A Desperate Plea Under Moonlight

Brilliant moonlight spilled across the concrete ground, casting a layer of silver dust, while the streetlights lining the road flickered faintly.

Within the intermittent orange glow emanating from outside the security room, a tall, slender figure grew from a distant speck to a distinct form.

It was Shi Lei, running at full tilt, who spotted the old security guard dozing inside the guardroom.

“Wake up! Uncle!”

He bellowed, leaping into the air to deliver a flying kick that sent the security room door bursting open.

Bang!

The metal door slammed against the wall, rebounding with a clang and dislodging a puff of plaster dust.

Startled awake from his slumber, the old security guard trembled, sliding off his chair.

“What are you doing?!”

He hadn’t yet processed what was happening.

Glaring at the student who had so rudely interrupted his peaceful nap, the old security guard picked up his glasses from a nearby table, his voice laced with extreme displeasure. “What class are you in?”

“Damn it, old man, someone jumped from a building at school and died! Call the police now, or this is going to be a huge mess!”

Shi Lei refrained from directly mentioning the monster in the school.

The old security guard would never believe such a tale, so claiming someone had jumped was far more effective.

This approach was bound to yield better results.

“Really?” The old security guard, whose hair was already streaked with white, shot up as if launched by a rocket.

A death was a truly serious matter!

He fumbled nervously for his phone in his pocket.

He didn’t even register why he, a mere security guard, was being asked to call the police in such an emergency.

Shi Lei, watching anxiously from the side, realized that calling the police didn’t require unlocking the phone anyway.

He simply rushed forward and snatched the phone away.

‘Mine now!’

“Why are you stealing my phone?!”

Seeing his phone taken, the old security guard frantically reached out to retrieve it, only for Shi Lei to swat his hand away.

“Stop messing around!” he roared.

With a life hanging in the balance, Shi Lei couldn’t afford to care if he offended the old security guard or earned his resentment.

Shi Lei pressed the power button, his eyes filled with a complex blend of anxiety, guilt, and bitter regret.

‘Brother Xiu, you have to hold on!’

If only he hadn’t been so terribly weak and cowardly, Brother Xiu wouldn’t have needed to stay behind to cover his escape.

With Brother Xiu’s speed, he could have easily evaded the monster on his own.

Gazing at the empty signal bars in the top right corner of the phone screen, Shi Lei felt as though he had plunged into an ice cellar.

“How is this possible?!”

Refusing to give up, he repeatedly tried to dial the emergency number, but no one answered on the other end.

The phone offered only a silent busy signal, mirroring the dead silence in his heart.

“Damn it!”

Clenching the phone in his hand, Shi Lei bolted outside.

“Hey, my phone!” The old security guard froze for a split second before rushing out in pursuit.

“Give me back my phone!”

‘If there’s no signal here, I’ll run until I find a place with one!’

Ignoring the old security guard, Shi Lei grabbed onto the electric gate, pulled himself up, and vaulted over it in one fluid motion.

As he landed, however, he stumbled over something unseen and fell face-first onto the ground with a painful thud.

He struggled to rise, but then a sudden darkness enveloped him as a colossal shadow abruptly loomed before him.

A foul, fishy stench wafted over with the night breeze, and a long, sharp claw gently tapped his head.

That sharp, icy touch penetrated his scalp, sending shivers throughout his entire body, causing his hair to stand on end and his limbs to tremble, instantly freezing his half-risen form.

He lifted his head, and upon seeing the monster before him, felt as though his throat had been seized, leaving him gasping for air.

A faint, choked whimper escaped his throat.

“Ergh… ergh… ergh.”

This was a primal memory, a vestige from ancient times when humans faced animals they could not possibly resist.

‘Move!’ Shi Lei roared internally, only to discover with bitter sorrow that it was utterly futile.

The emotion of cowardice had long been etched into his very DNA, passed down through the bloodline of his ancestors and manifesting in him.

His clothes suddenly tightened at his back, followed by an immense force that lifted him clean off the ground.

His arms flailed wildly in the air as tears streamed from his eyes.

At that moment, the immense pressure, coupled with the erosion of the Void’s power, utterly shattered his mental defenses.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I can’t do it!” he whimpered, sobbing uncontrollably.

Unfortunate childhood memories flashed frantically before his eyes.

Abuse, humiliation, bullying, his cowardice preventing him from fighting back, running away, transferring schools, sinking into virtual worlds…

He couldn’t do it; he simply couldn’t! No matter where he ran, he was still the same person he had always been.

From the very beginning, all he had ever thought about was escape.

Reporting the news was merely an excuse he had concocted for himself!

A coward would always remain a coward; he hadn’t changed a bit from before.

Just then, the small campus gate behind him creaked open, and the old security guard, still grumbling and wearing slippers, shuffled out.

“That mischievous student, just wait till I get my hands on…”

His gaze followed the open iron gate forward, only to land upon a three-meter-tall monster with a fox’s head, clad in a security uniform, holding the student who had snatched his phone.

“Mon… monster!”

The old security guard’s eyes rolled back, his legs gave out, and he collapsed decisively, falling straight to the ground.

The seductive fox eyes merely cast a dismissive glance at the old security guard, paying him no mind, instead turning their cunning gaze upon the sobbing Shi Lei.

“Curfew hours, no unauthorized departures from campus.”

A snake-like tongue flicked out from its elongated snout, thoroughly licking Shi Lei from head to toe.

“Violators, according to school rules, will be expelled!” it sneered.

Its mouth split open, stretching back to its ears, the fox monster’s maw gaping a full one hundred eighty degrees or more.

Layers of densely packed fangs, still bearing traces of blood, suggested that some unfortunate student might have already met their end in its belly.

It lifted Shi Lei with its sharp claws, bringing him towards its mouth, seemingly already savoring the anticipated taste.

The fox’s eyes narrowed into mere slits.

Meanwhile, Shi Lei, still dazed and distraught, continued to murmur, “Brother Xiu, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

The sharp claws were just about to release their grip when, suddenly, a dark shadow streaked swiftly from the distance.

A kick to the head!

The figure spun in mid-air, knees tucked to their chest, before landing firmly on the ground.

Bang!

The fox monster let out a pained howl, its massive body tumbling across the ground like a rolling tumbleweed.

It only stopped when it crashed into and knocked down the electric retractable gate.

The shadowy figure extended both hands, catching the falling Shi Lei in a firm embrace, and murmured apologetically, “My apologies, I arrived late.”

“From now on, you don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

Moonlight streamed down from the sky, illuminating the shadowy figure’s face.

It was a young man with delicate, refined features.

He wore a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, appearing to have arrived in haste, and carried no weapon.

Or perhaps, he simply had no need for one.

His name was Yun Ning.

A freshman at Tiandu University, majoring in Exploration, he was a prodigy rated A-class.

As for his current strength… he was at the Mercury rank.

Regarding the name of his ability, he offered, “My apologies, that’s highly classified.”

But returning to the main point.

Having run the entire way, he had finally arrived just in time.

Gently setting Shi Lei down, Yun Ning turned his gaze to the monster, which was now clutching its head and pushing itself up against the electric retractable gate.

“An intelligent Void creature, then…” he murmured softly.