“Since I am the only one you want to eat...”
Bai Ci turned slightly and gestured toward the three people beside her.
“You can eat me, but I hope you will let the three of them go.”
The moment she said this, all three of them froze.
At such a critical moment of life and death, someone had spoken up to negotiate, not to secure her own survival, but to plead for a way out for others.
Bai Ci was neither a saint nor acting on a whim.
She spoke these words merely to test Wisteria's bottom line and attitude step by step in a situation where her death was already certain.
Wisteria looked at her, a hint of genuine confusion appearing in his cold purple eyes for the first time.
He began to change, bit by bit.
The aura around him grew restless. His human silhouette slowly expanded and elongated, vine-like patterns surging beneath his skin as his body transformed toward his giant beast form.
“I have no interest in eating things I detest.”
Wisteria's purple eyes locked onto Bai Ci as he took slow, deliberate steps toward her.
Bai Ci raised her eyes, meeting his growing, oppressive pressure, and confirmed once more, “So, you agree to let the three of them go?”
“Yes,” Wisteria replied, human words spilling from his wolfish throat.
As Wisteria advanced, the wolf-like beasts and vine figures following him also moved, closing in on the group.
Oddly enough, when they reached a certain distance, they ground to a halt, refusing to take even half a step forward.
Only Wisteria continued to approach Bai Ci, completely unconstrained.
“And what about your subordinates? These beasts and vines under your control—can you guarantee they won't touch the three of them either?”
Bai Ci pressed further, closing any potential loopholes in this promise.
If she truly couldn't find a way to save herself, saving the others would at least make her trip worthwhile.
After all, as a player, dying in an instance didn't mean actual death. Moreover, she was a player who could copy the highest evaluation score of an instance.
So what was there to fear? Saving one meant she didn't lose; saving two was a net gain.
Wisteria tilted his wolf head slightly, his gaze passing over Bai Ci to land on the shallow black crater a few paces behind her.
“They cannot enter this area.”
Wisteria's words confirmed a fact.
It turned out there was a real reason the wooden cabin had been built here, and it truly could have sheltered the runaway escort attendant.
As long as that attendant hadn't been unlucky enough to provoke a monster of Wisteria's level, they would have survived safely.
But why was that?
The shallow crater? The place where the Mountain God's wisteria body had been burned to ashes?
Zhou Caiwei, who had been listening in silence, could no longer contain her curiosity. She summoned her courage and asked, “So... do you hate us because we are passengers on the train?”
Wisteria did not respond, remaining in cold silence.
Seeing this, Bai Ci repeated the question. “Is your hostility directed specifically at the train's passengers?”
After a brief silence, Wisteria let out a very soft grunt. “No.”
“We hate all living things. Especially humans.”
Bai Ci was taken aback for a moment.
But soon, using the information on her Rain's Message panel as a breakthrough, she understood.
“Vainly drinking the life force of the mortal realm, leaving only the fire of jealousy to consume them endlessly.”
The wisteria Mountain God, the souls of the laborers, and all the products of resentment were trapped here, sinking into eternal damnation.
They weren't targeting anyone in particular; they simply envied and hated all fresh, living things that could exist peacefully.
They envied everyone who could breathe freely and bask in the sunlight.
The very existence of the living was the deepest desecration of the dead.
This was pure, unadulterated malice from the deceased.
“I understand.” Bai Ci exhaled softly. It seemed she was destined to die today.
This kind of pure malice was the hardest to resolve.
Wisteria looked down at her, his purple eyes dark and unreadable as he gave a soft hum of agreement. “Mhm.”
Just then, from down the mountain where Arbiter was fighting the god's incarnation, a distant, violent beastly roar suddenly echoed.
It was a summons.
In the next second, all the wolf-like beasts and vine figures surrounding them turned in unison. Following the direction of the roar, they surged down the mountain.
The danger level of the battle down the mountain spiked instantly.
Wisteria hesitated no longer. Reaching Bai Ci, he suddenly leaned down, his massive wolf jaws opening as his sharp fangs aimed directly at her neck, preparing to bite down.
“Wait.”
At the absolute last second, Bai Ci spoke up.
The wolf's snout stopped barely an inch from the side of her neck. Its stiff fur brushed against her skin, hovering on the very line between life and death.
Wisteria looked down at her and asked coldly, “Do you regret it?”
“No.”
“I don't regret it.”
Bai Ci met his cold gaze. “I am willing to let you eat me. I won't go back on my word.”
“But since you never intended to eat the three of them in the first place, my previous condition doesn't really count. I have a new request.”
“Speak.”
“Do not respond to the summons from down the mountain.”
After several rounds of testing, Bai Ci had pinpointed the exact line she believed Wisteria would agree to.
“Stay here. Do not go down the mountain to join the battle.”
This simple request brought a visible look of shock and confusion to Wisteria's eyes for the first time.
He looked down at the tiny girl from above, his massive body exuding an overwhelming pressure. His voice carried an all-knowing coldness and conceit. “You think this will save them?”
“Even if I don't participate, those two down the mountain cannot win.”
This wasn't arrogance, but a precise judgment based on an absolute gap in power.
Hearing this, Bai Ci actually felt relieved.
With this attitude, the likelihood of her convincing Wisteria to stay out of the fight was much higher.
Whether they could win wasn't something she could influence.
But weakening the enemy's forces was a goal just within her reach if she stretched for it.
Bai Ci nodded gently, accepting the outcome calmly. “I know.”
“I never expected them to definitely win.”
“I am already a dead person walking. Regardless of the outcome, I cannot escape death today.”
“Since the end is already written, trading my life to give them a bit more hope is worth it.”
She didn't ask for a guaranteed victory, only a sliver of possibility.
Pointless sacrifice was meaningless, but a death with value was the best choice in a desperate situation.
Wisteria stared at her in silence for a long time.
A moment later, the boundless power surging around him suddenly retracted, and his massive physique began to shrink and transform.
In the blink of an eye, the terrifying giant wolf, capable of swallowing an adult in one bite, shrank to the size of an ordinary wild wolf.
Yet it still possessed a spirituality and eerie aura far beyond ordinary creatures.
However, at this size, he could no longer swallow a person whole. He could only tear and gnaw, bite by bite.
The process would be slow, painful, and excruciating.
He had accepted the deal, but chose the most brutal method.
Wisteria stepped forward slowly, his movements quiet and precise—the exact posture of a beast stalking its prey.
Cooperating, Bai Ci sat down on the ground.
With the first bite, the fabric on her shoulder tore. His fangs pierced her flesh, and a sharp, stinging pain spread with absolute clarity.
The three people beside her were reduced to utterly powerless bystanders.
They could do nothing but watch as Bai Ci, weak from blood loss, could no longer maintain her sitting posture. She collapsed powerlessly onto the ground, her blood slowly staining the soil.
Vigi turned pale, his stomach churning violently. Unable to bear it any longer, he bent over and retched, not daring to look at the scene for another second.
Zhou Caiwei turned away, her eyes red as she bit her lip hard, a painful tightness clutching her chest.
She closed her eyes tightly, completely unable to bear watching this brutal sight, her heart filled with nothing but powerlessness.
Only Violita.
From beginning to end, he kept his eyes open, watching the entire process calmly and with absolute clarity.
He etched everything deeply into his memory.
He would remember this person, and he would remember this sacrifice.
The mountain wind howled desolately, and the raging fire burned bright.
No salvation came, and no one could reverse the tide.
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