Chapter Four: The Countdown

Wait, a sugar demon? This thing is a monster?

Qin Changsheng blinked his eyes, staring at the translucent amber-colored little elephant before him. So it turned out that its swollen body really was like a blown sugar figurine, the amber sugar syrup stretched thin and fragile, looking as if it could burst with a touch.

A moving sugar elephant...

My goodness! Monsters really do exist in this world!

Suddenly, Qin Changsheng remembered that when confronting the mysterious man earlier, Chen Yuanyuan had shouted something like “Sugar Elephant.”

Could it be that the gigantic elephant that appeared before and this small one now are the same creature?

Seeming to read Qin Changsheng’s thoughts, Chen Yuanyuan rubbed the little elephant’s head as she explained, “Sugar Elephant is a sugar demon whose power is to create ultra-realistic sugar figurines. The large elephant that saved you earlier was just a sugar figurine blown out by Sugar Elephant.”

“Although it looks imposing, it’s ultimately just sugar, so its hardness is the same as sugar.”

Sugar Elephant seemed very attuned to the atmosphere. It puckered its small long trunk and blew a balloon-like bubble from its tip. The bubble grew larger and more detailed, eventually forming a miniature sugar elephant even smaller than Sugar Elephant itself.

The mini Sugar Elephant fell from the long nose to the ground, immediately coming to life and began to moo just like its original.

“I see now.”

After Chen Yuanyuan’s explanation and witnessing Sugar Elephant’s demonstration, Qin Changsheng finally began to understand a little.

So it turned out that the huge elephant that appeared earlier was just a paper tiger—no, a “sugar” tiger.

No wonder Chen Yuanyuan urged him to escape quickly when the mysterious man and the giant elephant were fighting. She must have feared that even a second’s delay would have turned that fearsome giant elephant into shattered sugar shards from the mysterious man’s explosion.

“Wait a moment,” Qin Changsheng gestured to pause. There was still one thing he wanted to know. “Before that, can someone tell me what exactly is a Shanhai Beast?”

Judging by Chen Yuanyuan’s previous reaction, it seemed that Shanhai Beasts were something very common and ordinary, and it was abnormal not to know about them.

“You really don’t know what a Shanhai Beast is?” Chen Yuanyuan looked incredulous. In her eyes, Shanhai Beasts seemed to be common knowledge everyone knew.

Qin Changsheng shook his head hard. “Never heard of it.”

“Alright then.” Chen Yuanyuan leaned against the nearby wall. Sugar Elephant leapt into her arms with practiced ease, as if it had done this many times before. “Shanhai Beasts are these kinds of creatures you see now.”

“Although I don’t know exactly what Shanhai Beasts are, they come in many different species and forms. Each Shanhai Beast has its own unique power. Once you sign a contract with them and establish a master-servant relationship, you can freely use their abilities.”

---

Qin Changsheng immediately thought of the mysterious man from before. “So, the explosion that man caused with his bare hands was also a Shanhai Beast’s power?”

“Possibly,” Chen Yuanyuan frowned. “Actually, I hadn’t seen any other Shanhai Beasts until now. Sugar Elephant appeared to me voluntarily just as I arrived.”

“It has its own consciousness and can communicate just like a human. Not only did it sign a contract with me and explain how to use its powers, but it also warned me about a countdown.”

“Wait!” Qin Changsheng heard something shocking. “Countdown? What countdown?”

Chen Yuanyuan’s eyes widened. “You don’t even know about the countdown?”

“Am I supposed to know…” Qin Changsheng’s words were cut short as a sudden sharp pain shot through his left arm, forcing him to bend over.

A stifled curse caught in his throat as he clutched the painful spot on his left arm. In a daze, he saw a wisp of blue smoke mixed with flames seeping from between his fingers.

The scorching pain felt like molten lava being poured directly onto his bones, making him feel instant agony.

Noticing Qin Changsheng’s distress, Chen Yuanyuan was startled and hurried to support him before he could fall. She anxiously asked, “What’s wrong? Where are you hurt?”

“I... I’m fine...” When Chen Yuanyuan touched Qin Changsheng, something miraculous happened. The intense pain suddenly eased considerably. Though some residual pain remained, it was now bearable.

Qin Changsheng exhaled deeply, moving his hand away from his left arm and wiping the cold sweat from his brow.

At that moment, his peripheral vision caught the strange light on his arm, immediately drawing his gaze.

“No way…” Qin Changsheng forced a bitter smile. Because at that moment, he saw the countdown Chen Yuanyuan had mentioned.

That branded countdown!

Right at the spot on his left arm that had just throbbed, three scorching numbers appeared as if seared by a hot iron. The residual heat still glowed fiercely, distorting the surrounding air slightly.

Three digits, clearly branded onto his flesh. One of the numbers was constantly changing, currently displaying “18:21:17,” with the last digit steadily decreasing.

Chen Yuanyuan also saw the numbers on Qin Changsheng’s arm but showed no surprise. Instead, she silently rolled up the sleeve of her left arm and held it out before him.

On her fair right arm, Qin Changsheng saw the exact same three numbers branded, glowing with intense fiery light, seemingly still burning.

He was momentarily speechless, unsure what to say.

“This is the countdown,” Chen Yuanyuan said, bringing her left arm close to Qin Changsheng’s, a bitter smile on her face. “After signing the contract with Sugar Elephant, these three branded rows appeared on my arm.”

Qin Changsheng’s brand had only just appeared. Could it be some kind of network delay?

---

“What happens when the countdown hits zero?” Qin Changsheng asked.

Staring at the ever-decreasing numbers on his arm, he couldn’t help but feel fear, as if seeing a long fuse burning shorter and shorter.

Chen Yuanyuan’s next words did nothing to ease his worries: “I don’t know.”

“Actually, I only found out I was like this half an hour ago,” she explained. “Sugar Elephant only told me it was a countdown and wouldn’t say anything else. Maybe even it doesn’t know.”

Though Chen Yuanyuan was also ignorant of the countdown’s true meaning, Qin Changsheng dared not imagine what fate awaited him when it reached zero.

Sugar Elephant, nestled comfortably in Chen Yuanyuan’s arms, mooed casually in a childish tone. To Qin Changsheng, however, it wasn’t cute at all—rather, it was eerie.

“If this line is the countdown, then what are the other two lines of numbers?” Qin Changsheng suddenly noticed a detail.

The brands on their arms showed three lines of numbers. Besides the first line that counted down, the other two lines remained unchanged since they first appeared.

One number was “114,” the other was “50.” These two enigmatic figures baffled Qin Changsheng.

“I don’t know either,” Chen Yuanyuan shook her head. “But those two numbers haven’t changed.”

One question led to another, and Qin Changsheng realized the problems he faced were not fewer but multiplying.

At that moment, the previously calm Sugar Elephant suddenly squirmed in Chen Yuanyuan’s arms.

“What’s wrong, Sugar Elephant?” Chen Yuanyuan quickly set it down.

The little elephant swung its trunk from side to side, mooing anxiously as if sensing a great threat approaching.

Though Qin Changsheng couldn’t understand its message, he saw Chen Yuanyuan’s expression grow increasingly grim.

Confused, Qin Changsheng asked, “What’s wrong? What is it saying?”

Chen Yuanyuan’s face turned serious. “It says... that strange man from before is coming here!”