After harvesting the useful parts, I cleaned the scales as well.
They were tough and durable. Back at my shelter, they could be used to reinforce the walls or serve as a mat against the cold ground.
Once I finished washing away the blood, I covered myself with foul-smelling mud once more. The stench concealed my scent from nearby creatures.
Only then did I begin the journey back to my hideout.
I did not dare remain outside any longer.
Out here, every extra moment invited death.
As I moved through the wasteland, my gaze drifted toward the crimson orb hanging in the sky.
A trace of confusion flashed through my eyes.
I still remembered the day everything changed.
I had been seven years old.
At the time, I was playing in the courtyard with a wooden toy carved by my elder brother.
Then came the explosion.
To this day, I did not know where it originated.
I only remembered the terrifying wave that followed.
People exploded into clouds of blood.
Others grew grotesque tumors and transformed into monsters before my eyes.
The elders shouted.
The servants fled.
The entire world descended into chaos.
Something struck me, and I lost consciousness.
When I awoke, everything was gone.
No voices.
No laughter.
No family.
The courtyard that had once been filled with life had become a field of blackened corpses.
The golden sun had vanished.
In its place hung a crimson orb that illuminated the world with a bloody glow.
The air carried the smell of rot.
At first, I cried.
Then I starved.
After that, I learned how to hide.
I learned how to kill.
I learned how to survive.
Perhaps my pale skin attracted the mutants.
Perhaps it did not.
The reason no longer mattered.
The dead had no need for answers.
As I approached my hideout, I did not enter immediately.
Instead, I concealed myself among a cluster of rocks and observed the cave from a distance.
Patience had saved my life many times.
A wandering mutant, a predator from another territory, or something worse could already be waiting inside.
An hour passed.
Nothing emerged.
Only then did I circle around the area and arrive at a seemingly ordinary patch of earth.
Kneeling down, I dug through the loose soil.
A hidden sack appeared beneath the surface.
After opening a small gap, I squeezed myself inside.
The space was narrow and dark.
Once inside, I carefully sealed the entrance from within.
After arranging everything, the boy took the remaining meat and placed it near the warmest section of the cave. The heat was weak, but it was enough to slow the meat from rotting.
Only then did he sit down.
However, he did not relax.
His stone dagger remained in his hand, its handle worn smooth from years of use. Every muscle in his body remained tense as he concealed his breathing and listened carefully to the world outside.
Soon, distant growls echoed through the darkness.
One.
Then several.
Mutant beasts.
The sounds drew closer and closer.
The boy's grip on the dagger tightened.
His heart pounded within his chest.
Fortunately, the creatures merely passed by the cave. Their growls gradually faded into the distance.
Only then did he release a quiet sigh of relief.
Leaning against the cave wall, he felt the exhaustion from the day's hunt wash over him.
His wounded legs finally relaxed.
Beside him rested a small rubber tube containing water. Taking a careful sip, he sealed it once more.
Ignoring the distant noises outside, he reached toward a pile of old belongings in the corner of the cave.
Among them was a worn book.
The pages were yellow and damaged.
The boy could not read the words written inside.
Even so, he often flipped through the pages and stared at the strange pictures. They helped pass the endless hours of darkness.
The cave fell silent.
Only the faint glow of the luminous pearl illuminated the cramped shelter.
Outside, darkness blanketed the land.
Above the world hung a crimson moon.
Its bloody light dyed the heavens red.
The continent stretched endlessly beneath that crimson glow, covered by vast swamps, forests, mountains, and countless dangers.
No one knew how large the world truly was.
Yet all who still lived beneath the heavens shared one certainty.
When they looked upward, they saw the same crimson moon.
No one knew what had happened to the sun.
No one knew what had happened to the moon.
But everyone knew one thing.
The day the crimson moon appeared was the day the world changed.
An unfamiliar energy spread across the land.
Animals mutated.
Plants transformed.The strange energy had transformed countless living beings.
Bustling streets had become silent ruins.
Homes stood abandoned.
Blackened corpses littered the roads and alleyways.
Of the countless humans and animals that once inhabited the city, only a few had survived.
The rest had either perished or become something else.
As for where the remaining survivors were, he did not know.
During the past four years, he had never encountered another living human.
A mournful cry suddenly echoed through the darkness.
Nian Lin's eyes snapped open.
His hand instinctively tightened around the stone dagger resting beside him.
The sound came from outside.
Slowly, he turned his head toward a narrow crack in the cave wall.
The cry drifted closer.
Then closer still.
His muscles tensed.
The dagger rose slightly.
For a moment, the cave seemed to freeze.
Fortunately, the sound merely circled the area before gradually moving away.
Only after it completely disappeared did Nian Lin release the breath he had been holding.
Sleep no longer seemed possible.
Picking up the worn book once more, he quietly flipped through its pages.
The cave remained dark and silent.
Only the faint glow of the luminous pearl illuminated the cramped shelter.
Its dim light flickered across the yellowed pages, casting long shadows upon the rough stone walls.