It was sudden.
A thing that made one think, Does this guy's art style not match ours? emerged from the ground, looking like the Earth God from Journey to the West. But he didn't look like a kind Earth God; he had a sharp, cold sneer. He was almost completely bald with just a few hairs, his yellow teeth were uneven, and he held a golden saber in one hand and a silver one in the other.
One couldn't tell if he was playing the Earth God or the River God.
This scene, which could be described as abnormal to the extreme, made Sakura immediately want to subdue the dwarf. But Lin blocked her with his arm. He looked calmly at the sneering dwarf and asked, "Are you letting us choose between the golden saber and the silver one?"
"Hehehe, yes." An unpleasant laugh came from his likely foul-smelling mouth. "This silver saber can be used to slay the 'Mountain God' dwelling in the range, while this golden saber can pierce the body of the 'Sea God'."
"Mountain God... Sea God?" What did those terms mean? Sakura looked at the dwarf in confusion. And who was this dwarf anyway? Why did Lin stop her to ask for information?
"Unfortunately, we didn't drop anything. But can you lend these two sabers to us?" Lin reached out to the dwarf, but the creature laughed and pulled back.
"That won't do... Since you didn't drop anything, how can you ask someone else for them?"
"These two sabers should be rewards for honest children, right?"
The dwarf curled his lip, staring coldly at Lin. "Honest children? Why should honesty always be rewarded? Do you think this is a fairy tale?"
Lin thought about his words for a moment and nodded. "You have a point. This isn't a fairy tale."
"However, if you complete the task I give you..."
"So let's just take them."
"What?"
Before the dwarf could react, Lin grabbed the hilts of both sabers with his hands and kicked the dwarf in the face, sending him flying. He then casually tossed the silver saber to Sakura. "Let's go. If we're lost, it's likely the Mountain God's doing. Let's go kill it."
"L-Lin? Is this okay?" Sakura looked hesitantly at the downed dwarf. She hadn't expected Lin to strike without a word. And his speed in accepting the situation was too fast. Had they shifted from a sci-fi world to a fantasy one?
"What is it?" Lin tested a swing of the golden saber and asked Sakura.
"Just... that..."
"It's fine. According to the standard flow, we'd do a task he gives us, then he'd have us collect something else, and based on his look, he'd likely use those items to turn into a boss. We'd beat him, and then these two sabers would drop." Lin shrugged. "I just did the last step early."
"..." Why does this sound so much like a game?
Bewildered, Sakura could only follow Lin forward.
...
Five years ago, its smile was charming.
Five years ago, its fangs were fully revealed.
Five years ago, its claws flashed.
Five years ago... it devoured people.
Five years later, her smile is distorted.
Five years later, her hunting rifle is precise.
Five years later, her skills are superb.
Five years later... she hunts the past.
...
Bang!
A bullet struck the tree next to Sakura head. Had she not seen the flash from the muzzle and dodged in time, that shot would have pierced her skull.
"A gun?"
Sakura and Lin immediately ducked behind cover in the direction of the shot. Someone was actually attacking them with a gun?
"Hehe..." A spine-chilling laugh came from somewhere, echoing through the forest.
"I'll handle it," Sakura nodded to Lin. With her speed, it was impossible for her to be hit by a bullet. After considering it, Lin nodded back.
She immediately left cover and dashed into the forest. The moment she appeared, bullets fired toward her, but Sakura dodged them easily, turning into a blur as she charged toward the shooter.
Snap—
A faint click reached her ears after she stepped on a certain spot. Immediately, a sense of binding wrapped around her right leg.
A trap?
Sakura instantly ducked. A bullet whistled through her hair. The shooter's aim was superb; every shot targeted a vital spot.
"Hehe..."
The laugh came again. Sakura pulled with both hands, snapping the tripwire. She jumped into the branches as three bullet holes appeared where she had just been.
"Good little wolfy, where are you? Come out and play with me~ Hahaha..."
This time Sakura heard clearly. It was a female voice, very raspy, filled with a sense of twisted excitement.
"Are you human? Stop! We are human too!" Sakura tried to communicate.
However...
"Human? Do humans have animal ears on their heads?"
"..." That single question silenced Sakura.
There was no other way; she had to subdue her by force. Sakura eyes sharpened. She sprang from the branch, turning into an arrow that soared into the sky, blocking out the sun.
The person noticed the change in shadow, raised the hunting rifle toward Sakura in mid-air, and pulled the trigger with a cold laugh.
Bang!
Sakura gripped the hilt of the silver saber. In an instant, she sliced through the bullet flying toward her.
"Wh—"
BOOM!
Sakura landed like a cannonball, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
...
Lin knelt before the unconscious figure and began his examination. The person wore a red hood that obscured most of her face. Judging by the rise and fall of her chest, it was a woman, though her outfit wasn't particularly feminine.
A hunter's robe, ill-fitted to her frame and deliberately tailored, was cinched tight. A crossbow sat on her right arm, and four hunting knives were strapped to her legs with bandages. There was even a short blade hidden in the sole of her shoe.
Two pistols were tucked into holsters at her waist, along with steel wire, poison, needles, thread... a bandolier of bullets was wrapped across her chest. Lying next to her after Sakura knocked her out was the old-fashioned hunting rifle she had just used.
This was... a hunter?
She was called a hunter, but her outfit wasn't really for hunting game. A hunter isn't a thug armed to the teeth; most hunters choose their target and use the corresponding method, not bring every weapon at once.
After finishing his look at her attire, Lin reached for her hood, wanting to see what was beneath...
Crunch.
Lin expressionlessly looked at his right hand, which had been bitten at the web between his thumb and forefinger. The woman had woken up at some point, and seeing Lin try to lift her hood, she had clamped her teeth onto his hand.
"...Let go."
The woman froze for a moment upon hearing him. Then she bit down even harder...