Yu Sheng felt something strange, almost as if he was bing one with the valley. His mind flowed through the rocks and soil, slipped through the dark depths of the forest, and moved with the wind and water. He saw the world through countless twisted, distorted eyes, all looking up at the sky above.


    A massive eye,rge enough to cover the entire sky, stared down at thend. It was cold and emotionless, like it was just observing, not caring. Yu Sheng could tell that it noticed him. The moment he connected with the valley, the eye’s gaze turned to him.


    The eye seemed curious, puzzled. Even though it showed no emotion, Yu Sheng could almost sense its thoughts. It was like a vast mind was stirring in the space above. Each thought sent out waves of power, but ordinary people wouldn’t notice them. Even with his connection to the valley, Yu Sheng could only faintly feel the presence behind that eye.


    Strangely, there was no malice in it—but no kindness either.


    After some time, the eye’s focus shifted. It wasn’t watching the entire valley anymore; instead, it seemed to be searching for something.


    The eye slowly moved across the valley, like it was hunting for something hidden.


    Yu Sheng’s consciousness spread out, and within minutes, he realized something deep and unsettling—the whole valley was moving. A terrible, eerie life force filled the ce, making it seem as if the entire valley was a living, hungry creature.


    Li Lin watched in horror as rows of sharp teeth appeared along the ridge, jagged trenches forming between them. The rows of fangs shifted like waves, roaring like thunder.


    The forest on the far side of the valley seemed toe alive. The trees turned into ck tentacles that twisted and spread across the valley floor, swallowing everything in their path like ravenous insects.All of this was happening under the cold, watchful gaze of the giant eye in the sky. It was like a strange, horrifying nightmare.


    Little Red’s wolf pack howled and fought back, biting the tentacles, eye stalks, and tongues that sprouted from the ground. But no matter how fiercely they fought, their territory kept shrinking.


    Li Lin felt a wave of despair. He looked ahead and saw Foxy, the girl with many tails, carrying a doll as she ran. She moved swiftly, her tails swishing behind her, and even though she was carrying something, she was as agile as a mountain animal. As a human, he could barely keep up.


    Finally, Foxy slowed down. She carried Irene—and her kitchen knife—to a hollow at the foot of the mountain. She climbed onto arge rock, stretching her neck to look around. Her fluffy ears twitched as she listened for the faintest sounds. She sniffed the air, then focused on a specific direction.


    “Over here! The entrance is here!” she shouted.


    Before she even finished, she jumped down, taking Irene with her. The others rushed to follow, finding a cave entrance justrge enough for two people to pass through.


    “It’s bigger inside!” Foxy called, disappearing into the cave.


    A strange blue me floated up from the tip of Foxy’s tail, lighting up the cave.


    It seemed like an ordinary cave, part of the mountain. Some walls showed signs of being carved out by human hands. In the corners, there were simple tools, rough and old. Clearly, someone had lived here before.


    Xu Jiali took a small ck device from his belt, carefully scanning the cave. “No toxins,” he whispered. “Structure is stable. No signs of corrosion.”


    Little Red waved her hand, cing a few wolves near the entrance. The rest returned to her, slowly merging into her shadow.


    Foxy gently ced Irene on a stone tform near the entrance, looking worried. “Are you… okay?” she asked, pointing at Irene’s broken arm and damaged leg.


    Irene’s body was in bad shape—almost as bad as their friend who had just died.


    Foxy didn’t seem to know much about living dolls.


    “It’s fine,” Irene said casually, trying tofort Foxy. “This body was just temporary. Some parts aren’t very sturdy. Don’t worry, Yu Sheng will fix me when we get back—he made this body for me. Though, his craftsmanship is… just so-so.”


    Foxy’s eyes widened. “Sounds like your friend is pretty amazing?”


    “Well… maybe?” Irene hesitated. “Sometimes, I think he’s not even human. He has all these strange abilities and ideas…”


    Halfway through her sentence, Irene suddenly looked toward the entrance, as if she sensed something.


    “What’s wrong?” Foxy asked, curious.


    “Could you… carry me to the entrance? I want to look outside,” Irene said hesitantly. “We can’t see from here, and I don’t feelfortable.”


    Foxy was puzzled but didn’t question it. She picked up Irene and moved to the entrance.


    Irene stretched her neck, looking up at the sky. The giant eye still floated above, like the pupil of the sky itself—eerie and mesmerizing.


    “I feel like… that eye has been watching us,” Irene whispered, quickly pulling back. “Why isn’t Yu Sheng back yet…”


    Foxy blinked, looking at the little doll. “He’ll be okay, right?”


    “He’ll be fine,” Irene whispered, ncing at their threepanions in the cave. “But please, don’t mention Yu Sheng’s… um… ‘death’ to them. They should have forgotten by now.”


    Foxy tilted her head, her ears twitching. It was hard to tell if she understood.


    Li Lin nced curiously at the fox girl and the doll by the entrance. He frowned, feeling like he had forgotten something important during their escape.


    He looked at Xu Jiali and Little Red, but there was nothing unusual on their faces. Xu Jiali was cautiously exploring the cave, while Little Red sat on a stone bench, her arms crossed, watching the wolves guard the entrance. Her red coat was torn, her right arm exposed, covered in fine, blood-red lines, like her flesh had been torn apart and barely put back together.


    The eerie blue me floated above, casting Little Red’s shadow on the ground. The shadow wavered, twisting, sometimes resembling the wolves that emerged from it.


    The strange sounds from the valley continued, making the silence in the cave feel even heavier.


    Li Lin stood, deciding to introduce himself to Foxy and Irene. But halfway there, a strange noise stopped him.


    It was an irregr scraping, like sharp teeth grinding together.


    His instincts screamed danger.


    Xu Jiali and Little Red both looked up.


    The atmosphere had changed.


    A few secondster, everything outside went eerily quiet—so silent it felt like the world had stopped.


    But the silence didn’tst. Soon, scraping sounds and whimpers, different from the earlier howls, grew louder from outside.


    Foxy jumped, looking nervously outside. Irene used her broken arm to tap Foxy, trying to see. Then she heard Yu Sheng’s voice in her mind.


    “Irene.”


    “Yu Sheng?!” Irene gasped. “You’re alive? Where are you? Can you find us? Hurry,e here! We found a safe ce. It’s not safe outside; something’s wrong in the valley…”


    Before she could finish, Yu Sheng’s voice interrupted gently, “Irene, don’t panic—it will be over soon.”


    Irene blinked. “Huh?”


    The scraping sounds grew more intense, filling the valley.


    Yu Sheng’s voice was calm in her mind. “Irene, do you remember when we tried to contact Foxy through dreams, using her senses to find the valley’s frequency?”


    Irene nodded. She remembered.


    “You connected directly with Hunger then; it rooted in your mind!” she said quickly. “What’s happening? Are you in danger?”


    Yu Sheng’s voice stayed soothing. “Don’t worry, Irene. I’m fine. I just realized something.”


    Irene’s eyes widened as she recognized the sounds echoing through the valley.


    “Hunger didn’t root in my mind,” Yu Sheng said.


    She heard his voice, not just in her mind, but resonating throughout the valley.


    “Instead, I rooted within it.”


    She finally understood—the sound was chewing, echoing everywhere.


    The feast had begun.


    The entity known as Hunger, lurking in this realm, had begun to devour itself.


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