Am I going to die?
Perhaps fear had reached its peak, but as Yuan Li saw the creature approaching, a surge of anger filled her instead.
Why?
Why did this thing think it could bite her, treat her as food?
Who gave it the right?
Even if she were food, she would be the hardest, most unpleasant bite!
Yuan Li gritted her teeth and pulled out the dagger Hong Yuan had hidden in her thigh.
She lunged forward recklessly, narrowly avoiding the creature’s jaws, which instead bit into the blanket.
Yuan Li had already closed the distance.
Even on the bed, she had a slight height advantage. She aimed at the creature’s left chest and, without hesitation, drove the dagger in deep.
The Cleaning Department’s weapons were reliable; she felt only minor resistance before the dagger sank fully.
But before she could feel relief, a chill ran through her heart.
The creature, which should have been fatally wounded, didn’t react at all, as if her strike had done nothing.
Yuan Li didn’t know that the heart wasn’t this Mutant’s weak point.
Mutants were strange creatures, and their true weak point—the Mutant Core—could be anywhere on their body.
Traditional biology, where the head or heart is vulnerable, didn’t apply here.
Sometimes, cleaners had to destroy the Mutant Core directly to neutralize a Mutant.
But this Mutant didn’t stand still for Yuan Li’s attack. Its massive, gorilla-like hands grabbed her shoulders.
She turned pale, staring at the Mutant in horror.
In that instant, the world seemed to lose its color. The Mutant’s red flesh dulled, and a shimmering glow in its torso stood out clearly.
Instinctively, Yuan Li knew—that was its weak point.
But her shoulders were trapped; the creature’s grip was strong enough to crush them.
She couldn’t draw her dagger.
One dagger… just one strike, and she could survive.
Yuan Li didn’t realize that, in this desperate moment, her pupils dilated, and a strange sensation rose from her lower back.
The Mutant had captured its prey. It leaned in toward Yuan Li’s head.
A rush of wind and pressure came from the creature, brushing against her, but in the next second, a soft sound echoed.
The glowing weak point disappeared. The Mutant froze completely, all motion halted.
Escaping death left Yuan Li’s vision blurred, but before collapsing, she was supported.
“Thank you…”
Her words stopped abruptly.
She looked up and saw what was holding her—a tentacle.
Humans didn’t have tentacles.
The tentacle, noticing her gaze, wiggled shyly and brushed against her.
“Ah!”
Yuan Li gasped and instinctively turned, only to see the woman awake, her limbs unharmed.
She hadn’t transformed into a Mutant.
Where had the tentacle come from?
There was only one possibility Yuan Li could accept. Trembling, she traced it back and realized—it had grown from her own lower back.
The woman’s shock turned to astonishment when she saw Yuan Li’s face.
Even with the creature’s residue on her, Yuan Li was recognizable.
“It’s you?”
Yuan Li’s mind went blank. Hearing the woman speak, she instinctively stepped back, wary.
The woman smiled. “Thank you.”
Yuan Li froze.
The woman explained, “You helped me defeat someone I hated most. I should thank you.”
Following the woman’s gaze, Yuan Li noticed something unsettling on the floor.
Seeing Yuan Li’s stunned expression, the woman said, “I don’t know why you didn’t fully transform or why you kept your mind. But as the saying goes, ‘Those unlike us think differently.’ While no one is around, run—leave the human city.”
A loud bang echoed.
“Yuan Li? Are you in there? There’s a strange smell!”
Yuan Li recognized Hong Yuan’s voice.
Earlier, she had hoped Hong Yuan would arrive quickly, but now, she just wanted to hide.
Instinctively, she shrank into a corner, pressing the tentacle tightly into the wall crevice.
Hong Yuan stormed in. Her first glance fell on the collapsed creature.
The second glance fell on Yuan Li, messy and terrified, huddled in the corner.
Hong Yuan froze.
Outside, she had smelled the Mutant and feared the worst.
“You defeated this creature?”
The answer was obvious. The woman on the bed was injured, and the dagger Hong Yuan had given Yuan Li was still lodged in the creature.
“I… don’t come closer!” Yuan Li resisted, but Hong Yuan ignored her.
She bent down, ignoring the mess on Yuan Li, and gently rubbed her head.
“Well done.”
Yuan Li blinked.
Next, Hong Yuan lifted her up.
Tentacle!!
Yuan Li’s heart raced, but Hong Yuan showed no reaction.
Confused, Yuan Li touched her lower back.
Nothing.
The tentacle was gone.
If not for the creature’s body lying there, she might have thought it was a hallucination.
“Do you think I…” Yuan Li hesitated, unable to finish.
Hong Yuan looked at her. “It was unexpected, but your luck was good. You found a creature with its weak point exactly where it should be.”
She seemed completely unaware of anything unusual.
Of course—if anyone had noticed, it would have been during the rescue. They would have checked her thoroughly.
Otherwise, how could she have been allowed outside?
Just as Yuan Li was beginning to relax, she looked at the woman on the bed.
Her heart sank again.
The woman had seen the tentacle. If she mentioned it, even if nothing had been detected earlier, Hong Yuan and the others might have overreacted.
Even if Hong Yuan had arrived later…
Well.
It wouldn’t have helped anyway.
Forget the woman’s previous kindness—Yuan Li had never harmed anything before, not even a chicken. She wouldn’t dare hurt anyone now.
While Yuan Li worried, the woman smiled at her instead.
She whispered, “Don’t worry.”
Hong Yuan finally looked at the woman, then down at Yuan Li. “You can’t control her.”
Yuan Li froze.
She wanted to say something, but Hong Yuan grew impatient. Seeing that the woman’s injuries were unrelated and she wasn’t in danger, Hong Yuan carried Yuan Li into the elevator.
Hong Yuan drove the car and helped Yuan Li inside.
Before the doors closed, startled cries sounded.
Yuan Li turned and saw a figure collapse to the ground.
In an instant, a commotion erupted.