“…” Yueye fell silent for a moment… Her pale blue eyes trembled slightly, and her small, fair hands clenched tight. The veins on them quivered… An unwillingness to accept it surged up from deep inside her. She’d never imagined that this was how her teammates saw her.

“Sure, she’s weak, but she’d never put the team in danger on purpose. What’s that supposed to mean? You want to drag everyone down with you? Or make us all go along with whatever you want? What did Yueye ever do to you, Wang Qian? So far, she’s done a lot better than you.” Zhu Yue saw that Wang Qian was trying to use Yueye as a stepping stone to get herself off the hook, and didn’t give her the chance. She fired back.

“Yes, she’s done a lot better than me so far. But what about later? Do you know how much more likely we are to run into danger with this deadweight around? Do you know how much we’ll have to sacrifice to make up for the weak link she’s made in our team? You all keep going on about teamwork, but your idea of a team isn’t as great as you made it out to be, is it?” Seeing that Zhu Yue wasn’t going to give her an opening, Wang Qian’s gaze turned cold. A reckless, all-or-nothing urge quietly rose in her heart. She was willing to ruin her own reputation if it meant dragging someone else down with her. That way, she could prove she wasn’t the biggest burden on the team.

“That’s something we can deal with later…” Zhu Yue hadn’t finished speaking when Yueye cut her off…

“Stop!” Yueye’s pale blue eyes swept coldly over Wang Qian. She understood what the other girl was doing: trying to drive her standing in the team straight into the abyss. After that commotion, even the people who’d already been biased against her were probably starting to feel some resentment… As the saying went, people believe what they hear. Once someone called her deadweight, she’d never be able to shake the label. People who already disliked her would keep using it against her…

“Wang Qian, I’ll remember what you said.” Her voice was still a little childish, but it carried a cold, murderous edge… Yueye understood now: kind people get bullied. She’d been wrong from the very start, when Wang Qian had attacked her and she’d said nothing. The face she’d tried to save for Wang Qian had only given the other girl an excuse to push even further. Yueye had never wanted to argue with her, but after being slandered again and again, she could hardly stand it any longer.

“Su Lin, something’s going on up ahead, right…? I’ll go take a look. I’ll prove whether I’m deadweight or not.” Yueye’s attributes were far higher than everyone else’s. After seeing Su Lin and Liu Haimeng exchange a few words and noticing their expressions, how could she have missed the signs that someone had just passed through the bushes—and the bloodstains?

“There is something… There is, but are you sure?” Su Lin looked at Yueye’s cold expression, his voice wavering… He knew she was acting out of anger, and that by doing this, she was putting herself in danger. Even an idiot could tell something awful had happened in the clearing beyond those bushes… But he couldn’t refuse her. The instant he met her gaze, he gave up trying to talk her out of it.

“Are you crazy…?” Zhu Yue stared in shock at the blue-haired little girl beside her… Yueye’s lovely, youthful face was filled with resolve…

“I don’t want to admit I’m useless… At least I’m better than someone.” The blue-haired girl glanced at Su Lin, then asked him to give the order.

“…All right…” Su Lin gave a helpless smile… Different people might have read that smile in all sorts of ways, but the whole group fell silent. No one said a word.

“You’re crazy! If she runs into danger now, she won’t have any chance of getting away!” Zhu Yue stared at Su Lin in disbelief. She hadn’t expected him to agree to such an absurd request…

“Who does…? Besides, someone has to go.” Su Lin ignored Zhu Yue and turned to look at Yueye.

“Be careful… If anything seems off, retreat immediately,” Su Lin warned her.

“Mm…”

Yueye smiled at Su Lin… then walked forward…

Carefully following the path someone had walked before her, Yueye took one step at a time. Before she knew it, she could no longer see the place where she’d started… She looked around. Trees all over had been pierced by bullets, and enormous claw marks scarred the ground. Every so often, a few streaks of blood gave off a foul, metallic smell…

Yueye wrinkled her cute little nose, then continued along the trail of blood…

“…” Before long, Yueye covered her mouth and stared at a nearby tree, her face full of disbelief…

A body had been impaled on a tree branch. The dead person’s whole body had been crushed inward, as if all the blood had been drained from it… The expression on their face showed the immense pain and terror they’d suffered in their final moments. It was all like something out of hell… Yueye fought down the bile churning in her stomach, reached behind her, and drew her distinctive emerald-green rapier…

Beyond the body was an “open clearing.” Countless trees lay scattered across the ground, as if some enormous creature had smashed into them. It looked as though a brutal battle had just taken place…

The trees had been snapped clean in half, which suggested that the monster responsible had already left—and that it had been chasing something…

At that point, Yueye could no longer hold back her fear. She began retreating, one step at a time. Her legs felt weak, as if she’d just brushed past death, and a deep chill crept up her back. The whole way back, images of the body filled her mind… Her thoughts seemed stuck at the very moment she’d seen it. That unforgettable scene wouldn’t leave her head.

“So, what happened out there…?” Su Lin anxiously watched Yueye hurry back, gasping for breath…

“…”

Yueye’s little face was deathly pale… She looked like she couldn’t get a word out. Her small body trembled faintly…

“Come on, say something…” Su Lin urged her.

“A body… A body drained dry…”

Yueye swallowed, forcing down the bile that churned violently in her stomach as the scene came back to her…

“…” The news fell over the group, and the silence instantly cast a shadow over everything.

“…Feeling any better?” Zhu Yue ignored the others’ reactions and patted Yueye’s small back… She asked gently.

“Mm… Much better…” Yueye’s complexion had clearly improved. Her mind, too, was slowly emerging from its fear.

“What happened up ahead?” Once Yueye had recovered a little, Su Lin asked anxiously… He was eager to know what she’d found.

“It looks like a team fought some unknown creature in the forest… and they were probably wiped out.” Yueye reported what she’d found so everyone could discuss it.

“I recommend we change our route and move out immediately. This place isn’t safe.” Yueye’s pretty face was utterly serious, which made her look rather cute.

“Are you sure we should change routes?” Su Lin found it hard to accept the news… Changing routes meant taking on even more unknown risks.

“What, are we supposed to just sit here and wait to die…!?” Yueye shot back…

“Right…” It was as if an electric current had jolted Su Lin awake. He felt like he’d finally understood something… He’d been too fixated on the direction they’d chosen at the start. More than anything, he’d feared getting lost in the woods and taking a safe but wrong path, so he’d ordered everyone to keep heading in one direction… But now he realized that in this enormous forest, whichever way they went, they’d face the same risks.

“…Of course not. We’ll head in the opposite direction from this dangerous route… and avoid the risks we already know about.” Su Lin smiled… Now that he’d figured a few things out, his handsome, spirited face wore a confident smile…

“There was no point being afraid in the first place…” Yueye had only just realized it. What good was fear? What good was running away? What good was being lost and confused? In this forest, every step came with its own risks. Were they really going to stand still and wait to die just because they were scared?

“That’s right. Fear is our first enemy. Everyone needs to understand: every step forward comes with risks, but staying right where we are means waiting to die. So… let’s vote one more time! Anyone who wants to keep moving, raise your hand!” Su Lin’s natural leadership shone through in that moment…

“Let’s move forward…” One of the team members raised a hand… After hours of fear, those words had finally woken him up. He realized he couldn’t keep being afraid of what lay ahead.

“…I agree, too.” Du Shengjie smiled… and raised his hand.

“Agreed…”

“Agreed.”

…

…

“Thanks, everyone… Then… let’s move out!” Seeing that everyone had voted in favor, Su Lin gave the order.

“Let’s move out!” the others echoed.

Maybe without even realizing it… they’d all come to trust one another a little more…

Yueye saw it all. For a moment, her heart felt as sweet as honey. She felt a little warmth between people…

【…You were never meant to be one of them… You belong to us…】

Out of nowhere, a hoarse voice suddenly sounded beside Yueye’s ear… instantly breaking her sweet moment…

“Who…?” Yueye’s sky-blue eyes narrowed… She growled and looked around, but there was nothing there.

“What’s wrong…?” Zhu Yue noticed Yueye’s change in expression and asked curiously.

“Did you hear a strange voice just now…?” Yueye tilted her head and asked Zhu Yue.

“No? What did you hear?” Zhu Yue glanced at Yueye. At some point, this girl who seemed like she’d be the one needing protection had started making Zhu Yue feel protective of her.

“Nothing. I must’ve heard wrong.” Yueye shook her little head. She looked absolutely adorable.