Shang Xi had sat up at some unknown point, leaning far back in the corner. Her eyes were bright, shining with a light that Song Sisi couldn't understand.
Song Sisi felt a bit afraid. She turned to find Zhao Ke'er, only to discover her teammate had already gotten up when she reached out to the side.
Zhao Ke'er wasn't sleeping beside her; instead, she was kneeling, sitting very close to her.
For some reason, Song Sisi suddenly felt a little frightened.
"Ke'er?"
Zhao Ke'er gave a muffled response in the darkness. Seeing that Zhao Ke'er could still answer her, Song Sisi breathed a small sigh of relief.
Not daring to turn her back to Shang Xi, she moved closer to Zhao Ke'er. The warmth of the other woman's body against her back made her feel like she had someone to lean on.
"Miss Shang, what's wrong with you?"
Song Sisi looked warily at Shang Xi, who almost blended into the darkness in the distance. This person usually seemed quite nice, so why was she sitting there watching her in the middle of the night?
However, Song Sisi's overly tense brain failed to register that her friend was also sitting up and watching her.
And she was much closer.
"Sisi."
Shang Xi didn't answer Song Sisi's question. Instead, Zhao Ke'er suddenly hugged her from behind, resting her chin lightly on Song Sisi's shoulder.
The posture was somewhat intimate, catching Song Sisi off guard.
"What is it?"
"You smell... so good."
Although Song Sisi didn't understand what she meant, alarm bells rang in her heart. She tried to quickly shake Zhao Ke'er off, but Zhao Ke'er possessed immense strength, pinning her down like a steel band.
In the darkness, Zhao Ke'er's eyes were fixed on Song Sisi's exposed neck, her saliva drenching her own chin.
So hungry... so hungry...
She was truly so hungry...
Just one bite, just one bite.
They were teammates, so Song Sisi would surely understand, right?
Just one bite...
Zhao Ke'er could no longer restrain herself. She opened her mouth and bit down on Song Sisi's neck.
Song Sisi's scream was muffled by Zhao Ke'er's hand. In the face of extreme hunger, she exploded with immense strength, restraining her teammate who struggled in pain and terror with a single hand.
Gradually, the struggling stopped.
The sounds of chewing, swallowing, and slurping...
These sounds echoed in the small stone house, accompanied by the satisfied sighs Zhao Ke'er let out from time to time.
Zhao Ke'er ate very quickly. Before long, only half of Song Sisi remained.
Shang Xi slowly crawled over to Zhao Ke'er. The other woman's hands were holding half of Song Sisi's arm, her mouth covered in blood. She merely tilted her head to glance at her, perhaps thinking she wanted a share.
A silver glint flashed in the darkness. Shang Xi's sleeve blade had already pierced Zhao Ke'er's temple.
Zhao Ke'er merely swayed and collapsed without making a sound.
Shang Xi looked down at the bloody scene before her, and her stomach let out a loud growl.
...
Nan Yue discovered Wen Xiang Yuan had woken up in the middle of the night. She herself had barely slept, which was a first during a mission.
She usually slept very well, especially since she wasn't bothered by that thing on her body during missions.
But tonight, as soon as darkness fell, she was plagued by a hunger intense enough to drive one mad. She even felt as though her stomach was about to consume itself.
The companions sleeping soundly beside her looked incredibly delicious; Nan Yue even had the urge to take a lick.
When she realized what she was thinking, she broke into a cold sweat.
She felt as if she were split in two—one half nearly losing all reason to the extreme hunger, wanting to attack her companions.
The other half was trembling with terror at her own thoughts.
For the first time, Nan Yue proactively summoned the evil ghost on her body, targeting herself.
That familiar terror swept through her heart. Due to the physiological reaction born of fear, she could smell a foul stench between her nose and mouth, as if her own internal organs were slowly rotting.
Despair, fear, helplessness... it dragged her down into the abyss.
She trembled slightly from the pain, experiencing intense neurological agony that made her want to rip open her own skin and body to find relief.
But Nan Yue also felt a sense of relief because once that fierce, nearly unbearable terror appeared, her urge to eat people dissipated.
Just as Nan Yue intended to endure the night as usual, Wen Xiang Yuan woke up.
However, she wasn't fully awake, remaining in a state between dreaming and consciousness.
She reached out to touch Nan Yue, then crawled over her in a daze, moving between Zhu Xi Ning and Gu Xiang Kai.
The two of them were also extremely alert. They opened their eyes almost instantly, each grabbing a hand and pinning Wen Xiang Yuan down onto the bed.
Once they realized it was Wen Xiang Yuan they had caught, both were stunned and hastily let go.
Zhu Xi Ning helped Wen Xiang Yuan up, apologizing repeatedly, "I'm sorry, Wen-wen. Did I hurt you? What's wrong? Why aren't you sleeping?"
Wen Xiang Yuan didn't answer. Still in a dazed state, she reached out to touch Zhu Xi Ning. The latter looked bewildered but obediently let her.
Wen Xiang Yuan then turned to touch Gu Xiang Kai, but due to the height difference, she only felt his firm chest muscles.
In the darkness, Gu Xiang Kai's face turned beet red. "Wen... Wen-wen, what are you doing..."
Before he could finish, Wen Xiang Yuan pulled her hand away in slight disgust, let out a soft huff, and turned back to hug Zhu Xi Ning.
Gu Xiang Kai, whose heart was still pounding: "..."
Just as Zhu Xi Ning was about to pull Wen Xiang Yuan into a hug, Wen Xiang Yuan was dragged back by the scruff of her neck.
"Gu Xiang Kai, what are you doing!"
This was the first time Zhu Xi Ning had seen Gu Xiang Kai get physical with Wen Xiang Yuan. They usually played around without much regard for gender, but Zhu Xi Ning could tell that Gu Xiang Kai seemed to feel differently about Wen Xiang Yuan.
She didn't know what that emotion was. Could it be the affection or even love mentioned in novels and movies?
The school hadn't taught it, and she hadn't seen it. Everyone was so busy running for their lives that they didn't know the names of the emotions in their hearts.
But Zhu Xi Ning knew that Gu Xiang Kai's perception of Wen Xiang Yuan was different.
So she was surprised that Gu Xiang Kai would pull her back so urgently, seemingly without fear of hurting her.
But the moment Wen Xiang Yuan was pulled back, Zhu Xi Ning understood.
Wen Xiang Yuan's mouth was open. Because she hadn't managed to bite Zhu Xi Ning, her teeth snapped together with a sharp sound in the darkness.
The hair on Zhu Xi Ning's body stood on end. Was Wen Xiang Yuan... trying to bite her just now?
Gu Xiang Kai frowned as he looked at Wen Xiang Yuan struggling in his grip. "Something is wrong with her."
Zhu Xi Ning saw it too. Wen Xiang Yuan wasn't fully awake and was still struggling to bite her.
Perhaps seeing that she couldn't reach, she spoke with a hint of grievance, "...Hungry..."
Hungry?
Zhu Xi Ning turned her head and said, "Nan, Wen-wen seems off, she..."
Zhu Xi Ning's words died on her lips. She and Gu Xiang Kai saw Nan Yue sitting in the corner. She had been awake for a long time, watching them quietly.
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