"Damn it, it's testing No. 001's reaction speed!"
Cold sweat beaded on Mo Fan's forehead.
This beast was far too intelligent.
Sure enough, after a few probing circles, the Shadow Leopard's eerie green eyes suddenly looked past the towering skeleton and locked dead onto Mo Fan, who was hiding behind it.
It had seen through the ruse.
It realized that the human cowering behind—the one emanating that tantalizing scent of fresh meat—was the control center of this clumsy puppet. And that flesh looked... impossibly fragile.
"Roar!"
The Shadow Leopard let out a low growl, its form lunging violently toward No. 001's left flank.
"Left side! Block it!" Mo Fan shouted instinctively.
No. 001 faithfully raised its shield to intercept on the left.
However, in the very instant No. 001's center of gravity shifted, the airborne Shadow Leopard twisted its waist with impossible force, executing a feint that completely defied the laws of physics and inertia.
Like a bolt of black lightning, it instantly left an afterimage in its wake, threading directly through the exposed gap beneath No. 001's right armpit—the opening created by the raised shield!
Its target—Mo Fan's throat!
"It's over!"
In that moment, Mo Fan's pupils contracted violently to pinpoints.
The world seemed to shift into slow motion.
Under the frantic surge of adrenaline, he could even clearly see the glistening saliva dripping from the fangs in the Shadow Leopard's gaping maw, and the reflection of his own terror-stricken face in those eerie green eyes.
Too fast.
So fast that he had no time to command No. 001 to fall back and defend, not even enough time to draw the dagger at his waist.
The lumbering skeleton had just completed its blocking motion on the left, its massive inertia still carrying its body in that direction. To forcibly reverse course would take at least one second.
And in that one second, Death could swing its scythe ten times over.
The breath of death was like an icy hand, instantly seizing him by the throat. Even the air around him seemed to thicken, becoming suffocating.
In this split-second between life and death, Mo Fan's mind went blank.
Acting purely on instinct, he threw every ounce of strength into twisting his body backward, trying to dodge those lethal fangs while thrusting the crude [ Bone Chest Plate ] over his heart forward to meet the attack.
This was his last line of defense.
Crack!
There was no sound of claws tearing through flesh. Instead, there came a sharp, crisp explosion.
That leopard tail—thick and powerful as a steel whip—used the momentum of the charge to whip through the air, leaving a black afterimage as it struck Mo Fan squarely in the chest.
Snap!
The bone plate that Mo Fan had painstakingly compressed and shaped, the one he'd believed to be indestructible, shattered instantly under the blow, bursting into a cloud of pale white bone dust.
The massive impact force pierced through his chest, as if a sledgehammer had been driven straight into his sternum. His internal organs felt like they'd been displaced in that instant, the air crushed completely out of his lungs.
"Pff—"
Mo Fan felt as though he'd been hit head-on by a speeding truck.
His entire body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, the scenery in his vision rapidly retreating and spinning.
Thud!
A dull crash.
His back slammed heavily against the cold rock wall behind him. The hard, jagged edges of the stone dug cruelly into his spine, adding a second wave of searing pain. His body hung suspended against the wall for half a second, then slid slowly down the rough surface like a puddle of mud.
"Cough... hack hack..."
A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out, staining the gravel before him red—and dyeing the System Interface on his retina crimson as well.
Buzz—Buzz—
The System Panel on his retina was instantly flooded with glaring red light. Alarm sirens, sharp as tinnitus, stabbed relentlessly at Mo Fan's rapidly scattering consciousness:
[ Warning! Critical damage sustained! ]
[ Bone Armor destroyed (partial damage absorbed). ]
[ Health: 80 ➜ 35 (Severe injury / Fractured ribs / Pulmonary contusion) ]
35 HP.
The crimson numbers seemed to mock his fragility.
If he hadn't just leveled up to LV. 3 yesterday and raised his maximum HP to 80—if that chest-guard hadn't blocked part of the blow—that single tail whip would have split him clean in two!
Mo Fan struggled to get up, but found his chest burning with pain. Every breath felt like swallowing shards of broken glass; he couldn't draw in any air.
His lungs seemed to be damaged, wheezing and leaking with each breath. His mouth was filled with the rusty taste of blood.
The agony made his vision flicker black, but he didn't dare close his eyes.
Because the danger wasn't over.
"Roar—"
On a nearby rock, the Shadow Leopard landed gracefully. Its four paws touched down with barely a sound, like a shadow without weight.
It didn't rush to deliver the killing blow. Instead, it lowered its body slightly, a rumbling purr emanating from its throat. Those eerie green eyes were filled with mockery.
It was savoring the thrill of the hunt.
For a high-intelligence Spirit Beast like this, watching prey struggle in despair was perhaps more entertaining than simply biting through their neck.
"No. 001... come back..."
Mo Fan issued the command weakly in his mind.
Several meters away, No. 001 was experiencing its own desperate struggle.
The instant it sensed its master had been wounded, the loyal skeleton had entered a berserk state. The soul fire in its eye sockets burned violently. Its movements, which had been somewhat sluggish to maintain balance, now became wild and frantic.
Crack!
Disregarding the wear on its joints, it forcibly halted its leftward momentum. The force was so great that it crushed a chunk of rock beneath its feet.
It whipped around, that absurdly long ape arm swinging in a wide arc, trying to grab the attacker that had harmed its master.
But it was too slow.
In Mo Fan's eyes, No. 001's movements were full of raw power. But in the Shadow Leopard's eyes, it was like watching a slow-motion replay.
The instant No. 001 turned and lunged, the Shadow Leopard simply leaped lightly.
Like a gust of wind, it gracefully hopped onto a protruding rock, neatly avoiding No. 001's attack.
No. 001 struck at empty air. Its massive frame stumbled forward several steps from inertia, nearly toppling over.
Before it could regain its footing, the Shadow Leopard moved again.
It didn't attack No. 001. Instead, like toying with a clumsy bear, it used the chaotic rocky terrain to dart rapidly around No. 001's body.
Left side!
No. 001 raised its shield to block.
Empty.
Right side!
No. 001 swung its finger-knuckle weapon to smash.
Still empty.
The Shadow Leopard's figure flickered in and out of sight. It even had the leisure to rake a claw across No. 001's completely unprotected spinal column, striking sparks and leaving a deep white scar, before vanishing back into the shadows.
"Roar..."
No. 001 let out a silent howl of rage. Its soul fire trembled—from extreme fury and... helplessness.
It wanted to return to Mo Fan's side. It wanted to use its own body to shield its master.
It took a step forward with those powerful rabbit legs, trying to charge.
But the Shadow Leopard seemed to have seen through its intent long ago.
The instant No. 001 began to move, a black blur shot out and slammed viciously into the knee joint of No. 001's spliced-on left leg.
Crack!
Though the bone knee-guard provided some protection, the blow still threw No. 001 off balance. Its massive frame toppled sideways, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
By the time it scrambled on all fours to get up, the Shadow Leopard had already created distance again.
This time, it didn't bother with the clumsy skeleton anymore.
Instead, it stood elegantly on a nearby rock, looking down at the prey curled up on the ground. Its eerie green eyes were full of derision. It lightly swished the long tail that had just done such fine work, as if mocking the frailty of its quarry.
Mo Fan struggled to rise, but found his chest burning with pain. Every breath felt like swallowing broken glass; he couldn't draw in any air at all.
No. 001 was still several meters away, clumsily climbing to its feet, trying to come to the rescue.
But at its speed, reaching him would take two seconds.
A hairsbreadth of difference—yet it was the divide between life and death.
"So this is... the true oppressive force of a Spirit Beast from the valley floor?"
Mo Fan's fingers dug deep into the dirt, his mouth filled with the rusty taste of blood.
He had always thought that with the System, with No. 001, he could strut through this place unchallenged. He had treated this like a game, like a monster-grinding zone.
But now, reality had taught him the cruelest lesson.
Not far away, the Shadow Leopard lowered its body slightly, a rumbling purr rising from its throat, its hind leg muscles coiling tight.
The prelude to a charge.
Mo Fan stared into those death-like green eyes, and a deep despair welled up in his heart.
"Could it be... that today, I'm really going to die here?"