Chapter 19: A Loss to the World

"Stay away from me!"

Xiang Ying, with her cute and innocent looks, collapsed in the sewage. Her scalp tingled with fear, her lovely face contorted into a grimace. Her hands flailed wildly, grabbing at the surrounding garbage and throwing it forward.

The Buddhist youth leaned against the wall, his prayer beads shattered and scattered on the ground. Half of his head had been bitten off, blood mixing with the filth.

The Taoist youth lay on the ground, his body ravaged by horrific bites, his voice weak. "Help me… someone… please…"

Thud! Thud!

Heavy footsteps echoed in the darkness. A canine figure emerged from the shadows. The evil, rabid dog exuded a faint black mist. Its teeth bared, its interlocking canines gruesome and terrifying, viscous liquid dripping to the ground.

A broken piece of a peachwood sword was lodged in the rabid dog's body.

The fight had been fierce, but the rabid dog was cunning. Using the darkness to its advantage, it moved like a phantom, avoiding direct confrontation and opting for sneak attacks.

Evil creatures possess intelligence.

Some species are no less intelligent than humans.

Especially canines.

The rabid dog advanced towards Xiang Ying step by step. The cute, lolita-like girl was filled with regret. Why had she chased after it? Watching her companions die one by one before her eyes, her mental state had completely collapsed.

Woof!

The rabid dog was an evil creature, but it was still a dog, and its bark was naturally a "woof."

Suddenly!

The Maoshan youth lunged from the darkness, tackling the rabid dog to the ground. He wrapped his arms around the dog's neck, looking up and screaming with all his might, "Xiang Ying, run! Run! I'll hold it off! Remember my name! My name is Xiao Mao! I… I…"

Xiang Ying screamed in terror, scrambling and rolling away. She couldn't hear the Maoshan youth's words. She just didn't want to die there.

Evil creatures are too terrifying! I want to go home and be a good girl! I don't want to join the special department! Protecting humanity is beyond me! I need someone to protect me!

The rabid dog struggled to throw the Maoshan youth off, but driven by his desire to protect his goddess, the young man erupted with a strength he had never possessed before.

Even if the kettle were boiling hot, he wouldn't let go.

The Maoshan youth bit his fingertip, drawing a talisman on the rabid dog's head while chanting an incantation.

"Heaven round, earth square, nine laws command, my brush descends, all evil suppressed…"

Bang!

The rabid dog slammed the youth's body against a nearby wall.

Thud!

The Maoshan youth's back was severely injured. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his arms losing their strength and releasing the evil creature. He lay still on the ground.

The rabid dog revealed a ferocious expression, tearing and biting at the Maoshan youth's body.

"Falling flowers have intentions to follow the flowing stream, but the flowing stream has no affection for the falling flowers."

"They were right. I'm just a simp after all."

The Maoshan youth's mind was calm. He slowly raised his hand, completing the final stroke of the talisman.

"Destroy!"

His arm fell limply to his side.

A golden talisman appeared out of thin air, landing on the rabid dog. A violent sound erupted. The dog's fur was blasted outwards, the searing pain causing it to roll on the ground.

In the distance…

Xiang Ying's tears mixed with snot. She only wanted to live. Seeing sunlight shining down from a well opening ahead, her heart leaped with hope. It was the exit! Leaving this place meant safety, meant everything would be over.

She quickly climbed the stairs, fearing she would be caught if she slowed down.

Her shoes were slippery.

Just as she was about to reach the outside world, she slipped with a cry, falling from the high stairs. Thump! A crisp sound.

"My foot! It hurts!"

The well opening was three meters high. The fall injured her ankle, the pain unbearable.

She had never suffered like this before.

At the academy, the senior students helped her, the junior students admired her, making her feel that the world was a beautiful place.

She had never imagined reality could be so dangerous.

"I want to live! I want to leave this hellhole!"

She grabbed the stairs again, trying to climb up. Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine. She felt danger lurking behind her. Slowly turning her head, before she could see what it was, she was dragged into the darkness with a scream.

"No…"

Xiang Ying reached towards the sunlight, but it was futile. Gradually… darkness enveloped her.

No!

The lolita!

This was a loss for everyone.

Grumble, grumble!

"Old Zhang, I'm so hungry."

Lin Fan clutched his rumbling stomach. Cultivating felt comfortable, but the hunger was agonizing. He wanted to eat.

Old Zhang, who was observing ants carrying food with his backside sticking up, rolled up his sleeve to check the time. "It's only ten-thirty. It's still half an hour until mealtime. Can you bear it a little longer?"

"So hungry… so hungry…"

He was truly starving. He had never experienced such hunger pangs before. He just wanted to eat something to fill his stomach.

Old Zhang scratched his head, unsure what to do.

Suddenly, he saw the diligently working ants and exclaimed, "I have an idea! You can eat ants! I saw it on TV. It's called 'ants climbing a tree,' I think. But don't worry, I'll try it first to see how it tastes."

Then, Old Zhang picked up an ant. It was tiny, so small it was easy to lose.

Ah~

He opened his mouth, released his hand, and the ant fell inside.

"How is it?" Lin Fan asked curiously.

Old Zhang remained silent for a moment, trying to savor the taste. Finally, he said in disappointment, "I can't feel anything. There's no taste at all. I can't even chew it."

Just then…

A caregiver called out, "Lunchtime! Everyone gather! Let's go to the dining hall. Someone please wake up the person sleeping over there. Tell him to get up. It's going to rain."

"Time to eat!" Lin Fan's eyes lit up, and he pulled Old Zhang towards the line.

Old Zhang shouted, "Wait! There's one last ant about to finish moving its food! I want to see it finish!"

But his wish was ultimately unfulfilled.

In the dining hall…

Lin Fan sat obediently, his hands folded, palms resting on his back, his posture straight, just like when he was in school listening to a lecture. The teacher would tell them to put their hands up like this, not to move, and wait quietly.

Each table had a caregiver supervising.

The caregivers were under a lot of pressure. They couldn't scold or hit the mentally ill patients; they needed to be tolerant.

This was Director Hao's rule.

Director Hao had studied many news reports about mental patients killing their caregivers and discovered a common thread: the caregivers who were killed held discriminatory attitudes towards the patients, often scolding and hitting them, which led to the patients' conditions worsening and ultimately causing them to commit extreme acts.

"Everyone sit nicely, okay? Whoever behaves well gets an extra chicken leg."

A female caregiver spoke gently, her voice filled with maternal warmth as she cared for everyone. She was a kind-hearted woman who didn't discriminate against the patients because of their mental illness. Instead, she used love to influence them, sometimes even listening to their ramblings.

To others, the mentally ill patients spoke nonsense.

But she could sense their pain from their words, a pain no one else could understand.

For example…

"I'm hungry," Lin Fan said.

Such a straightforward request, how could it not be addressed?