This time, Yu Sheng fell asleep very quickly, probably because he had expended too much energy. Once the energetic excitement had subsided, he lay down on the bed and almost instantly entered the realm of dreams.

It was a series of bizarre, frivolous dreams with details hard to recall.

He felt groggy, as if his consciousness floated like a haze atop water. Peering through this watery veil, he saw himself lying in bed at No. 66 Wutong Road, Erin messing with the TV remote, Hu Li scrubbing his tail by the pool, and then hanging it neatly on the balcony clothesline, one by one in a row...

Yu Sheng gradually found it difficult to distinguish reality from dreams, and was unsure if he was actually dreaming or truly "seeing" these scenes. His consciousness drifted a long time in an increasingly murky chaos until suddenly—he felt a solid touch coming from behind.

Yu Sheng abruptly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was towering trees surrounding him.

Endless forest, boundless trees, dense canopies interwoven, covering the murky sky. Beneath the canopies was a twilight-like shadow, dark-colored vines intertwining in the woods, bushes growing wildly on the ground, and unknown flora—lush, yet all bearing a layer of greyish texture, spanning the spaces between the giant trees.

Confused, Yu Sheng stood up, feeling a thick layer of fallen leaves and rot underfoot.

As he moved, this limitless, dim forest seemed to further "come alive." He began to hear various unknown animal sounds emanating from the woods, something swiftly crossing the forest clearing, the flapping of wings echoing through the canopies, and distant howling—a wolf's howl, albeit with a bizarre, human-like pitch.

Yu Sheng paused, feeling his mind gradually clear, and a thought popped into his head—goodness, what have I gotten myself into this time?

Is this a dream? Or had he fallen into some strange "Exotic Realm" again?

Yu Sheng pinched his thigh, feeling a slightly numb pain. He tried calling to Erin in his mind but only heard a hollow whoosh, like the wind blowing through a valley, echoing in his heart.

All these anomalies immediately put Yu Sheng on high alert.

He first reached out towards mid-air; moments later, a faintly glowing, illusory door vaguely appeared in the air.

Thank goodness, the "door" was still operational.

Yu Sheng sighed in relief, dismissed the door with a wave, and proceeded cautiously forward.

He needed to figure out where he was.

He vaguely sensed that this place was not quite like the "Nightfall Valley" he had accidentally entered before. He was probably still dreaming, but this was definitely no ordinary dream realm. He couldn't say how this place was connected to the "Exotic Realm," but this forest definitely shouldn't appear in his own dreams.

Stepping on the thick rotting leaves, a feeling of instability accompanied by a slight rustling sound, Yu Sheng carefully moved forward for a long distance. He passed a small clearing, crossed over two fallen trees, but the surrounding scenery had no change. The forest seemed endless, and walking here seemed futile.

At that moment, a rustling sound suddenly reached Yu Sheng's ears.

He instantly heightened his alertness and sharply turned to look in the direction of the sound.

A fluffy large squirrel was standing on a nearby dry stump, staring at him with its glossy little eyes.

It seemed to be just a small forest animal, curiously emerging from its hiding place to observe this "uninvited guest."

The atmosphere around was eerie, but seeing the harmless little squirrel, Yu Sheng couldn't help but exhale and smiled at the squirrel.

The squirrel looked at him, swept its large tail on the stump, making a sharp sound, "Do not stray from the path..."

Yu Sheng's smile froze on his face, and the next second, his eyes widened in shock: "Damn! It spoke!"

"I didn't finish my words," the squirrel said, vigorously slapping the stump with its tail and standing upright, "Damn, what was the next line... Oh, do not be lured by the pretty flowers and mushrooms, quickly return to the path so you can safely get back home before it gets dark—yeah, the last part needs a cute tone, so damn adorable."

Yu Sheng: "…"

The nearby squirrel, full of spirit, tightly clasped its two paws and stared straight this way.

Yu Sheng pinched his thigh hard again, as if to confirm whether he had just experienced hallucinations—what did this seemingly harmless cute creature just say?

However, the squirrel seemed a bit impatient. It saw Yu Sheng hadn't moved at all, used its big tail to "bang bang" hit the tree stump a few times: "Come on, what are you spacing out for? Don't just stand there and die in the Black Forest."

Yu Sheng finally confirmed that he had not heard wrong, but he did not "keep walking, return to the path" as the squirrel had said; instead, he curiously approached the squirrel, with a face full of surprise and confusion: "Who are you? What is this place?"

"Are you blind? I am a squirrel!" The squirrel fearlessly clasped its paws, staring straight into Yu Sheng's eyes, "Can't you see this place? Forest. Black Forest, the vast endless Black Forest—how do you look so daft?"

While talking, this seemingly cute but crude squirrel moved aside two steps, looking around as if searching for something, while muttering under its breath: "This is so weird… The current one hasn't died yet, why is there a new one… Is the current one about to die? But why did it turn out to be a male this time…"

Listening to the squirrel's mutterings, for some reason, Yu Sheng suddenly felt a stir in his heart and subconsciously asked: "Death? Who is about to die?"

"Little Red Riding Hood, of course," the squirrel casually wiped its face with a paw, "Not sure which generation...the eighteenth? Or was it the twenty-eighth Little Red Riding Hood...?"

Yu Sheng suddenly widened his eyes, his heartbeat speeding up dramatically in that moment, then it seemed he suddenly made a connection, staring at the boundless forest overhead, and straining his ears to listen to those vague, strange howls.

That distant and familiar nursery rhyme seemed to echo in his mind, the small figure clad in a red cloak, that figure walking on the forest path, the flowers and mushrooms in the thick woods enticing her… and that Evil Wolf.

Yu Sheng suddenly felt a slight sting on his shoulder and some heat; turning his head, he saw that his shoulder was inexplicably bleeding, the scarlet color slowly spreading on his clothes, becoming a glaring sight in this dim, grey misty forest.

That was where the Evil Wolf that emerged from Little Red Riding Hood's shadow during Museum Night had bitten.

The bloodstain slowly faded, but Yu Sheng was gradually beginning to understand what was happening.

His blood had ultimately established a connection with Little Red Riding Hood… Could it be that the Evil Wolf chasing her was also a part of her? So, this place was actually her Dream Realm?

As various thoughts rapidly flashed through his mind, the squirrel's voice suddenly came, interrupting Yu Sheng's wild thoughts: "No! That's not right!"

Yu Sheng was instantly startled: "What's not right?"

"The current Little Red Riding Hood isn't dead yet! It's not her time to die!" The squirrel jumped on the tree stump, appearing somewhat panicked, "The wolf hasn't caught up to her, the wolf is still searching in the forest… Who exactly are you? How on earth did you get in here?!"

Yu Sheng faintly felt that the last sentence sounded somewhat familiar…

But he didn't dwell on that, instead he quickly spoke: "I am her friend—what did you just say? You said Little Red Riding Hood will die? And what did you mean by which one? What does that mean?"

"Friend? Where did a friend pop up from! She is walking alone on the forest path—there are no friends of Little Red Riding Hood in the forest!" The squirrel suddenly became agitated, jumping up and down on the tree stump, "Something's not right, something's not right, this forest shouldn't have changed, if it changes, it will be more troublesome… Don't make it hard for a squirrel! The squirrel is already very busy! This place…"

It suddenly stopped, seeming like it heard some noise, listening intently with a bewildered look.

Yu Sheng subconsciously spoke: "What's…"

"Shh—" The squirrel, quite humanely, raised a paw, signaling Yu Sheng to stay quiet. "Listen carefully… The wolf has stopped howling."

The forest fell silent; those vague howling noises from afar had vanished unexpectedly, even the sound of other animals previously nearby quieted down.

A bizarre, unsettling deathly stillness enveloped the forest.

Yu Sheng's nerves tensed up, and in the next second, the squirrel suddenly leaped from the tree stump onto his shoulder, emitting a sharp cry: "Run! The wolf is coming!"

Yu Sheng was startled by the creature's sudden action, but his body had already reacted before that, turning around to run instinctively, and only then a belated chilling sensation and a cold that seemed to penetrate the soul caught up—immense malice and an omen of impending death rolled over, impacting Yu Sheng's mind, mingling with the roaring wind, chasing his footsteps.

The wolf had arrived.

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