Falling, being thrown up, and then falling again, endlessly repeating this process in the extreme cold and emptiness, my thoughts became jumbled, the chaotic perception stabbing my mind like daggers, until consciousness nearly broke and a sensation of sudden relief from drowning finally struck, startling Yu Sheng awake from that icy, dark, endless fall.
He suddenly sat up in bed, then lost his balance completely, almost falling to the ground, but at the last moment, he managed to grab the edge of the bedside table, barely able to steady himself, feeling dizzy.
The sharp, continuous pain made him even suspect that his brain was really boiling.
But fortunately, this sensation did not last too long. When he really woke up, those unbearable feelings in his head receded like the dream, leaving only some unpleasant impressions.
Yu Sheng sat on the edge of the bed and took a few breaths, looking out the window to see the sunset was gradually nearing the rooftops of the distant city, as twilight slowly darkened.
"…A whole day has passed…" he muttered in surprise, steadying himself on the bedside table, first pouring himself a glass of water to gulp down, then patting his face, trying to regain some energy from that uneasy sleep, and leaving the bedroom to go downstairs.
"I really didn't expect this 'Rude Awakening' to be so distressing," as soon as he reached the dining room, Yu Sheng started complaining to the oil painting on the table, "I thought at most I'd feel dizzy or my heart would race for a bit, man, I almost vomited out last year's New Year's Eve dinner..."
As he finished complaining, Erin did not respond with her usual chirpiness but was unusually quiet, Yu Sheng felt something was different, turned his head to look at the oil painting, but saw Erin, as if malfunctioned, slumped in the chair covered with a red velvet blanket, holding a teddy bear and staring blankly upwards, her eyeballs moving occasionally, followed by dry heaving.
Yu Sheng: "...How could your 'Rude Awakening' make even yourself suffer so badly?"
Erin looked up at him, just about to speak but again a bout of nausea hit her—however, as a doll that had been sealed for who knows how many years, let alone New Year's Eve dinner, her stomach didn't even have gastric acid (in fact, Yu Sheng even doubted she had a stomach), so she could only lean over the chair and retch painfully, as if she might shake her head off any second.
It took a long time for the unfortunate doll to recover slightly, she looked up at Yu Sheng, gasping as if on her deathbed: "It wasn't me who 'woke us up,' it was you."
Yu Sheng: "...Huh?"
"You screamed so loud that you woke that fox up, I didn't even realize what happened!" Erin said with a face full of sorrow, "Why did you yell so loudly!"
Listening, Yu Sheng felt a bit dazed, but at least understood her meaning, awkwardly scratching his hair: "I didn't know, I just wanted to remind Hu Li a bit, I felt her state was very dangerous."
"Well, you were quite right," Erin said, and again retched, leaning over the side of the chair, heaving a couple of times before catching her breath, looking at Yu Sheng disgruntledly, "Well, the good news is you succeeded in waking her up before she fell deeper, although when she woke up, she 'popped' us both out, but she herself should be able to be lucid for a while now."
Yu Sheng walked over, opened a chair beside the dining table and sat down opposite Erin, his expression gradually becoming serious: "And the bad news?"
Erin did not speak for a moment, after a few seconds of silence she lightly nodded: "You probably guessed it—she won't last much longer."
Yu Sheng frowned, saying nothing.
Yes, he had indeed felt it, when trapped in the valley, he had sensed it, that deep-rooted hunger and madness in Hu Li's heart, like some sort of creeping blight constantly eroding her, although initially he didn't know what it was, but during the last confrontation with the flesh monster, he realized that "Hunger" was not as simple as it seemed on the surface.
And the scene he had just seen deep in the Dream Realm only made him more accurately understand Hu Li's situation.
"If you want to help that fox, you'd better take action soon," Erin said on the side, "The one bewitching her, trying to turn her into some kind of... 'nourishment', killing is not its aim, 'madness in Hunger' is what it desires—the fox's will is strong enough to resist till now, which is incredible, but the longer she holds on, the more 'nutrients' she can provide when the 'transformation' happens... it's going to be very troublesome, very very troublesome."
Yu Sheng listened intently, supplementing his understanding with Erin's description, but suddenly he realized something, raised his head to look at the painting frame opposite.
"Erin," he said seriously, "do you... know something? About the situation in that valley, and the things in the valley?"
Erin hesitated for a moment, first shaking her head, but then she gently nodded.
"Most things I don't remember, including what exactly the valley was all about, but I have some impression regarding that fox's situation, I think I've seen information on this before."
As she said this, she frowned and paused briefly, seemingly trying hard to gather useful content from her fragmented and intermittent memory.
"...Entity-Hunger, that seems to be its name," Erin recalled as she spoke, "It's an entity with clear malice and high danger level, originating in restricted areas, where the environment is toxic and hunger spreads. It is very aggressive, but what's even more dangerous is its 'influence.' Those who are focused by this entity fall into terrible hunger and their willpower is greatly tested. I can't remember specific incidents, but all I recall is... it's very dangerous, has harmed many people, and what's worse is..."
Erin stopped, looking up into Yu Sheng's eyes.
"Hunger turns people into beasts, devouring both dignity and life. Most probably can't withstand it, and those who fall, become part of Entity-Hunger, endlessly."
Listening to Erin's description, Yu Sheng's expression gradually tensed, a heavy sense of oppression weighing on his chest, and at that moment, he suddenly remembered another thing—
The impulse to feed that he felt during the clash with the flesh monster!
Could it be that he was also under the influence of "Hunger"?
Yu Sheng tensed immediately, hastily asking, "Wait, what are the main 'symptoms' after being affected by 'Hunger'?"
Erin looked at him with a strange expression, "...Of course, it's 'hunger'."
"I don't mean that, I mean..." Yu Sheng quickly waved his hand, organizing his language, "Like when I saw that monster, I really wanted to take a bite, even thought it smelled quite good, and even came back and cooked two dishes. Could this response also be due to the influence of 'Hunger'?"
Erin's expression visibly stiffened, her first thought going back to the "local specialty" Yu Sheng brought back, as well as those deliciously prepared four dishes and one soup.
"Yes, yes, you also ate..." she muttered, but then suddenly realized something, her tone changing, "That's not right! Of course it isn't! The influence of 'Entity-Hunger' pushes you to crazily bite others, not to bite it! It doesn't bait its trap with itself!"
Erin's outburst startled Yu Sheng, but he quickly understood the principle—hunger and appetite are connected, but in the "Exotic Realm" and "entity" run by strict rules, they are distinctly different definitions, especially when an entity has proactive malice, its influence definitely operates strictly by its rules.
To put it simply, if Yu Sheng was really being influenced by "Hunger" in that valley, he should have been biting Hu Li—not the monster that served as the source of the temptation.
Of course, his first time biting that monster was somewhat reluctantly, which is not to be mentioned.
Thinking this, Yu Sheng sighed in relief, confirming he hadn't been eroded by that strange entity, and recalling that he indeed felt a normal sensation of fullness after eating before bed, a reassured feeling washed over him, and he exhaled: "That's good, it seems I'm still quite normal."
Erin paused upon hearing this, quietly muttering, "No, I think it's already abnormal that you could feel an appetite seeing that thing..."
Yu Sheng casually waved his hand, swiftly changing the topic, "So, that very abstract-looking but tasty monster is 'Entity-Hunger,' right? Killing it could free Hu Li from its influence—I know entities can't be completely killed, I mean temporarily take it out."
"Actually... I'm not sure," Erin's response was hesitating, "'Hunger' is a rather special entity, what you saw was its 'manifestation,' but in my understanding, the real 'Hunger' actually pervades throughout the whole valley. Do you understand what I mean? What you encountered was just its 'tentacle' out searching for food and sensing the surroundings, its true body... just like its name, is the omnipresent hunger in the valley."
Yu Sheng listened, his expression gradually becoming a bit dull.
Yes, he understood.
"F*ck, Rule System?!"