For some reason, the beastmen's eyes were growing redder and redder, and their gazes toward him were becoming increasingly vicious.
Most recently, that tiger-headed beastman had even started baring its teeth at him.
It looked as if it would pounce on him the very next second.
Xiao Wang shuddered. He keenly sensed the danger, but he had no idea how to handle the situation, so he could only reach out to two friends in the organization he was on good terms with to discuss it.
But just as he opened his private messages, heavy footsteps sounded outside the door once again.
Those beastmen... they were back.
Xiao Wang's heart leaped into his throat, his fingers hovering over the chat interface trembling slightly.
He heard the beastmen's heavy, labored breathing right against the vehicle door, and the screeching sound of claws scraping against metal made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
Danger!
There was definitely danger!
Xiao Wang widened his eyes, racking his brain, but he didn't know what he should do now.
At this very moment, he regretted immensely that to save just a few measly materials, he hadn't bought a designated player duel card from the Crow!
The vehicle door was locked.
It would take these beastmen some effort to get inside.
He still had time! Yes! He still had time!
Xiao Wang's trembling fingers tapped on the virtual panel. He was now willing to trade all his possessions for a designated player duel card! Boss Crow... please, you have to see his trade request!
However, before he could even send the message, a roar suddenly erupted from outside! Immediately following that, the entire vehicle began to shake violently.
Xiao Wang watched in horror as the connections of the vehicle door began to twist and deform. The previous beastmen had at most kicked the door, but this time, they were actually starting to dismantle it!
It was over! It was all over!
These words echoed in Xiao Wang's mind. He scrambled toward the driver's seat in a panic, trying to start the vehicle. At a time like this, he didn't care if it would work or not; he just wanted to shake these beastmen off!
But the beastmen's movements were too fast. Three hands had already pried open the gap in the door.
When the fishy, foul-smelling heat sprayed onto Xiao Wang's face, he finally saw the hunger roiling in the beastmen's scarlet eyes.
It was not a craving for food, but the most primal greed for flesh and blood.
As fangs pierced his lower leg, he heard that beastman mutter complainingly: "Who told you to always be without food? We don't want to go hungry. So, you'll just have to be the food instead."
...
Cheng Shuili suddenly sneezed. She rubbed her nose and suspiciously opened her panel to check her health value.
Wasn't that perfectly healthy?
"Who's talking about me?"
Just as Cheng Shuili was wondering, she received a notification from 001.
【Boss, you have new unread messages in the five-person group chat.】
Cheng Shuili nodded and told it to open the group chat.
【Xinxue Chuji】: New message! Boss! People are being eaten!
Cheng Shuili: "???"
Couldn't this kid be more clear?
It sounded as if she, the boss, was the one eating people! She might be a bit cutthroat in business, but she hadn't reached that level yet, had she?
【Xinxue Chuji】: On the regional channel, someone said that if beastmen successfully enter your vehicle to search for food every time, and! If they don't find any food! The next time they successfully rob you, they will treat the player as food!
The regional channel said that?
Cheng Shuili patted her own head. She had been busy opening several supply crates with Su Rui today and hadn't paid attention to the regional channel messages.
She had almost missed such a major piece of news.
Good thing Xinxue was there!
It really was the right decision to give her the automatic driving card; otherwise, where would she have had so much time to surf the channel?
There was no time to lament her wise decision. Cheng Shuili immediately opened the regional channel.
She scrolled up a few times and began scanning through the messages from the very first one, ten lines at a glance.
"Damn, my friend just sent me a voice message. I'm scared to death! He said beastmen are gnawing on his leg! I thought he was joking at first, so I even messaged him telling him not to scare me! Damn it, I deserve to die! After I turned up the volume on his voice message, I could hear my friend's muffled screams and some other sound beside him—a very clear chewing sound! He isn't replying to my messages anymore, but his profile picture is still lit up, so he must still be there. Does any kind soul have a designated player duel card they can send me? I need to go check on the situation."
This...
Cheng Shuili frowned. What this person said at the beginning sounded quite plausible, but why did the tone suddenly shift toward the end?
It looked very much like someone out to scam a duel card.
It wasn't just Cheng Shuili; everyone who saw this message had that same suspicion.
"Is this guy writing a story here?"
"A new version! A brand-new version! And based on the text effect earlier, it completely blows away those previous beggars! Baby, I crown you the King of Begging!"
"Can you make your story sound a bit more realistic? Beastmen eating players? Are you kidding me? Aren't they just guest NPCs? Up until now, all the beastmen NPCs I've met have been friendly! At most, they just want to earn some game coins from my pocket. What's wrong with that? I want game coins too."
"Exactly. Beastmen robbing food is one thing, but they've never hurt anyone. I was robbed today, and the beastman even told me he hoped I'd have something delicious ready next time he comes. I'm really speechless."
"To say nothing else, aside from prying into cars, the beastmen haven't shown any aggression so far. If you're going to spread rumors, bring some evidence, alright?"
"Let's disperse, let's disperse. This guy is just begging. To get a card, you'd say something like this? Some people really stop being human just to stay alive."
"What's wrong with wanting to stay alive?"
"Don't start with that philosophical stuff! I'll say one thing: begging is fine! But don't you dare make up lies to beg! It's terrifying, it's really damn life-threatening!"
Up to this point, all the messages Cheng Shuili saw were ganging up on this person.
They said all sorts of things, but there was one point everyone agreed on: this person was a liar.
If it weren't true, Xinxue wouldn't have mentioned it in the group.
Cheng Shuili suppressed her growing frustration and continued reading.
"(Image) (Image) (Image), thanks to this anonymous friend who sent me the duel card. It's just... having been bitten like this, even if I do everything I can to take care of him, he probably won't survive. He must be passed out from the pain now. What should I say when he wakes up in a bit? Will he... will he even wake up?"
Cheng Shuili frowned and clicked on the images attached.
The moment she saw the pictures clearly, Cheng Shuili gasped.
In the first photo, a young man was lying flat on the floor of the vehicle, his legs from the waist down almost shredded beyond recognition.
The edges of the mangled, bloody wounds were jagged and irregular, clearly the marks of sharp teeth tearing into flesh. Dark red blood had pooled into a small puddle on the floor, reflecting a sickening sheen.
Rate on N.U.
