Chapter Eight: The Mountain of Corpses

“Whoosh!”

A sharp sound tore through the air. The mysterious man’s eyes caught nothing before a fierce gust of wind slammed into him.

No escape!

In an instant, it seemed to him that the gates of death had swung wide open.

Yet, in the next moment, the expected arrow to the head never came.

To his surprise, a tremendous impact accompanied by searing pain struck his right shoulder. The force was so great it hurled him backward.

Losing control, he crashed against a garbage bin in the alley behind him, tumbling over and landing squarely in the scattered trash, sprawled helplessly on the ground.

Though his right shoulder throbbed with unbearable pain, he gritted his teeth in silence. Turning his head, he saw the shaft of an arrow protruding from his shoulder—Qin Changsheng’s bolt had indeed hit its mark.

Slowly, he turned fully to face Qin Changsheng, who held his crossbow firmly, a fresh arrow nocked and ready, his gaze cold and unwavering.

The previous shot was no miss; Qin Changsheng had deliberately aimed only for the shoulder.

“Don’t follow us again,” Qin Changsheng warned, raising his crossbow. “Get lost.”

After all, he was just a student who had recently finished his college entrance exams. He wasn’t ready to kill—his shot served as a warning and a calculated move to disable the enemy’s dominant arm, weakening his explosive power.

Besides Mo Mo, Qin Changsheng also had Chen Yuanyuan, who possessed a Shanhai Beast. The mysterious man, wounded as he was, stood little chance fighting both.

Qin Changsheng didn’t want to kill. His goal was simply to make the mysterious man retreat.

His plan worked. The man staggered up from the trash, disheveled and reeking, showing no sign of resistance.

The two eyes from the emoji tattoo fixed on Qin Changsheng for a moment, then leaned back. Suddenly, two fireballs exploded beneath his feet, blasting him violently backward and away.

Though Qin Changsheng lacked murderous intent, the mysterious man never turned his back, remaining vigilant as he fled.

Victory!

Watching the mysterious figure vanish into the distance, Qin Changsheng sensed Mo Mo’s detection weakening until it disappeared altogether.

He was truly gone!

Realizing this, Qin Changsheng’s tense body relaxed; his legs gave way, and he sank to the ground, gasping for breath.

The confrontation had weighed heavily on his mind, especially the mysterious man’s last lingering gaze, which had made him fear a fatal showdown.

Fortunately, the man left as hoped—the battle belonged to Qin Changsheng.

As he exhaled deeply, Chen Yuanyuan, who had been hiding nearby, finally appeared at the alley’s entrance.

Seeing Qin Changsheng sitting alive and well, relief flooded her face. She couldn’t contain herself and threw her arms around his back, cheering, “We won! We won!”

Suddenly embraced by two slender arms, Qin Changsheng, still a virgin, shivered, nearly startled into a reflex.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I told you I had a plan,” he stammered awkwardly, having rarely spoken with girls at school. “Um… could you let go? You’re pressing against me…”

Chen Yuanyuan snapped out of her excitement, quickly loosening her grip and stepping back, cheeks aflame.

Qin Changsheng stood, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, unable to meet her eyes. The soft touch on his back lingered still—he thought he might remember it forever.

“Uh… ahem!” The awkward silence stretched until Chen Yuanyuan broke it.

“You were amazing! You actually drove that freak away!”

“Oh, it wasn’t that great,” Qin Changsheng blushed, his heart still uneasy, fearing the mysterious man might have seen through his plan and that they might have fallen into an irreversible trap.

Looking back, his courage had been reckless—his plan hinged on too many uncertainties.

If the mysterious man had seen through the bait or hadn’t blindly followed into the alley, Qin Changsheng’s strategy would have failed.

In truth, he had only gained the upper hand thanks to an information gap. The mysterious man knew Chen Yuanyuan had a Shanhai Beast but was unaware Qin Changsheng had bonded with one himself in such a short time.

This was why the man had dared to chase Chen Yuanyuan’s decoy into the alley, never suspecting Qin Changsheng’s fighting ability.

His victory was a stroke of luck, nothing to boast about.

But still, having won and with such a beautiful girl praising him, Qin Changsheng couldn’t help but smile proudly.

Since he’d come to terms with it, he turned to Chen Yuanyuan and grinned, “Well, I guess I really am awesome! Don’t worry—we work so well together, we’ll figure out this entire mess and get back to our old lives for sure!”

“Well… actually…” Chen Yuanyuan’s face suddenly clouded over, her voice faltering.

What was wrong? Had he hit a nerve?

Qin Changsheng’s brow furrowed in confusion as Chen Yuanyuan shook her head vigorously, her expression brightening once more.

“It’s nothing,” she smiled warmly at him. “Your Shanhai Beast is really strong. If it were you, you’d definitely survive.”

“That’s right!” Seeing her mood improve, Qin Changsheng stepped forward and reached out his hand. “As long as we cooperate and move forward together, both of us will survive!”

Chen Yuanyuan took his hand, their fingers intertwining.

He was doomed! It was his first time holding a girl’s hand! If not mindful of his image, he might have danced on the spot.

Perhaps his previous misfortunes had bottomed out and now were rebounding; he felt his life finally heading in the right direction.

He had his Shanhai Beast, had repelled a powerful enemy, and was close with a beautiful teammate.

Most importantly, he was no longer balding!

Mo Mo’s transformation atop his head had given him the stylish hair he’d always dreamed of.

Yes! This was the life he wanted—not a failed exam student, but a true protagonist, a chosen one!

Just as he was filled with joy, Chen Yuanyuan’s grip on his hand suddenly tightened sharply, pulling him back from his daydream.

What was wrong?

Qin Changsheng looked up at Chen Yuanyuan’s face, still smiling, eyes curved like crescents, lips parted as if to speak.

But she said nothing.

Why was she motionless, expression unchanging, as if frozen in time?

Only then did Qin Changsheng sense something was terribly wrong.

He called out anxiously, “Chen Yuanyuan, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

No response came—she only smiled serenely, eyes unmoving.

The sight chilled him; her eyes, staring blankly, lacked any spark of life.

Something had happened—and Qin Changsheng hadn’t noticed.

“Hey, what’s going on?” In panic, he tugged her hand harder.

Suddenly, Chen Yuanyuan’s body shuddered violently, and something slipped from behind her.

Qin Changsheng’s eyes widened in horror as he saw it clearly.

It was a perfectly sliced human cross-section—skin on the outside, muscles, meridians, bones, even a halved brain and eyeball.

The gruesome piece lay just behind Chen Yuanyuan, blood slowly pooling and spreading to Qin Changsheng’s feet.

He was speechless, his mind reeling in denial and dread as he slowly raised his eyes to Chen Yuanyuan’s face.

Her expression remained unchanged, still smiling as if unaware.

But Qin Changsheng saw clearly now—her eyes filled with blood, two streams of bloody tears trailing down her cheeks.

“Ahhh—!!!” He could no longer hold back, screaming as he released her hand and stumbled backward, falling hard to the ground.

As he let go, the figure of Chen Yuanyuan, still standing, seemed to lose balance and topple backward with a soft thud, landing perfectly flat.

Her back was completely severed—the missing half matching the cross-section he’d seen.

Qin Changsheng’s voice went hoarse as he retreated in terror, eyes wide, tears blurring his vision as he stared at the living corpse before him.

What was happening? What had gone wrong?!

Everything felt unreal; in a single distracted moment, the lively girl who had shared laughs and plans had become two lifeless halves on the ground.

Who? When?

His mind was a tangled mess. He didn’t know if he was afraid or grieving, only able to emit hoarse, meaningless sobs.

Suddenly, the ground trembled.

Sunlight streaming into the alley was blocked by a massive shadow descending from above, engulfing Qin Changsheng.

His mouth opened silently as his gaze passed over Chen Yuanyuan’s corpse and fixed hopelessly on the colossal figure emerging at the alley’s entrance.

What was that?

He saw a monstrous form, like a mountain of flesh, resembling a person cut off at the waist. Its bulky torso bore two arms, its entire body writhing.

Looking closer, the writhing wasn’t flesh—it was countless human bodies, fused together.

Every inch of its massive body was composed of different people—innumerable hands, countless faces—crowding its form.

Its head was a cylindrical cage imprisoning several more people.

Its right arm, made of human limbs, gripped an enormous cleaver—the blade as long as a small car.

The left hand was empty, formed by five people embracing one another as its palm.

The monster reached out with its empty left hand and gently lifted the half of Chen Yuanyuan’s body with her face.

The human limbs extended their hands like a conveyor belt, carrying her body piece by piece into the mass of bodies making up the creature.

It consumed Chen Yuanyuan—and next, it would come for Qin Changsheng.

All the faces on the monster turned toward him.

A normal person would be terrified and flee, but Qin Changsheng could not.

His legs had completely given out; he could not think, only watch helplessly as the monster crawled closer.

This is a dream… it must be a dream!

Look at that monster—such a creature couldn’t exist in reality.

And those Shanhai Beasts, those explosive powers—aren’t they only found in movies and novels?

Ultimately, a caring and genuine girl like Chen Yuanyuan could only exist in dreams.

Yes, this is all a dream! Nothing but a dream!

A beautiful dream turned nightmare in an instant, and Qin Changsheng gave in.

If this were a dream, he thought, he would soon wake.

Facing the raised cleaver, its serrated blade dripping blood, Qin Changsheng laughed strangely.

He saw the blood dripping down and immediately knew that this massive cleaver had sliced Chen Yuanyuan in two.

But none of that mattered anymore.

For him, it was time to wake.

Qin Changsheng did not close his eyes. He faced the blade as it swung down fiercely toward his head!