Chapter 153

Chapter 153

Chen Ji had now been living with the leopard for three days, and his only thought was: next time, he really shouldn't have this kind of dream again.

Seriously, he felt that once he got back, he could immediately pick up his phone and start a livestream. The room name would be "China's Bear Grylls," featuring him chomping down on raw carp without batting an eye, consuming raw meat, and even performing a demonstration of what it means to have a bug burst juicily in your mouth with one bite.

He had no choice—if he didn't eat, it wouldn't do! In the middle of the night, Chen Ji was sleeping when suddenly a caterpillar thicker than his finger was shoved into his mouth. When he refused to eat it, the leopard nearly bit him, its look telling him: Kid, you need to supplement some protein.

But actually, the taste was alright...

It didn't have the weird smell he'd imagined. Apart from being a bit bitter, it was actually okay. Once he got past the psychological barrier, everything became much easier.

His current body seemed to be used to hardship as well. Apart from a bit of diarrhea on the second day, he adapted quite well, making it hard for Chen Ji to find a way to start this whole thing over—if this dream restarted, he would definitely follow the two children into the forest and then go home.

At least where there were people, getting a fire going would be easier, and they could've at least let him bring a fire starter. It wasn't that he didn't try to make fire by rubbing sticks together, but every time he managed to get a flame going, the leopard would immediately put it out and even send him sprawling.

Difficult, so very difficult.

He rested his chin on his hand and stared at the leopard. To call it a monster... it didn't quite fit. Useless though he was, his Evil-Warding Talisman shouldn't be as good as useless—it should at least give him some warning, right? But if you said it wasn't a monster... this leopard was a bit too clever, and it was really hard to say why it would raise a child of about five or six years old.

Even if it was raising him as its own cub... wasn't the leopard blind to such a huge difference?

Their ways of walking weren't even the same, for goodness' sake!

When would this dream finally end?

Just as Chen Ji was thinking this, in a flash, ten years had passed—it was probably akin to him realizing this was just the plot skipping ahead. These ten years hadn't truly passed for him, but if he thought carefully, he could recall every single day of those ten years.

...This in itself was a ridiculous thing, because no normal person could actually remember every single day of over 3,600 days.

The leopard had grown very old. It walked slowly now, spending most of its time huddled in its den, waiting for Chen Ji to come feed it. It probably wouldn't be long before it passed away.

Chen Ji got up to check the traps. He had set up eleven traps in the forest, and his daily routine was to wander around, hunting any prey he saw and checking the traps if there was nothing else.

"Big brother, who are you?" someone suddenly asked.

Chen Ji paused and turned to look at the child who had appeared behind him without him noticing. The child was dressed in tattered clothes, probably only four or five years old, and was emaciated. But the most striking feature was his face—he had no right eye. The area where his right eye should have been was completely flat, with a slight depression in the eye socket. His left eye appeared somewhat cloudy, as if covered by a white film, giving him an eerie and unsettling appearance.

Chen Ji said, "I'm from the mountains. Who are you? Why are you here?"

Chen Ji thought back carefully. He had tried to leave the mountains, but some force had always stopped him—he got it. It was an invisible barrier. As an NPC, he had to wander within the story's designated area.

The boy hesitated for a moment, then sat down beside Chen Ji and said, "...My dad told me to wait here for him to come back."

"Then why did you come here?"

"I've been waiting for a day. I'm hungry."

"Oh." Chen Ji responded, pulling a handful of dried fruit from his basket and handing it to the boy. The boy devoured it ravenously. The dried fruit was made from wild berries Chen Ji had "remembered" picking in the forest. They were very sweet, and after being dried, they were easy to store and provided a quick source of calories and vitamins.

The only downside was the pits...

Just then, the boy suddenly grabbed his own throat, looking as if he wanted to cough but couldn't. Chen Ji stepped forward, wrapped his arms around the boy's stomach, lifted him up, and gave him a few shakes. The boy let out a cry and spat out the pit.

They were just prone to choking people to death.

Perhaps because the fruit grew wild in the deep mountains with no one to eat it, it grew however it pleased. The fruit itself was excellent in every way, except for the pit, which couldn't be removed. The only way to dry and store the fruit was to keep the skin intact. If the skin was broken, unless it was winter, the fruit would rot within a day.

Chen Ji said, "Eat slower."

The boy's face was covered in tears, which looked especially shocking on his disfigured face. But since Chen Ji himself was just a construct in this dream, he didn't feel much sympathy.

The boy continued eating while crying. After he finished, Chen Ji asked dryly, "Should I take you back to the village?"

The boy thought for a moment and said, "No, thank you, big brother. I'd better go back. My dad told me to wait for him here. He'll definitely come back for me."

Chen Ji nodded. The boy ran to the stream, drank his fill of water, and then started walking back. Curious, Chen Ji followed him—after all, if he was dragged into this dream, there had to be something he was supposed to learn, right? It couldn't just be about experiencing wilderness survival.

The boy slowly made his way back into the forest and sat down on a rock. This was probably where his father had left him. Chen Ji yawned from his hiding spot in the grass, thinking that the boy's father probably wouldn't be back anytime soon, so he might as well lie down.

If there were footsteps, he would definitely hear them.

When Chen Ji was awakened by raindrops, he realized it was already nighttime. The boy was sitting on the rock with his knees hugged to his chest, and it was unclear whether he was asleep or dead. Chen Ji frowned but didn't approach... There was no sign that anyone had come around.

What about this child?

The boy suddenly moved. Chen Ji paused and instinctively hid deeper in the grass. He watched as the boy stumbled to the side to relieve himself.

Chen Ji thought, *This is bad. The smell of excrement is too strong and will attract predators.*

But Chen Ji's worry was unnecessary. Before he could decide whether to step out and take the boy away, a dark shadow lunged from the shadows. Before Chen Ji could even see what it was, the boy was dragged into the mass of darkness, followed by the sound of bones and flesh being chewed.

The boy didn't even have time to scream.

This was no ordinary creature.

Chen Ji's alertness shot to its peak... Should he leave now? The creature already had its prey and was currently eating. It might not come after him, so leaving now was actually a very good option.

But Chen Ji was too curious. After all, he wouldn't really die, so why not see what this thing was?

Good grief, in his memories, he had wandered the forest for ten years and never encountered this thing. So he really was just an NPC!

As Chen Ji moved, the grass rustled slightly. The chewing sound immediately stopped. Chen Ji's body felt as if it had been frozen in ice—he couldn't move at all. He watched helplessly as two vine-like tendrils extended from the mass of darkness, reaching toward him.

The grass was pushed aside. Chen Ji felt a buzzing in his head, and his vision immediately became dizzy. Only the two vines remained clear, their movements seeming to slow down in his eyes. But he couldn't run, and he couldn't hear or see anything else. All he could do was watch as they slowly approached.

Cold sweat seeped from Chen Ji's skin, dripping down the contours of his face and bringing a slight itch. The feeling of being watched, of being targeted by an apex predator, almost overwhelmed him.

The vines leisurely crawled to his face, lifting their heads like snakes. It seemed that in the next moment, Chen Ji would be wrapped up, crushed, and devoured by the vines, just like the boy.

So even if it wasn't real, even if he knew all of this was fake, the fear of being on the brink of death didn't diminish in the slightest.

Suddenly, Chen Ji realized what this thing was.

No wonder it looked more and more familiar—wasn't this the old man's tentacles from his house?!

Chen Ji immediately lost interest.

All curiosity stemmed from the unknown. Since this was something he already knew, what was there to be curious about?

He listlessly watched the vines formed from the black mist, waiting for the dream to end. He had already decided that as soon as he woke up, he would go straight to the kitchen and make himself a hot pot to enjoy...

The vine touched the tip of his nose.

Chen Ji could even feel the cold, slimy sensation.

The feeling of being watched reached its peak, making him shudder uncontrollably and feel restless.

Thick, billowing clouds of black mist seeped through the gaps in the vegetation, coalescing until a golden tiger emerged from the grass. It wasn't until he saw it that Chen Ji realized where that sound of grinding bones had come from.

—The tiger gnawing on something, obviously.

So it really was that old codger he had raised.

Apart from the different fur color, it was a carbon copy of Xiangxiang, even replicating the small pattern at the base of its ears—provided, of course, one ignored the bloodstains on its chest and muzzle, and the strands of human flesh dangling from its teeth.

The vine still pressed against the tip of his nose. As the tiger approached step by step, Chen Ji’s focus was pulled to a razor's edge. Suddenly, the vine moved, sliding across his face.

The tiger was now right in front of him, its black eyes fixed unblinkingly on him. Then, the tiger opened its jaws wide, and Chen Ji could even smell the nauseating stench of blood. Just as he thought his life was over, the tiger closed its mouth again.

It had simply yawned.

Chen Ji had the wildly inappropriate urge to laugh.

Suddenly, the vine patted his head. The tiger lowered its head, sniffed at the side of his neck, and let out a deep, rumbling purr from its throat.

"Little leopard..."