Volume 1. Let the Game Begin
I felt no guilt at all about devouring Liu Yunyan and those innocent people.
No matter who it was... when placed in that position, there would be no hesitation at all to devour the souls of others.
It was not something I could control by my own consciousness.
In other words, whether it was me or someone else, at that moment, they would have chosen to devour others' souls to survive.
By nature, I was someone with rather indifferent emotions.
On top of that, since everyone would behave the same, I no longer felt any moral guilt.
It was not something that could be controlled by consciousness.
It was an instinct from the depths of the soul.
Even during the time I devoured the souls of others, I had no basic thinking at all.
I could only eat.
Those who died on the bus... if they must blame someone, they could only blame that damned app!
Whether they were devoured by me or that eerie smiling face, the result would have been the same.
No one could have escaped.
Let's put that aside for now.
Although living off the Liu family and drinking their resources seemed normal in the eyes of others, I, as Zhang Yiwei, still needed to have my own pursuits.
At the very least, I had to make a living for myself.
The body was Liu's, but the consciousness was not!
But... what could I actually do?
I was only fifteen years old.
Even after the new year, I would just be turning sixteen.
What could I possibly do?
First of all, going out to work was unlikely.
At least the Liu family would not allow it.
And I had no intention of using Liu Yunyan's body to rebel against Liu Wanqian.
After all, I had devoured her soul, so it was only right to help her mend her parents' relationship.
"Speaking of which... today I haven't had the chance to visit my silly boy in the backyard."
Saying something completely unrelated to what I was thinking about, I stood up, leaning on my crutch.
While pondering what I should do, I walked out the door and headed toward the backyard.
Limping my way into the backyard, I looked around and immediately saw the new wooden doghouse.
I did not know whether it was bought by Liu Wanqian or Gong Lianyu.
"Hey, silly boy~"
I limped down the steps, gently calling out.
The name of my husky was Sha Ha.
Normally, when I called it "silly boy," it would immediately wag its tail and pounce on me.
However... today, when it heard my voice, under the moonlight, I clearly saw it suddenly perk up its ears.
Then it raised its head.
The moment it saw me, its sky-blue pupils suddenly shrank.
Its fur instantly bristled... it was terrified of me.
"As expected... canine intuition can really sense danger."
"Sha Ha, it's me... don't be afraid."
Step by step, I walked forward.
Sha Ha, sensing danger, for the first time ever, let out a low growl of warning.
"Rrrr~~~"
That growl echoed in my ears, making my heart skip a beat.
All these years... the only one who had stayed by my side was this husky.
And now... it was afraid of me.
I could not describe what kind of feeling this was.
But the bitter taste spreading in my mouth told me... it was not a good emotion.
It had never been this afraid before.
Every time its pupils locked onto me, they shrank sharply.
Its body lowered itself, its tail tucked between its legs, showing just how frightened it really was.
Step by step, I approached.
When I was less than three meters away from Sha Ha, under the bright moonlight, through its sky-blue pupils, I saw my own reflection.
It was not the figure of a human.
It was a... three-meter-tall, slender, pitch-black figure, grinning eerily with a crimson mouth — a ghost.
"So... in your eyes, I look like this?"
It had not seen my human form.
I could not blame it... but what should I do with this stabbing pain and bitterness in my heart?
"Sha Ha, it's me... it's me, the one who used to cuddle you to sleep every day... look carefully..."
Maybe deep down, I had already expected this would happen.
That was probably why I had not immediately come to the backyard this afternoon.
But now, what should I do with these uncontrollable emotions surging within me?
My vision blurred.
Looking at Sha Ha, who was completely different from its usual happy self, tears uncontrollably poured from my eyes.
"It's me... it's me... look carefully..."
"Rrr rrr rrr!!!"
Sha Ha continued to growl warningly.
I threw away my crutch.
The pain in my leg was nothing compared to the pain in my heart.
So... it was true that people with the most indifferent emotions were actually the most fragile.
Facing Sha Ha's alertness and fear, I could not control the stabbing pain in my heart.
Tears kept flowing down uncontrollably.
I once thought... I would never cry again.
"Sha Ha, it's me... look carefully... it's me..."
Step by step, I walked to the wooden doghouse.
I wanted to reach out my hand.
But the moment I did, Sha Ha trembled violently in fear.
In its pupils, what was reflected was an eerie, smiling face.
A pitch-black face, with a huge crimson mouth grinning eerily, slowly reaching toward with a black claw.
"Woof woo!!!"
Suddenly, it seemed to feel it had been driven to a dead end.
Its pupils shrank sharply!
Without any hesitation, it opened its mouth wide and fiercely bit down on my hand!
"Ugh!"
Although this husky was often called "Silly", it was only because it was playful and overly energetic.
After all, it was still closely related to wolves.
When truly forced into a corner, its powerful bite could easily overpower an enemy.
Among domesticated dogs, it ranked fourteenth.
With a bite force of 320 pounds, it could easily puncture human flesh and even break bones.
This bite landed directly on my wrist.
I immediately felt its canine teeth pierce my elastic skin, penetrate into the muscle, and with a click, lock onto the bone.
The sharp pain made my scalp tingle!
But I did not fight back.
Instead, I gently stroked its forehead.
Pain had long been something I was used to.
My chronic migraines made me capable of enduring most pains.
Migraines, which ranked second only to trigeminal neuralgia, were far worse than a bone fracture.
I did not resist.
Nor did I hit it.
I just gently stroked its soft fur.
"It's okay, I won't hurt you, it's okay, it's okay..."
"Rrr!!"
Even though it was biting my hand, Sha Ha kept growling warningly.
However... maybe it was because of my voice, or perhaps it sensed something.
Gradually, the strength in its jaws began to ease.
Although my spirit body had stretched and turned pitch-black, my original appearance remained unchanged.
As I approached and crouched down, in its eyes, my figure gradually returned to normal.
Little by little, as I continued to stroke, it seemed to finally recognize my face.
This was not some miracle.
It was because I forcibly compressed my spirit form.
Then... in its pupils, a glimpse of my old appearance flashed by.
But the next second, my figure changed into a girl's form...
It seemed confused, a little unsure whether to be affectionate or apologetic.
It was as if it realized it had made a mistake by biting me.
It gently released its grip on my hand.
First, it stared into my eyes for a moment.
The fear gradually faded.
Then it began licking my wound.
Vaccinated dogs do not carry rabies.
And dogs that have not yet developed symptoms also do not transmit rabies.
Many people do not know this.
"I'm fine..."
The doghouse was quite large.
Since I was small and thin, I crawled inside.
I gently hugged this now much larger Sha Ha into my arms.
"It's okay, Sha Ha, it's me. Do you still recognize me? It's okay..."
"Rrr~~"
This time, it no longer growled in fear.
Instead, it let out a soft, spoiled whimper.
Maybe it recognized my true form beneath the ghostly appearance.
Or maybe it was because it hadn’t been accompanied by anyone these past few days.
No matter what, at least now it was no longer afraid of me.
"It's okay... it's okay..."
I kept soothing it.
Gradually, it returned to normal.
Licking my wound, then raising its head to carefully look at me again.
At that moment... in its eyes, I saw my own reflection.
Still pitch-black all over, but it was me.
"Woof woof~!"
The moment it recognized me, its spirit immediately lifted.
It pounced on me, completely unprepared, and with my small frame now, I was knocked to the ground.
Then its big tongue started sloppily licking my face all over.
"Alright, alright~ Hahaha~ You recognized me, huh?"
Joy and tears appeared together.
I was simply so happy.
This only family I had left had recognized me.
After playing affectionately with Sha Ha for a while, I finally crawled out of the doghouse.
Compressing my spirit body consumed a lot of stamina.
Once I left the doghouse, I released my spirit form.
As my body instantly expanded, Sha Ha seemed to feel a trace of fear again.
However, this time... it no longer bit me.
Looking at the wound on my wrist, it was slowly healing.
It would probably take at least three or four days to completely recover.
Sigh, how should I explain this to Aunt Zhao tomorrow!
I patted Sha Ha, who was still a little fearful but snuggling up to me.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck my mind!
"Maybe... it's time to sleep?"
I climbed onto the bed.
As I felt my slightly tired mind gradually stiffen, my consciousness slowly faded away.
I hugged Sha Ha tightly.
Maybe it was because women's body temperatures were lower than men's, or maybe because their skin was more sensitive.
Now, Sha Ha's body felt much warmer than before.
"I remember... it was because... women's skin... has a thicker layer of fat than men's, right..."
Muttering in a daze, I tightened my arms around the soft Sha Ha.
Hmm... those thinking weird thoughts, go stand in the corner!
My Sha Ha is female!