and both ears.
However, she had to find a new place. What if the other party actually had discovered her?
In the Energy Detection Bureau, while Xin An was still monitoring the drone, he dialed a number on the telephone beside him. After a moment, the call was connected.
“There’s something I need your team for. Yes, a Singularity Class.”