Chapter 148: Kung Fu Nightmare

[System: And just how do you plan to do that, Host?]

The blue screen hovered in the darkness, illuminating the miserable reality of Ren’s situation.

[System: You are currently located in a muddy pit. There is a grate made of logs heavier than your entire body weight secured overhead. You are naked. You have the flu. Your muscle mass is currently comparable to a wet noodle. Escape is a delusion.]

The System didn’t share Ren’s sudden burst of optimism. As a matter of fact, it had fully embraced the role of the Voice of Doom.

[System: Just give up. If you die here, maybe you will be transmigrated again. Perhaps to a modern world with central heating and antibiotics. Doesn’t that sound nice? Just let go, Host. Go into the light.]

“Shut up,” Ren chattered, her teeth clicking together. “I am not dying in a hole filled with poop-water.”

She pulled out her silver lighter from the inventory.

Flick.

A tiny, dancing flame erupted, casting long, eerie shadows against the wet earth walls.

“Nature’s greatest weakness,” Ren whispered, staring at the thick, green vine binding her ankle to the rock. “Is fire.”

She held the flame under the knot.

It didn’t burst into flames like a dry rope in a movie. The vine was thick, green, and thoroughly soaked by the sludge in the hole. It sizzled and popped, resisting the heat. But slowly, agonizingly slowly, the outer layer began to blacken. A thin wisp of acrid smoke rose into the air.

“It’s working,” Ren muttered.

[System: It is burning at a rate of one millimeter per minute. At this speed, you will be free just in time for your skeleton to be discovered by archaeologists in a thousand years. I really do not appreciate your stubbornness right now, Host. I am trying to prepare you for the inevitable.]

“And I,” Ren hissed, shielding the flame with her trembling hand, “do not appreciate your bad energy.”

But deep down, the System had a point. Ren was shivering so violently that she almost dropped the lighter twice. She was exposed to the damp cold, and the flu was ravaging her system. She was powering through on pure adrenaline and spite, but she was at serious risk of the illness escalating into pneumonia.

[System: Fine. I admit defeat to your illogical stubbornness. I will continue to feed your delusions of survival until your heart stops.]

Ren ignored the sarcasm. Her stomach let out a ferocious growl that echoed in the small space. She hadn’t eaten since the handful of mushrooms Vex had forced on her this morning. She was starving, lightheaded, and freezing.

But the vine was charring. Slowly. Surely.

[System: WARNING. Host, put out the light! Vara’s boyfriend is approaching!]

Ren’s eyes widened. She didn’t question it.

Click.

She extinguished the lighter and banished it back to her inventory in a split second. She flopped onto her side in the mud, curling into a tight fetal position to cover her nakedness as much as possible, and squeezed her eyes shut.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Heavy footsteps vibrated the ground.

Ren held her breath, pretending to be deeply asleep, though her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.

Scrape.

The heavy log grate above was shoved to the side with terrifying ease.

Thud.

Ren felt the splash of mud as bare feet landed heavily in the pit.

He was inside.

Ren screamed internally. ’What does he want?! It’s the middle of the night! Go away!’

She could feel him looming over her. The air in the pit seemed to get hotter, stifling. She could hear his breathing—heavy, ragged breaths.

Her heart rate spiked when a rough, calloused hand gripped her shoulder.

With zero gentleness, he rolled her over onto her back.

Ren didn’t fight the motion. She kept her limbs loose, feigning unconsciousness, but she instinctively clamped her thighs together and threw an arm over her breasts, trying to look as natural as possible in her “sleep.”

She kept her face slack and calm, but inside, she was hyperventilating.

Sniff. Sniff.

She felt hot breath against her neck.

Carik pressed his wet nose directly against the sensitive skin of her neck, right over the spot where Kael had bitten her to mark her. He inhaled deeply, a guttural growl vibrating in his chest.

’Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,’ Ren panicked in her thoughts. ’He is smelling me! Why is he smelling me?!’

Unbeknownst to her, Carik was grinning down at her trembling, naked frame. He fully believed she was asleep. The fever made her skin burn to the touch, and her vulnerability was palpable.

He couldn’t understand what was so special about this small, frail mammal. She looked like a gust of wind could snap her in two. Her scent was strange, and he had never seen a mammal with such bright, blood-red hair before.

But Carik didn’t care about that stuff.

He only saw an opportunity.

This was the female that the Snake King and the White Tiger King were fighting over. This was their prize.

’If I take her,’ Carik thought, his one good eye gleaming with malice. ’If I ruin her… if I fill her with my scent and my seed…’

It would be the ultimate revenge. To breed her. To make her pregnant with a bastard cub from the Wastelands. It would destroy Kael’s spirit and humiliate Syris beyond repair.

Ren heard the rustle of fabric.

Carik untied his loincloth and let it drop to the mud.

Ren’s eyes were closed, but she could feel the shift in the air. The intent was unmistakable.

A large, heavy hand landed on her thigh, squeezing the soft, feverish flesh hard enough to leave a bruise. He began to pry her legs apart.

Ren’s survival instinct overrode her fear.

’NOW!’

Ren’s right foot shot out like a piston.

She didn’t open her eyes. She aimed by instinct.

THWACK.

Her heel connected solidly with Carik’s wounded eye—that was already bleeding and raw.

“ROAR!”

Carik cried out in agony, withdrawing his hand instantly to cup his face. Fresh blood spurted through his fingers. He stumbled back, blinded by pain.

But Ren wasn’t finished.

While he was distracted by his face, she chambered her leg and fired again.

CRUNCH.

Her foot landed a second critical hit. Right between his legs. Directly on the erection.

She put every ounce of her remaining strength, every bit of her anger, and all of her repressed energy into that kick.

“AAAARRRGH!”

Carik roared, a sound of pure, high-pitched suffering. He doubled over, clutching both his eye and his groin, effectively incapacitated by a dual-assault on his most sensitive anatomy.

He shot Ren an ugly, murderous glare with his remaining good eye.

But Ren?

Ren was still asleep.

To keep up appearances, she continued to thrash her legs wildly, tossing her head from side to side in the mud.

“No!” she mumbled loudly, her voice slurring. “Get away! Bad bunnies! No… not the demon bunnies! Take the carrots! Leave me alone!”

She kicked the air again for good measure.

Carik stared at her, wheezing in pain. He was confused. Was she… dreaming?

His tiger ears twitched.

“Carik?!” Vara’s voice called out from above, sounding impatient. “What are you doing down there?”

Carik grunted, his face purple with rage and pain. He shot one last nasty glare at the sleeping mammal who had just ruined his night.

“Crazy female,” he spat.

He grabbed his loincloth with a groan and awkwardly climbed out of the pit, limping heavily.

Scrape. Thud.

The log grate was slid back into place. Heavy, uneven footsteps disappeared into the distance.

Ren waited a full minute.

Then, she peeked one eye open.

“Oh, thank god,” she breathed.

She let out a massive sigh of relief, her hand clutching her chest to calm her hammering heart.

“I can’t believe that worked,” she whispered, a hysterical giggle bubbling up in her throat. “I actually chased him away.”

[System: I… I am genuinely impressed.]

The System’s voice wasn’t sarcastic. It sounded shocked.

[System: That was a text-book self-defense maneuver executed with zero visibility while battling a fever of 102 degrees. Critical damage inflicted. Threat neutralized.]

Ren blinked in surprise. She laughed weakly, wiping sweat from her forehead.

“Wow,” she teased, her voice hoarse. “You actually know how to give praise? Are you feeling okay, System? Do you have a virus?”

[System: Do not get used to it, Host. You were simply lucky this time.]

[System: However… luck seems to be trending in your favor. There is movement in the forest.]

Ren froze. “More bad guys?”

[System: No. Friendly units. Hold on to your sanity a little longer, Host. You might actually live.]

The System paused for dramatic effect.

[System: A rescue team is on the way.]

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