In the suffocating darkness of Qing Shan, where the twisted figures seemed to crawl from every shadow, the air was thick with the sense of impending doom. Zhao Xi and Sun Cheng had run until their legs felt as though they would buckle beneath them. But the relentless pursuit of the grotesque creatures, whose twisted limbs and unnatural speed defied reason, kept them from finding any peace.

As they made their way toward the county’s outskirts, the faintest glimmer of hope appeared: the horses at the stable. But that hope was short-lived, fading into terror as the first of the creatures leapt toward them. A single figure, with a twisted face and hunger gleaming in its eyes, crashed into Zhao Xi with the force of a freight train, sending him sprawling into a nearby field. His head hit the hard earth with a sickening thud, the world spinning around him in dizzying circles. His vision blurred and his mind began to flicker.

“Shit! We’re done for,” Zhao Xi muttered weakly, trying to push himself off the ground. His thoughts felt muddled, his body aching, and his breath coming in ragged gasps.

Sun Cheng, eyes wide with desperation, acted on instinct. With a vicious kick, he sent the creature flying off Zhao Xi. He pulled him up, urging him to keep moving, but the delay was fatal. The sounds of more creatures—no longer human—closing in on them grew louder, and the air around them became thick with the sound of snapping bones and garbled growls.

“We have to get out of here,” Sun Cheng grunted, sweat pouring down his face. But there was no time. They were surrounded, their guns useless against the growing horde. Bullets flew but found no purchase. The creatures, vast in number, simply ignored the pain and kept advancing with terrifying determination.

Zhao Xi felt the overwhelming pressure of the situation beginning to crush him. His eyes flickered to the gash in his arm, the warm, sticky blood oozing slowly down his sleeve. The world was starting to lose focus. His limbs felt heavier, and his consciousness slipped like sand through an hourglass. “We’re going to be food... we’re going to be their next meal…” His voice was hollow, the words barely forming.

“Get out of here, Secretary! I’ll hold them off!” Sun Cheng screamed. His voice cracked, but there was a raw determination in it. His hands were trembling, his chest heaving with exertion, but he wouldn’t let his friend die. Not like this.

“No,” Zhao Xi mumbled, shaking his head weakly. “We escape together… we stay together.”

But his words fell on deaf ears, as the monstrous figures began to close in even tighter. Sun Cheng threw away the empty pistol, his hands instinctively reaching for his knife. Just as one of the creatures lunged at Zhao Xi, he managed to push it away with a desperate, wild shove, but in doing so, his own shoulder was shredded by another creature’s claws.

Blood poured from the gash, but Sun Cheng gritted his teeth against the pain. “Go! Damn it, you have to go!” he shouted, his voice breaking as he fought desperately to protect Zhao Xi.

But Zhao Xi wasn’t ready to let go. Using the last bit of strength he had, he lunged at the creature sinking its teeth into Sun Cheng’s shoulder. With a low growl of rage, he shoved it away from his friend, throwing his body against it, forcing the monster to roll off.

In that moment, a terrifying sound split the air—like a thunderous crack—and a massive claw, glowing blue and pulsating with an eerie light, slammed down between the two men and the creatures that were closing in on them. The impact sent the nearest monsters flying, their bodies slamming into the ground with sickening force. The claw pulled back, revealing an imposing figure emerging from the shadows.

Zhao Xi’s eyes widened in disbelief as he saw a middle-aged man, his clothes tattered and worn, stepping forward. The man was enveloped in a strange, greenish-blue glow that emanated from his body like an ancient suit of armor. His right arm was encased in a massive claw, a grotesque yet strangely regal thing, and with each swing, the monsters that had surrounded them were knocked back as if they were mere insects.

Zhao Xi’s breath caught in his throat. Was this some kind of savior? Or something even darker? The man’s presence was overwhelming, his movements so fluid and deliberate that it almost seemed as if he were some kind of demonic warrior sent from another world.

The creatures shrieked in fury but were no match for the clawed warrior, who effortlessly tore through them with terrifying speed. The ground trembled with each blow as the beasts were scattered, their bodies crashing into walls and the ground like ragdolls.

And then, as the chaos began to subside and silence reigned, Zhao Xi felt his legs give out beneath him. The adrenaline that had kept him going began to drain away, and his mind spun with confusion. Faces—half-forgotten memories—flickered through his mind. The greenish glow, the claw, the man—something in Zhao Xi’s mind began to stir, like fragments of a puzzle trying to piece themselves together.

Before he could process the memories that seemed so close, but so far away, darkness overwhelmed him, and he collapsed into unconsciousness.

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In the eerie silence that followed, Sun Cheng stood motionless, his hand on his bleeding shoulder, his body trembling with the aftershocks of fear. He stared at the armored figure that had just saved them from certain death. This was no ordinary man, that much was certain. His mind raced, wondering if they had truly been saved or if they had just become entangled in something far more monstrous than they could ever have imagined.

As Zhao Xi drifted into the murky depths of unconsciousness, his mind, plagued with dizziness and fear, unraveled to a memory buried deep in his past. It was a time long before the horrors of the present, a time when he was just a child, following his grandfather around the bustling streets of Qing Shan County.

At that time, his grandfather owned one of the county's most famous eating houses. The establishment, known for its hearty meals, was a popular stop for the weary travelers who passed through the area. The old man, stubborn as ever, insisted on personally selecting all the ingredients for his dishes, including the freshest meats and the finest vegetables. So, every second day, Zhao Xi would join him, trotting behind as they made their way to the farmers' markets outside the town.

It was one such day, as the sun blazed high in the sky and the heat shimmered in the distance, that Zhao Xi’s fateful encounter with the unknown began.

As was his nature, Zhao Xi had grown restless, his childlike energy bubbling over into mischief. His grandfather, engrossed in haggling with the farmers, told him to go and stretch his legs, urging him to stay within earshot. Zhao Xi, laughing, bolted off into the surrounding fields, his feet kicking up dust as he ran toward the open expanse.

While the older man bartered with the workers over the price of pork and vegetables, Zhao Xi's eyes scanned the tall grass and wildflowers of the hills nearby. He spotted a rabbit darting through the underbrush and gave chase. Laughter bubbled from his chest, carefree and joyful, as he lost himself in the game. The world around him faded—he did not notice when he ventured deeper and deeper into the wilderness, away from the road, and further from the voices of the farmers.

It was then, in the vast silence of the mountains, that a sound sliced through the stillness—a shriek, high-pitched and desperate. It was a sound like no other. It echoed like a tortured, anguished cry, unmistakable in its distress. It sounded almost human—like a girl in agony, helpless and terrified. Zhao Xi’s heart leaped in his chest. He paused, breathless, his childish glee replaced with a growing sense of dread.

He instinctively followed the sound, his legs carrying him across rocky terrain, over thick vines, and through dense trees. His pulse quickened, his mind racing as the shriek grew louder and more frantic. He knew something was terribly wrong.

Through the trees, he spotted her—a girl, about his own age, trembling on the ground. She was trying to push herself upright, her eyes wide with fear as she gazed at something looming before her.

At first, Zhao Xi thought it was a man, perhaps a stranger, but as he stepped closer, the reality of the situation hit him. The creature before her was no human at all. It was like nothing he had ever seen—a nightmare born of the shadows. Its limbs were unnaturally long, twisted in ways that made the skin crawl, and its face, though vaguely human, was disfigured, its features warped by some unholy force. The thing moved slowly but with malevolent intent, closing in on the girl who was helplessly trying to rise.

Without thinking, Zhao Xi picked up a large stone from the ground and hurled it toward the creature with all the strength his small frame could muster. The stone struck the thing in the side, and its head snapped toward him.

"Run!" Zhao Xi screamed, his voice sharp with urgency, the words leaving his mouth before he could comprehend them. The girl’s eyes locked with his, her face pale with terror, but she nodded—almost mechanically—and scrambled to her feet.

The creature, distracted for a moment, growled, its twisted face contorted in fury. It lunged forward, its horrifying mouth opening wide, its jagged teeth gleaming in the sunlight like cruel, broken shards of glass.

Zhao Xi's heart raced as the creature's powerful body collided with him, slamming him into the ground with a force that knocked the air out of his lungs. He tried to fight, his fists striking out at the creature’s monstrous head, but its strength was overwhelming. Its mouth opened wide, a cavernous chasm that reeked of rot and death. The foul heat from its maw pressed against his face, and he felt a sickening sensation of decay and hunger radiating from it.

In that moment, his right arm instinctively reached up to block its maw, but the creature’s fangs sank into his flesh with terrifying ease. Pain exploded through his arm, and the smell of blood flooded his senses. He screamed, his body thrashing beneath the creature's crushing weight. Its fangs pierced deeper, closer to his throat. The world spun, darkening at the edges, as the creature’s grotesque face drew nearer.

It was then, in the very moment that Zhao Xi thought he would die, that the air around him seemed to pulse and crack. A presence, unnatural and yet comforting, descended upon him. The ground trembled as a figure appeared, its silhouette bathed in an eerie greenish-blue glow.

The man—if he could even be called that—was unlike anything Zhao Xi had ever seen. His body was covered in a transparent armor of some strange, shimmering substance, and his right arm was encased in a massive, claw-like appendage, gleaming with a terrifying brilliance. The creature, which had been moments away from finishing its grotesque meal, recoiled in fear as the armored man approached.

With a single motion, the man swiped his clawed hand through the air, and the creature was sent hurtling backwards with an unearthly screech. The man moved with fluid precision, striking down any threat that dared approach. The girl, whose wide, fearful eyes were locked on the armored figure, was taken into the man’s arms, and within moments, the two were gone—disappearing into the shadows of the mountains.

Zhao Xi lay on the cold earth, his body battered and his mind reeling, before his world turned dark. His last thoughts, before he succumbed to unconsciousness, were a blur of confusion and terror. Who was that man? What had just happened? And why had the girl been left behind?

As his vision dimmed, Zhao Xi’s heart thudded weakly in his chest, his body succumbing to the relentless pull of unconsciousness. But as his senses faded, something within him stirred—a sense of recognition, a memory long buried, one that would not stay forgotten for long.