My Pet Beast is Super Fearsome

Chapter 116: Chapter 115: Both Real and Illusory

The fifth floor of the department store remained cloaked in darkness, the only light source being the dim canopy light by the elevator doors.

Shao Zifeng’s lifted right hand suddenly stiffened for an instant, even the translucent Space Rift experiencing a slight instability.

“Hiss…” Shao Zifeng suddenly clutched his throat with his right hand and knelt on the ground, his complexion turning pale in an instant, gasping for air, and large beads of sweat sliding down his face, splashing on the floor, quickly soaking the area.

Amidst the heavy panting, the Space Rift floating before Shao Zifeng halted its expansion, instability twisting and collapsing inward.

Just as the Space Rift was about to vanish, a white figure burst out agilely, landing firmly beside Shao Zifeng.

The deer, having just emerged from its pet space, kept its eyes shut, allowing itself to quickly adapt to the dimness here.

When it opened its gem-like eyes, it saw Shao Zifeng propped up on one hand, kneeling not far away, his entire body convulsing slightly.

“Yoo~hoo!”

The deer became anxious in an instant, rushing beneath Shao Zifeng and attempting to nudge him with its fluffy little head toward the wall behind him to lean on.

It was regrettable that it was too small; even with all its might, it failed to make Shao Zifeng budge, its slender delicate legs trembling violently as if they might give out at any moment.

After digesting the sudden surge of various images, memories, emotions, and pain, Shao Zifeng regained some lucidity.

He felt something nudging his chest, and when he saw the small white figure, a hint of life sparkled in his numb eyes, “Little… deer!”

“Yoo!” The deer, thinking its nudging had taken effect, promptly exerted its greatest strength.

Then.

The deer splayed out on the ground, its limbs stretched wide.

Its large eyes looked up at Shao Zifeng helplessly.

Struggling to sit up and lean against the wall opposite the elevator door, Shao Zifeng’s sweat-drenched hair clung to his forehead, and he gasped heavily, the bloodless lips curling and peeling.

It was truly too horrifying.

Every time he closed his eyes, a series of images flashed through his mind.

Those images seemed etched into his brain, as if they were his own personal experiences.

Even the last image of the old man’s ferocious face, saliva-dripping teeth piercing into his neck, and the pain of blood spurting out felt as if it had just happened.

At this thought, Shao Zifeng subconsciously touched his neck, and besides some sticky sweat, there was no horrific wound as he had imagined, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

Perhaps, it was an illusion.

“Yoo~”

The deer approached, cautiously placing its small head on Shao Zifeng’s lap, with a touch of grievance in its wet eyes and uttering a low purring sound.

Looking at the deer’s rare show of coquetry, Shao Zifeng was taken aback, and then his face split into a wide smile. However, due to the dryness of his lips, a crack formed instantly, causing his facial muscles to twitch with pain.

“Yoo.”

Seeing the small crack on Shao Zifeng’s lips, the deer remembered that it seemed to be… a Healing deer?

So why was it nudging Shao Zifeng with its head?

Directly an Aromatic Healing would have done the job!

The deer stopped its coquetry, once again becoming that calm and collected deer, and released an Aromatic Healing to restore Shao Zifeng’s body.

The familiar sweet scent filled the surroundings, a tingling sensation spreading through his body, and Shao Zifeng couldn’t help but moan. If it wasn’t for the location being inappropriate, he would have wanted to sleep there.

Once the Healing was complete, the deer lightly jumped into Shao Zifeng’s arms. Though it did not continue with its coquetry, it lay there obediently without any superfluous movement.

He rubbed the deer’s fluffy head, watching its ears gently twitch.

“Creak… Clatter.”

Just then, the sound of gear friction mixed with the clanking of chains came through the barrier of the floors, accompanied by the faint vibrations of the elevator in motion.

Shao Zifeng’s heart sank as he stared at the ascending arrow on the display, swallowing hard.

He took out his phone to check the time, 2:29 AM, precisely the three-minute window he had experienced in his earlier vision.

First floor.

Second floor.

…

Fourth floor.

With each floor the elevator ascended, Shao Zifeng’s heart grew heavier.

Images flooded back to him like a tide, finally freezing on the figure of the elder in the black robe.

Shao Zifeng breathed rapidly, cold sweat seeping out on his forehead once again.

2:30 AM.

“Squeak~”

The elevator doors slowly opened, and Shao Zifeng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, breathing a sigh of relief.

Although unclear whether what had just happened was real or illusion, Shao Zifeng had made up his mind to leave this place as soon as the three-minute window was over.

The familiar elevator cabin appeared before him, but Shao Zifeng didn’t rashly enter; he couldn’t shake off the feeling, perhaps psychological, that the elevator was blowing out bursts of cold air, making him even more determined not to go in.

He feared that once inside, he would be controlled like in his memory, manipulated into biting the old man—to end up completely screwed.

As the seconds ticked by, the lamp covered in black oil sputtered, flickering on and off, making the already oppressive atmosphere seem even longer for those three minutes.

Click.

A mechanical latch sound came from an unknown place, and Shao Zifeng’s heart stirred. He quickly checked his phone: 2:33 PM—the window had passed!

Shao Zifeng relaxed completely, stood up with the small deer in his arms, and without looking back, dashed into the elevator.

…

Standing at the exit of the department store, basking in the warm sunshine, watching the passersby loitering by the roadside, although he hadn’t been inside long, this scene gave him a sense of comfort he hadn’t felt in some time.

Having encountered such an incident, Shao Zifeng was in no mood to go anywhere else. He planned to head home first, preferably to figure out who the dead old man talked about these past few days was, and whether he was the same as the one in his memory.

If that was the case, he might need to call Luo Feng or Chen Zhenglong.

Hopefully, it was all just his imagination.

…

Inside a room in the department store, several oil lamps on the wall were about to burn out, emitting a faint glow.

A bookcase stood against the wall, a large desk on it was somewhat disordered, and on the floor paved with bluestone, there were some long dried-up black bloodstains, which looked quite sinister under the dim light.

In the center of the room, a mass emitting black fog floated mid-air, the mist roiling and twisting.

Suddenly, the black fog pulsed a few times, becoming even more turbulent as if attempting to devour something into it.

Then, a gust of cold wind blew, and the oil lamps on the walls were completely extinguished, plunging the room into total darkness and silence.

Suddenly, a pair of blood-red eyes lit up in the darkness.