Wolf ears?

Hao Ren froze in place, watching Lili walk ahead for a few steps before violently rubbing his eyes. When he looked again, the girl before him was the same ordinary short-haired girl as before.

But he knew what he’d seen—that pair of sharp, strange ears. He could still vividly recall their shape: triangular, standing upright on her head, covered in sleek silver-white fur. No mistake. His eyesight and short-term memory were both excellent.

Yet now, her head was bare. And the whole thing was so bizarre he could only shake his head and mutter to himself, "Must be sleep deprivation. Hallucinating already."

"Landlord, what did you say just now?" Lili suddenly turned her head, her large eyes gleaming brightly in the night. "Something about hallucinations?"

Hao Ren thought to himself, Damn, this girl’s hearing is sharp. He hadn’t even raised his voice, yet she’d caught it. But he kept his expression neutral and waved a hand dismissively. "Nothing. Must’ve been seeing things. Let’s keep moving—we need to get you settled in tonight."

"Oh." She hoisted the massive suitcase onto her shoulder again and kept chattering as she walked. "By the way, landlord, is there anywhere to eat around here? I haven’t had anything yet... Mind if I eat at your place? I’ll pay for the food. Hey, why are you walking behind me? You’re supposed to lead the way—I don’t know the road..."

Hao Ren quickened his pace to catch up, finding her incessant chatter oddly endearing despite her scatterbrained nature. "Don’t worry, I’ll cook. It’s just me at home—makes no difference how much I make."

The moment he spoke, that same "flap-flap" sound echoed again from above.

This time, he reacted faster, jerking his head up in time to see a bat-like black shadow the size of an eagle slicing through the night sky.

He didn’t really think it was a bat—probably just some large bird hunting near residential areas. The neighborhood wasn’t far from wasteland, and occasional wildlife sightings weren’t unheard of. But he didn’t want Lili to start associating the place with bad omens, so he casually reassured her, "Don’t worry, probably just a wild bird. This area’s close to the wilderness."

Lili’s voice suddenly came from much closer than before, sounding urgent. "Landlord, you go ahead. I’ll catch up later—I’ve got something to take care of!"

Hao Ren blinked in confusion. "What? No way. I’m responsible for getting you home safely. This place is full of winding alleys—even locals get lost..."

Then he noticed how close she was—her face was only inches from his. Those unnervingly bright eyes stared directly into his, beautiful but terrifying in the darkness. Hao Ren stumbled back half a meter. "Listen, I’m a decent guy!"

It was his nervous habit—when tense, he spouted nonsense.

Whether it was his imagination or not, Lili’s expression seemed frantic now. She glanced at the night sky, then sniffed the air vigorously. "Just go ahead, landlord. I can follow your scent... Ugh, stop dithering, I really have things to do!"

"No!" Hao Ren’s stubborn streak flared up. He ignored the bizarre "follow your scent" comment and scowled. "What if something happens? I’m not leaving you here in the dark—I’d never forgive myself. What’s so urgent that you can’t even tell me?"

As he’d said before, Hao Ren was a good man—at least, a man with basic decency. He’d brought Lili here, so he felt responsible for getting her safely to his home. Sure, she was unnaturally strong, but that didn’t change his concern. If anything happened to her, he’d never be able to live with himself.

And honestly, what could be so important that she had to do it right now?

Lili’s agitation was obvious now—her movements jerky, her behavior strange. She set the suitcase down with a loud "thunk," then craned her neck, scanning the high walls lining the alley. The two- or three-story buildings on either side were remnants of the area’s former prosperity, their once-pristine facades now faded and crumbling. Only the jagged black walls remained, casting the narrow alley in shadow.

Her gaze darted between the walls as she sniffed the air rapidly, her limbs tensing as if preparing for something.

Hao Ren’s slow brain finally caught up. Something’s wrong.

Despite her oddities, the strange noises in the sky and the oppressive atmosphere had him on edge. Now, seeing Lili’s feral behavior, he realized—she knows something.

"Liu Lili... what’s going on?"

"Just call me Lili," she muttered reflexively, then blinked in surprise. "Huh? Why are you still here?"

"Did you not hear a word I just said?" Hao Ren sidled closer cautiously, fists clenched though his voice stayed light. He saw no obvious threats, but the air itself felt wrong—a faint metallic tang of blood and an unnatural chill seeped from the darkness. His legs trembled despite himself.

He prided himself on bravery, but this was uncanny.

Up until now, he’d written everything off as paranoia or Lili’s weirdness rubbing off on him. But the thickening blood smell and the bone-deep cold? No amount of scientific rationality could explain this.

Suddenly, it hit him—Lili’s frantic urging to leave, her early signs of alertness despite "nothing being wrong," her calm readiness...

This girl I called an idiot knew exactly what was happening.

"Damn it, which timeline did I screw up to end up in this mess...?" Hao Ren scanned his surroundings, enduring the stench of blood and the creeping cold, his thoughts slowing to a crawl. "Is this even the real world anymore? Where’s my happy ‘science explains everything’ life?"

"Landlord, sorry for dragging you into this. That ‘thing’ might be after me," Lili’s voice came from behind him, hoarse now. "You’re a good man—better than the others I’ve met. I’ll do my best to keep you alive. I promise."

"Could you not hand out ‘you’re a good person’ lines right now...?" Hao Ren’s teeth chattered as he turned—but froze at the sight of her. girl stood beside him, barely recognizable. Her silver hair cascaded down her back, her features delicate... but her eyes were wrong. Golden, inhuman, glowing faintly in the dark with an unnatural light. A pair of silver wolf ears stood erect on her head, twitching toward every faint sound. And from the gap in her clothes, a sleek silver tail swayed behind her.

wolf-girl. Or, in modern terms, a monster girl with beast ears.

Hao Ren didn’t know why he could still make jokes, but one thing was certain—his life was about to get very interesting.

Assuming he survived the night.