Chapter Eight: Advent or Awakening

"Xiao Zhang." Suddenly, a figure in white darted out from the woods and blocked Xiao Zhang's path. "Are you alright?"

Xiao Zhang glared, "Why did you come out! Go back, now! That thing isn't dead yet!"

"I've almost fully recovered. Leave the rest to me." Mo Kuang picked up the weapon that had fallen to the ground, stood up, and positioned herself in front of Xiao Zhang, facing the corpse king. "To end up like this and still want to kill you—he must really hold quite the grudge!"

The corpse king shuffled forward, inch by inch, wheezing heavily with every breath, still stubbornly crawling towards Mo Kuang.

Mo Kuang sneered and, with a single sword swipe, severed the corpse king's head.

The king's head tumbled away, its eyes wide open, as if unwilling to accept its fate. Then, it finally toppled over, lifeless.

Xiao Zhang was stupefied. Damn, was that an instant kill? He... Xiao Zhang was so shocked by the blow that he fainted on the spot.

When Xiao Zhang awoke, he yanked off whatever was covering his head and realized it was already night.

Surveying his surroundings, Xiao Zhang found that he had been carried into a makeshift shelter. He was covered with a thin, tricolored tarp of sorts.

Lifting the tarp to check his chest, he noticed the wound had already healed. Yet his chest felt odd—and sticky.

Probably some kind of medicine, he thought.

"You're awake?" Mo Kuang's voice drifted in from outside the shelter.

"Got any water, bro?" Xiao Zhang scrambled up, half-naked, and strode out. Seeing Mo Kuang looking perfectly unharmed, Xiao Zhang couldn't help but feel frustrated. Damn it, I nearly died fighting that monster, and you’re fine as ever.

"Yeah, wait a sec." Mo Kuang produced a bottle of mineral water from who-knows-where and handed it to Xiao Zhang.

Xiao Zhang, annoyed by the ragged strips of cloth on his body, tore them off and gulped down the water. "So, what's this sticky stuff all over me?"

Mo Kuang, catching sight of Xiao Zhang’s bare, muscular torso, blushed and turned away. After a moment, she bit her lip. "It’s... it's the blood of the corpse king."

"Pft—!" Xiao Zhang spat water all over Mo Kuang. "What the hell?" He hurriedly scraped the sticky substance off his body. "Ugh, it feels like snot!"

Mo Kuang edged back, apologetic. "Sorry, sorry! I couldn't access any medicine from my system inventory. The only thing that dropped was that stuff—I had no choice but to use it—"

"Huh?" Xiao Zhang coughed, wiping off the gunk, and managed, "Bro, you only put it on my chest, right?"

"I'm sorry! At the time, you know, my skill cooldown is really long! And you were the one fighting the monster while I cowered behind you out of fear. I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"

Seeing Mo Kuang so contrite, Xiao Zhang was momentarily taken aback. "It's fine, it's fine!" But then he realized something. "Wait, enough with the excuses, bro, what did you actually—?"

"I had no choice," Mo Kuang said, edging away, "so I had to force-feed you a little."

"What the—force-feed me?!" Xiao Zhang suddenly felt dizzy, a sharp pain flaring in his chest. He groaned, and Mo Kuang rushed to help him lie down.

"Sorry, sorry! It seems the system has blocked everything here. All I know is it can heal wounds, but I didn't get a chance to test it—my system was forcibly shut down."

"Alright..." Xiao Zhang forced a wry smile. "Fine, just tell me how much you made me eat!"

"Not much, not much!" Mo Kuang replied awkwardly, producing a bowl of green, sticky paste. "Just a bowl..."

Xiao Zhang: (●-●)

He waved a hand. "Bro, I promise I won’t beat you to death!" With that, he lunged at Mo Kuang, tackling him to the ground, raising his fist as if to strike.

"..." Xiao Zhang glanced down at Mo Kuang, motionless beneath him, and after a moment's hesitation, slowly lowered his hand. "At least put up some resistance, man. Otherwise, it feels like I'm bullying you."

Mo Kuang looked up pitifully. "Forget it, just get up."

Xiao Zhang scrambled off, then helped haul Mo Kuang to his feet. "Hey, bro, you don’t look that big, but your chest muscles are pretty nice—"

As he spoke, Xiao Zhang gave them a squeeze. "Why are they still so soft? Like steamed buns—"

After a couple more squeezes, Xiao Zhang realized something was amiss and was about to bolt.

Mo Kuang: │ﾟωﾟ│ And so began two hours of a seasoned player beating up a rookie.

"Xiao Zhang, do you admit your mistake?" Mo Kuang demanded, hands on hips, cheeks puffed with indignation.

Clutching his sore cheek, Xiao Zhang mumbled, "Sister Kuang, I admit it. I really didn't know you were a woman—"

"Excuse me?"

"No, no, I truly didn't know you were a lady!" Though he said this, Xiao Zhang thought to himself, With a temper like that, she must be single. Damn, that hurt.

"By the way, Sister Kuang, you said you'd get me out of here. Why are we still stuck in this damned place?"

Mo Kuang pulled an outfit from her system inventory and handed it to Xiao Zhang. "Get dressed first. If other players come by and see you like this, they’ll think I did something to you. As for why we’re still here, I have no idea myself. I’m just as confused as you. But I’m fairly sure of one thing: we must have fallen into a trap set by the system for Awakened like us in the Descent world. Understand?"

"Uh-huh." Xiao Zhang nodded as he dressed. "Not really!"

"Good, as long as you understand," Mo Kuang said, watching Xiao Zhang nodding away. "Come with me to check the area. The others seem to have vanished."

"Sister Kuang, I really don’t get it," Xiao Zhang said after dressing. "Can you explain what this Descent thing is?"

Mo Kuang took twenty minutes to explain the relationship between Descent and Awakening. "In short, the stronger we are here, the stronger we are outside. If we die here, our real selves will reset—we'll lose all memories and abilities related to this place."

Xiao Zhang frowned. "So if someone dies in a dungeon, they really die?"

"Maybe, but I haven't seen it happen," Mo Kuang shrugged. "Come on, let's check if any Hunters slipped in here. For new Awakened like you, you're a real prize in their eyes."