**Chapter 4: She Is Hungry**
An uncontrollable heat surged wildly within Luxianbei, his heartbeat erratic, limbs and internal organs sending waves of melting pain that weakened his legs, causing him to collapse onto the ground, curling up in a ball.
“Uh… uh…”
Luxianbei groaned intermittently.
So, the mysterious girl meant that “there were a few days every month” refers to being unable to suppress the transformation process?
He suddenly felt a wave of fear; what if he hadn’t been discharged today, stayed in the hospital until evening, and then mindlessly hid in a place nearby as usual, waiting for the “daily pain” to end? The consequences would be unimaginable.
As he thought about it, his body continued to heat up, the pain gradually intensifying, and his consciousness began to waver.
He felt as if he had become a bonfire, his soul and body transforming into kindling, collapsing and contracting in the flames, hovering on the brink of destruction and rebirth.
His vision was enveloped in a blaze of fire, and everything in front of him perished in the flames, an endless inferno as if it were going to fill the whole world.
Then…
In the scorching heat, he didn’t know how much time passed before a cold breath began to flow within her body, gradually cooling her down.
“Shh—!” The fire extinguished with a soft sound, echoing on the empty rooftop, a cloud of white smoke spreading around her.
As the white smoke gradually dissipated, the pain enveloping her body began to fade. Luxianbei slowly opened her eyes and saw a pair of delicate, fair little hands sinking into the cracked ground.
Is it over?
Luxianbei thought blankly, quietly feeling the changes in her body, only relaxing after confirming that the mutation had stopped, letting out a long breath and collapsing to the ground.
The evening wind blew in, like a small hand gently brushing against her pale limbs. Feeling the coolness on her skin, Luxianbei was taken aback, her pupils contracting sharply as she sat up.
Oh my!
Crossing her legs and looking around, she then saw her clothes turned to ashes and her phone and coins melted. A pain like needles struck her heart as she instinctively covered her chest, feeling as if there was a pool of old bl**d accumulating in her throat.
My phone! Such a large phone! The Huami P40PRO I just bought before going to college!
I had finally made the decision to splurge a little; I was planning to use it for ten years! And now it’s gone?
d*mn! Why does this d*mn ability have to be so costly?
After complaining to herself a bit, Luxianbei gradually began to feel better. The reason she ended up like this was all to save her own life, after all.
A few thousand yuan phone was scrapped—let’s just consider it a monetary sacrifice for prolonging life!
Thinking this way, she stood up, reluctantly bidding farewell to her phone before leaving the rooftop.
As her petite figure was swallowed by the stairwell, a sigh faintly echoed in the darkness.
Losing her phone was undeniably painful; Luxianbei was nearly heartbroken.
But what could be done? Living means having to find ways to console oneself when faced with something hard to accept.
…
After leaving the rooftop, Luxianbei sneaked down the stairs, avoiding any potential encounters.
Although it was completely dark outside and very few people were out at this time, making it unlikely to meet anyone in the elevator.
But what if?
What if she met someone in the elevator while n*ked? Wouldn’t she be embarrassed to the point of explosion? And then it would really explode (referring to the elevator).
Therefore, for the sake of her dignity and the safety of all the residents in the building, Luxianbei chose to take the stairs.
Because of her fear of the darkness and the things hidden within it, the stairwell hadn’t been used much since the apartment was built, resulting in most of the motion-sensing lights being broken and left unfixed.
A stale, strange smell lingered in the slightly narrow space, dim lights flickering from who knows which floor, barely hanging on.
Occasionally, a pile of accumulated clutter would intrude unexpectedly into view at the corner, making her heart race uncontrollably.
“Don’t panic, don’t panic! I’m also a part of the urban legend now! Even if something pops out, I can…”
“Ying—! What is that!”
“d*mn! Who leaves an inflatable girlfriend deflated and tosses her in the stairwell? Trying to scare someone to d*ath?”
Luxianbei patted her chest, exhaling a breath of foul air, carefully avoiding the twisted human-shaped object on the ground, and continued down.
She appeared calm, but the gradually reddening hair behind her betrayed the chaos in her heart. Her delicate fingers accidentally brushed against the metal railing beside her, causing a faint sound as it turned fiery red.
The motion-sensing lights further down seemed completely broken, and the winding stairs plunged into darkness.
Luxianbei moved forward in the dark, feeling as if something was lurking in the shadows, gradually a sense of hunger swept over her like a tide, and she instinctively swallowed hard.
What’s happening?
Didn’t I just eat a big bowl of beef noodles before coming up? Why am I hungry again?
Could it be that the transformation process consumed too much energy?
Luxianbei pondered, initially not taking the sense of hunger seriously, but as time passed, the hunger grew increasingly intense.
It felt as if a furry little paw was digging relentlessly in her stomach; she felt like she hadn’t eaten for days, her limbs weak, stars dancing before her eyes, and her brain seemingly dominated by hunger, filled with only one thought—where can I find something to eat!
…
Inside Luxianbei’s apartment.
In the darkness, several sneaky shadows gathered around the coffee table, whispering among themselves.
“You felt that aura earlier too, right? I think we need to discuss whether we should continue living here,” a shadow resembling a fluff ball said seriously.
“Ugh—!” The false teeth sighed, “Where else can we live? In this whole city, there probably isn’t another landlord who completely disregards our existence like he does, right?”
“Why don’t we just k*ll him then!” A small, eye-like sphere bounced around, seeming the most volatile, saying, “Humans love to bathe; they wash themselves every two or three days. When he’s taking a bath, we could set up a puddle, and I would hide my kn*fe in the bathroom…”
“Shut up! That method only works on humans! The problem is he’s not even a person! What if we don’t k*ll him? If he gets mad, we all d*e!”
“What should we do then? Just let him ride on our backs and do whatever he wants? I can’t swallow this resentment!”
“Still can’t swallow? You don’t even know how many years you’ve been dead; it’s been long resolved for you! To be honest, I’m inclined to hitch a ride on someone else’s coattails.”
“I think moving away is the safest option.”
“…”
As the group of urban legends discussed, a sudden knocking sound interrupted them, and their discussion came to an abrupt halt.
“Knock knock knock—!”
Immediately following, a weak voice came from outside, “Open the door!”
Hearing this, all the urban legends looked towards the coat in the corner and solemnly asked, “Is it your master? Didn’t you say he was done and wouldn’t come back again?”
The coat twisted a couple of times, unsure whether to confirm or deny, looking somewhat dim-witted.
“Knock knock knock—!”
“Open the door quickly! I know you’re inside!” The girl outside cried out again, and a fierce wave of spirit energy fluctuation seeped through the door, growing stronger.
The urban legends fell silent, exchanging glances. After communicating with “eye contact,” they suddenly sprang into action.
A flurry of shadows danced, dust flying everywhere, and the coat was rolled into a ball and shoved by the eye-like sphere, flying towards the door.
The coat crashed against the door with a muffled sound, followed by a frantic knocking intensifying from the outside.
“Bang bang bang—!”
The coat struggled to get up, trying to escape but turned around only to find the other urban legends had already vanished. Just then, the girl’s voice came again from outside.
“d*mn it! Open the door! I know you heard me!”
The coat trembled violently upon hearing this, exuding a sense of grievance, while its sleeves trembled and wrapped around the doorknob, slowly twisting.
“Click—!”
With the sound of the lock clicking open, the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and then a petite figure with slightly reddish long hair dashed in, sprinting towards the refrigerator.
In the corner, a certain urban legend hiding in the shadows watched Luxianbei rummaging through the fridge in fear.
“Is she… is she really him? What’s going on? I’ve been dead for so many years, and it’s my first time seeing something like this!” the false teeth whispered.
“What do you mean him or her? If you can’t speak, just don’t! I think this is her true form! Just look at her…” the fluff ball stared at Luxianbei, who had picked up a cucumber with a fierce look, terrified and said, “Look at her, so starved!”
“d*mn! The skirt, the moisturizing spa! Stay away! The water’s splashing on me!”
Standing in front of the refrigerator, Luxianbei couldn’t care less about washing or inspecting the vegetables for spoilage; she stuffed the vegetables that had been there for ten days into her mouth and started chewing voraciously.
However, after less than ten seconds, her body suddenly stiffened, an unexpected wave of nausea surged from her heart, causing her stomach to begin cramping violently.
“Ugh—! Cough cough cough—!”
Luxianbei retched all the food she had just eaten, as if it was not vegetables but poison.
As if a powerful hunger deep within her soul continually attacked Luxianbei’s will, she stared blankly at the food scraps on the ground, and the scorching airflow spreading across her small frame roasted those food scraps, filling the air with the aroma of cooked food.
Luxianbei covered her chest, furrowing her brows tightly.
The wafting aroma made her feel even more nauseous, her stomach convulsing again, about to throw up once more.
In the next moment, her sense of smell suddenly became sharp.
She picked up the scent emanating from the urban legends lurking in the dark corners of the apartment, the smell reminiscent of damp, moldy rags, which made her slightly sick, but her instincts reminded her.
Those were the “food” that could alleviate her hunger. Under the temptation of food, she slowly turned around to look in the direction where the urban legends were hiding, her eyes tinged with fiery light, her light red hair billowing without wind, looking like a ghost king emerging from the fiery depths of hell.
“Do we really… have to eat?” the girl’s youthful yet slightly eerie voice drifted from the darkness.
Upon witnessing this scene, the atmosphere among the urban legends hiding in the shadows suddenly dropped to freezing point.
“She… can’t be that, right?” the false teeth said weakly.
“I think it looks like it,” the fluff ball confirmed softly.
The eye-like sphere suddenly shouted, “Why are you still frozen in place? Run! Are you all idiots? She’s clearly 【hungry】! If you don’t run, you’ll d*e!”
The next moment, the apartment building was filled with screams, and shadows scattered chaotically.
