Chapter 2: Running from My New Harem

Li Wei had never sprinted so fast in his life. His heart was pounding in his chest, his breath ragged, but the sound of heavy, thundering footsteps behind him kept his adrenaline high.

"I'm not some piece of meat!" he muttered under his breath, his feet pounding the forest floor. "I'm a man with dignity!"

Yeah, well, dignity didn't mean much when your only chance of survival in a world full of beastly women was running like a coward.

Behind him, the growls of three very angry women were getting closer. At least one of them was probably faster than him. Li Wei glanced over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of Charlotte, the wolf-woman. Her eyes glowed fiercely in the moonlight, and she was gaining on him.

He cursed under his breath. There was no way he could outrun her. She was a wolf, for crying out loud. Wolves were fast. He was just a guy, an average, webnovel-reading, ramen-eating, procrastinating guy.

And now he was literally being chased by a pack of predators.

Okay, maybe he had overestimated his abilities to talk his way out of this.

But, in his defense, what kind of world was this where humans were treated like trophies? Was he seriously supposed to just sit there and let them drag him away?

"Nope. Not today, ladies!" Li Wei shouted, his voice panicked but filled with defiance.

Then he made a sharp turn, dodging a thick tree trunk just in time for Charlotte to crash into it. He couldn't help but feel a rush of triumph, but it was short-lived. A second later, he collided with something soft and smelly, no, wait, it was Victoria.

"Gotcha!" she hissed, her long, snake-like body coiling around him.

Li Wei froze, his body trapped between the coils of the serpent-woman. Her scaly skin was unnervingly smooth, and she smelled like wet earth and spices. If it weren't for the fact that she was a literal predator, it might've been a pleasant experience.

"You really thought you could get away from me?" Victoria purred, her cold hands sliding over his shoulders.

Li Wei struggled, but no matter how much he squirmed, the coils tightened around him like a vice. "Let me go, you overgrown lizard! I'm not your dinner!"

"Dinner?" Victoria laughed. "Oh, sweetie. You're much more than that. You're everything." She gave him a wink, and her grip loosened, just enough for Li Wei to gather his wits.

In an act of pure desperation, he shoved his elbow into her stomach. It worked?

Victoria gasped, loosening her grip just enough for Li Wei to slip out of her grasp. Without wasting another second, he bolted again, heart racing like he was being chased by a pack of, oh wait, he was.

His feet thundered against the ground as he pushed himself harder, faster.

Think! Think!

What had he seen in all those webnovels? The heroes always had some trick up their sleeves. Something smart to turn the tide.

"Think, Wei! Think!" he muttered.

Suddenly, the ground beneath him gave way, and Li Wei stumbled into a ravine. His stomach dropped as he slid down the sharp rocks, but his reflexes kicked in. He managed to grab onto a tree root before tumbling to his doom.

"Whoa!" He gripped the root tighter, feeling the sharpness of the earth beneath him. Okay. That was close.

Above him, the sounds of the beast-women's growls grew louder. They had found the ravine.

"Hey, we can still smell you!" Charlotte called down. "You can't run forever, little human!"

Li Wei groaned, hanging onto the root for dear life. "Can't you just let me go? I'll give you anything! Money! A lifetime of noodles! My webnovel account!" he yelled, his voice filled with panic and frustration.

"Oh, but you are money now," Victoria coiled down to the edge of the ravine, her glowing eyes like twin lanterns. "Look at you, struggling so hard. That's what makes you so delicious. So valuable."

At the top of the ravine, Charlotte's wolf-like face appeared. "You've really got us running in circles. Let me handle this."

"Yeah, go ahead, tough girl," Victoria sneered, "But remember, we all get a turn."

Li Wei's mind was racing. There had to be something he could do. He was just an average guy. A regular human. But in this world, he was the hottest thing on the menu.

Wait. A plan was forming.

Li Wei grinned. "You want me, right?"

The two beast-women stared at him in confusion. "What's your point?" Charlotte asked, her sharp fangs glinting in the light.

"Here's the deal," Li Wei said, getting his courage back. He wasn't about to go down without a fight. "I'll give you what you want."

The two women leaned in, intrigued.

"But first, I need a favor," Li Wei said with a smirk.

The two beast-women exchanged skeptical glances. "What favor?" Victoria hissed.

"I need a map," Li Wei said confidently, holding onto the root like it was his lifeline. "I need to know where the nearest human-free zone is, preferably far away from you guys. And no, don't try to lie to me. I'm sure you've got one stashed around here somewhere."

There was a long silence.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes. "You think we're stupid?"

Li Wei shrugged. "I'm just a guy who doesn't want to get eaten, that's all. Is that too much to ask?"

The two women exchanged a look.

"Well," Victoria said with a grin, "we could just take you with us and make you our pet... But I suppose we could work something out."

Li Wei's heart skipped a beat. "Wait! pet?!"

Charlotte chuckled. "Oh, don't worry. You'll get used to it."

"That's your idea of a compromise?!" Li Wei sputtered, his mind racing.

"Oh, don't worry, little man. You'll love it," Victoria said, her voice dripping with amusement.

The two women started to slither and climb down into the ravine, and Li Wei, seeing no other way out, scrambled to his feet, ready to make a run for it again. But the thought of being someone's pet made him almost lose his mind.

"Okay, okay!" he yelled, his voice desperate. "Forget the map. I'll stay… But there's one condition!"

Charlotte paused mid-step, her head tilting in amusement. "And what condition is that, human?"

Li Wei's mind raced. "You have to call me Master."

The silence that followed was… epic.

Charlotte's ears flattened against her head. "What?"

Li Wei stood taller, trying to muster the bravado of an actual master. "If I'm going to be your prize, your pet, you have to respect me. Call me Master. It's non-negotiable."

The two beast-women stared at him in disbelief.

"Well, we can work with that," Victoria said, a devilish smirk crossing her face.

Li Wei sighed in relief. It was a start. He was not going down like this. Not without at least some dignity.

"Great," he said, trying to act confident. "Now, let's go find a nice place to negotiate my freedom."

As they pulled him out of the ravine, Li Wei couldn't help but feel like he'd just signed his own sentence.

But one thing was certain, he was going to make sure they knew he was in charge now. Well, sort of.