2 Ch. 2: Bunny

The system fell silent out of shock and could do little other than watch the girl move forward undeterred. It had been informed that the punishment system it was overseeing was one of the most difficult to overcome, with a record number of zero system users ever making it out alive. But hearing the rumors and witnessing it were two different things.

For a system used to watching cannon fodders get with the male lead and exposing white lotus female leads, this was a different playing field altogether. Even though its breath wasn't audible, it still held it as it watched the girl creep slowly through the snow. She paused for a moment, her breath heaving her chest up and down, an erotic sight if there were any men. But System, like most of its kind, was neither a man nor woman and did not experience those kinds of feelings.

Then with uncanny speed, the girl whirled around the tree to discover a rather harmless sight. A bunny caught in a trap.

System let out a loud sigh of relief as it felt its blood pressure fall back to safer levels.

"Whew! For a second, I thought it would be something much worse," it said. Looking at the tiny girl now fascinated by the bunny, System could not help but shake his head. Aside from being a little peculiar and quiet, he found the girl to be just as harmless as the bunny. No matter what crime this girl did, she did not deserve to be put in this punishment system to suffer.

However, the girl did not consider her experience thus far to be suffering. She peered down at the tiny shivering bunny, its eyes wide from the pain. No sound came from its mouth, but it moved its mouth unnaturally as it writhed in the snow, the snow blending in with its pure white coat. Beyond the slowly dying bunny, the girl was more curious about the trap.

It was a rudimentary thing, constructed out of sharpened bamboo sticks tied together with dried reeds. The tips of the sticks dug like sharp fangs into the small bunny's torso, immobilizing it completely as red-stained the white canvas beneath it. It hadn't been caught long ago, perhaps only a few minutes prior. The girl poked at the red stain, the water within the snow diluting some areas to a pinky color. She wouldn't have thought that such a small creature would bleed so much. The girl's stomach rumbled once more.

"Anyways Master, I think that it's about time you choose a name for yourself. Of course, I would not be allowed to call you by it, but if you ever meet with anyone, a name would be necessary," System goodnaturedly told her.

The girl didn't respond, still enraptured by the sight of the bunny.

"Master? Master! Excuse me, I am speaking to you!" System yelled, trying to get her attention. It watched as she fiddled around in the blood before finally taking pity on the poor, snivelling bunny. Her nimble hands pried at the trap with the right amount of pressure and the bamboo fangs slowly relinquished their grasp on the bunny.

System clapped its invisible hands.

"Master is so kind!" it chirped as the girl held the bunny aloft, inspecting it carefully for injury.

"How about this," System continued pridefully, "I don't mean to brag, but I have quite the talent for naming people. If you would like Master I can recommend names and you can just nod yes or shake your head for no."

Its' master was still enraptured by her new pet so it took her silence for yes and proceeded with its' suggestion.

"How about Luo Ninghua? Or Bai Xiaomei?" System suggested as its' master began caressing the bunny. Her hands were stained with blood from playing with the bloody snow, so soon the bunny's fur also began to turn pink. But the movement must have been calming as the bunny's inconsistent writhing began to settle down. System took this as the girl calming down the frightened animal and smiled to itself at the sweet scene.

Once it managed to ignore the mess that had been made, the interaction was all rather touching to watch. System watched its' master bring the bunny closer and closer to her face to bestow a kiss upon it. However, the touching scene quickly took a turn for the worse as System watched in horror the way the girl's jaw unhinged as the bunny came closer.

The fatty, wounded belly that its' master had caressed lovingly went first her teeth vigorously digging into the beast. The girl's pale face was quickly coated in red as she shook her head side to side while burrowing deeper into the belly meat. The small beast struggled, weak keening noises coming from its buck-toothed mouth, but it was in vain. The same hands that had first coaxed it into a calm state had become its inescapable prison.

System could not close its mouth as the girl took a small break to thoroughly chew the flesh in her mouth, its' eyes following as she loudly swallowed it down and went back in.

"Master! Oh, Master! Oh my goodness!" System finally screamed, interrupting the girl's meal. Her eyes flickered up in annoyance and System shut up, thoroughly chilled to the bone. It wanted to run to HQ and demand a transfer. Watching the girl unabashedly tear away tufts of snowy white fur to reach the plump meat beneath made it want to throw up, and System did not even have a body with which to vomit.

"What?" the girl asked, her eyes still carrying the same innocent glow that had initially fooled System. Now the contrast of the angelic eyes and blood-covered body sent unfettered terror through System.

"R-R-Rabbits are not for eating, Master!" it yelled. "At least, raw rabbits!"

System watched as the last bit of life convulsed out of the bunny and its black eyes turned vacant.

"I'm hungry," the girl said simply.

As if she had done it a hundred times before, the girl tugged furry skin off and bit deeply, her hands efficiently breaking bones and tugging them out of her meal. System could only wait patiently until the girl wiped off her mouth with her bare arm, just smearing more blood around. Nothing was left of the bunny save for blood, bones and tufts of fur. She had even gotten the adorable little ears, which were currently digesting in her now full stomach.

The girl patted her stomach with a content expression, now feeling much more energetic than she had prior. In this better mood, she felt a tad bit more indulgent of the annoying voice that followed her everywhere.

"Tell me a few names," she demanded in her sweet manner. System obliged automatically, its' voice quivering.

With System's shakey voice as accompaniment, the girl began to move throughout the woods and thought deeply about her situation. She wasn't keen on doing the mission that System had instructed her. Although she couldn't remember anything, her heart had tightened at its' words, resistant to the orders of others. So whoever she had been before, the girl was certain she must have had her own way of handling these missions with or without outside interference. And this habit of hers must have displeased those who created this strange task.

In the distance, far above her head, the girl could discern a mountain, a useful landmarker. She followed it west, going around the curve in search of others. The sun slipped from the sky, turning tepid gray to black, before a twinkling yellow ball rose beyond the clouds once more. As the girl trekked through the forest with her thoroughly cowed System, the woods seemed to awaken as well.

Unusual phenomenons occurred in the few days the girl ventured through the woods. A hibernating bear fled from its cave in the mountain into a rural village, frightening the villagers and killing one man. The minnows in a stream went downstream early, leaving fishers high and dry. An awareness that existed in the bones of every living thing in the woods was telling them to leave, to escape from calamity and they did. For the difference between animals and humans is that animals, no matter the circumstances, always listen to their instincts.

On the fifth day since the girl had woken up without a single memory in the snow, she finally responded to System. The poor thing had almost completely exhausted its inventory of names, having tossed in a few fake ones when it thought the girl wasn't paying attention.

"Feng," the girl said, her honey-sweet voice making System tremble anew. "Meifeng."

"Master, you like this suggestion?" System asked, nearly shedding tears of joy to finally be free of thinking up names day and night.

The girl did not respond, but System was accustomed to her silence and now almost preferred it.

"Yes, Meifeng. I thought it had a certain ring to it. Which family name would you have accompany it?" System asked.

The girl pondered, her footsteps slowing as she considered.

"None."

"None? This won't do, Master. In this world, family names are a must." System said with a trembling voice, afraid of crossing its' master.

"None," the girl said once more, lazily swinging her head in System's general direction with a frown. The word family, it too had sent a faint tremor through her chest.

System did not say anything else after that.

A sharp winter breeze dance over her bare skin, reminiscent of her chosen name. Meifeng wished to be just like the wind, sailing in and out as it chose, leaving nothing in its wake but a faint fragrance. A force of nature to be reckoned with or a lazy current that's as comfortable as a blanket. And most importantly, an element that could not be manipulated or trapped, instead shaping canyons and peaks in the image it desired.

She smiled to herself, a terrifying toothy smile that felt slightly artificial, and although System did not witness it, a sudden shiver went down its back. This mission of hers, she would do it. Like a bloody wind leaving wreckage in its wake, she, Meifeng, would blow through this Xia Empire. And whether that would be to or against this kingdom's benefit, one would have to wait to see.

Somewhere far behind her, a hunter scratched his head at his empty trap.