"Huff... huff... huff..."
Lu Ren's rapid breathing echoed in the dense jungle as he ran frantically.
The forest was dimly lit, with towering straight trees blocking most of the sunlight. Only dappled and sparse rays penetrated through the branches and leaves, giving the forest an extraordinarily mysterious and eerie aura.
A wavering mist pervaded the forest, yet it was unexpectedly silent, leaving only the heavy breathing and footsteps of Lu Ren.
Small cuts inflicted by the bushes appeared continuously on Lu Ren's body as he ran, but the surge of adrenaline in his system kept him from feeling any pain.
He was exhausted, his body worn out, but his strong survival instinct prevented him from stopping.
The hideous thing behind him made his scalp tingle, and he couldn't find a word to describe it, even after living for more than twenty years.
Even now, Lu Ren was filled with lingering fear, combined with shock and urgency, as he turned his head to glance back, the noise behind him grew louder.
At that moment, he saw a fleshy ball formed by the overlapping and squeezing of flesh, as if the bodies had melted together. Three heads merged into one cluster, with eyes flowing slowly within the dissipating flesh. The limbs served as support points, and it was oozing viscous liquid that smelled nauseating as it rolled rapidly towards Lu Ren, getting ever closer.
Don't panic, don't panic!
Lu Ren forced himself to calm down while gasping, attributing it to his usual taste for the bizarre, enjoying unusual illustrations, and after the initial shock passed, he finally regained his composure.
Facing the enormous trunk of a tree ahead, Lu Ren's right foot stomped, leaving a mark on the ground before crashing into the trunk, using the rebound force to roll sideways and then continuing to run forward without pause.
The unexpected collision left the fleshy ball crashing into the tree trunk, causing the towering tree to tremble violently, with leaves rustling harshly.
When the fleshy ball recovered, it saw only Lu Ren's disappearing back in the jungle, and the three cracked mouths opened, emitting a sharp heavy sound.
"Lu Ren, aren't we good friends? Why did you abandon us, come back, let's be together!!"
The tearing sound near his ears made Lu Ren press his lips tightly, unwilling to lose his momentum, maintaining his running rhythm, as his wide-open eyes fixed on the path ahead, fearful of tripping on something.
This fleshy ball was Wang Gang, Zhang Qingya, and Luo Zixuan.
Yes, that's right, the original names of this stitched monster made of three bodies, yet after inadvertently stumbling into this strange area and reaching an altar-like place, Lu Ren had warned several times not to probe out of curiosity, as such characters in novels or movies usually die quickly.
But the trio wouldn't listen, and when they stepped onto the altar, some conditions seemed to trigger, strange red runes suddenly lit up beneath the altar, and the three bodies were brutally merged into a flesh ball, with arms and legs exposed as supporting points.
That scene, Lu Ren claimed, was undoubtedly the most shocking and terrifying moment he had witnessed in over twenty years.
Seeing that Lu Ren still hadn't stopped running, the fleshy ball called out loudly with its three sloppy mouths, rolling madly after him.
No way, I can't outrun this monster!
I must come up with a solution to deal with it!
Finally calming down, Lu Ren kept pondering, his running speed was much slower than the fleshy ball, and running aimlessly like a headless fly would ultimately result in being eaten.
What to do! With his scalp tingling from anxiety, he was at a loss.
Suddenly, he felt a string of code seemingly pop up in his mind. Before he had time to sense it, the fleshy ball was already rolling frantically towards him.
Lu Ren dared not think further, sprinting madly ahead, suddenly finding the dense jungle unexpectedly opening up.
It was the altar they had arrived at!
The altar?!
That's right, firewood!!
In this critical moment, a voice suddenly emerged in his mind.
"Stress response successfully activated system, binding... binding successful."
"Ding, you were tenderly gazed by Lana Ye, who warmly invites you to be His good friend."
"You just gained +1 Constitution skill level through continuous running."
"Ding, you just changed direction while running, your Agility proficiency +1."
"You were just frightened, passively improving your Spiritual proficiency +1."
"You just ran with effort, passively improving your Constitution skill level +1."
"You just received..."
What is this?
System?! Panel flow, where did it come from?!
Lu Ren had no time to think deeply as the so-called Lana Ye was already charging towards him rapidly; if he didn't act promptly, it'd be too late.
Glancing at the four erect candle fires surrounding the altar, the crimson flames were incomparably hazy, resembling blood plasma continuously swirling.
Lu Ren immediately picked up the wooden stick he had previously dropped, then swept it fiercely toward one of the candle fires in front of him.
He dared not step inside the altar; Wang Gang, Zhang Qingya, and Luo Zixuan were classic examples of courting disaster. Despite slobbering dry beside them, he couldn't stop them from being enchanted.
Bang!
With a crisp sound, the long candle shaft, seemingly weathered to the extreme, cracked and collapsed onto the ground.
Lu Ren didn't pause for a second, his stick aimed at the broken candle fire lying on the ground.
Bang!
With a soft sound, the candle fire spun continuously in the air, dragging a trail of flame like a fire wheel, then fiercely collided with Lana Ye rushing towards Lu Ren.
As soon as the fire touched the viscous fluid constantly exuding from Lana Ye, it was instantly engulfed by the flame, followed by a massive flare shooting skyward, the intense heat making Lu Ren feel painful all over.
"Ding, you used the altar fire to burn Lana Ye, causing Him extreme agony. His heart now fully remembers you, and you've earned Lana Ye's profound love."
Love my damn egg!
Without time to retort at the sudden voice in his mind, Lu Ren, nearly dehydrated by the heat, hurriedly retreated.
Retreating until only a faint warmth hit his face, Lu Ren finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, the burning Lana Ye wailed in torment, rolling madly, with a scent of roasted meat and burnt flesh wafting towards him.
Despite the imminent danger being gone, the smell gave Lu Ren no appetite, almost making him nauseous.
"Ding, through burning Lana Ye, you felt mentally satisfied, your Spiritual proficiency +1."
"Ding, because of your mad running just now, your Agility proficiency +1."
"Ding, you just..."
A series of notifications sounded in Lu Ren's mind. Upon confirming that Lana Ye was indeed temporarily unable to threaten him, he finally shifted his attention to the notifications in his mind.