The Labyrinth of the Monsters

Gao Yang slowed down his pace and quickly made a decision to head towards a crowded place.

In theory, if a conflict were to occur in a crowded place, it would only attract more Angry Beasts, increasing the risk of death. However, upon careful consideration, if the one tracking him was an Angry Beast, it meant that the Angry Beast had already discovered, or at least suspected, his identity as an Awakened Being.

But since it didn't immediately attack him and instead chose to track him, it meant that this Angry Beast wanted to devour him alone. And if it wanted to devour him alone, it definitely wouldn't make a move in a crowded place.

Soon, Gao Yang passed by a 24-hour convenience store. He took a deep breath and walked in.

Shortly after, a girl with short hair wearing a school uniform ran out from the corner of the street. She caught up to the convenience store entrance, hesitated for a moment, and used her hand to tidy up her bangs before approaching the store.

Just as she pushed the door open, she collided head-on with Gao Yang.

She was startled, "Ah!"

Gao Yang also mustered up his courage to make this sudden move. When he saw the other person's face, he was first surprised, but quickly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

"Little Si?"

The girl was Gao Yang's classmate, Wan Sisi, who had an introverted and shy personality. Everyone called her Little Si.

Wan Sisi was in a state of confusion. She tightly held her single-shoulder school bag under her armpit and began a stiff and nervous performance, "Hi, hi... What a coincidence, you're here too? I... I took the wrong bus and happened to be a little hungry, so I wanted to buy some snacks..."

"You were following me, right?" Gao Yang asked directly.

Wan Sisi's face turned red from her neck to behind her ears, "I, I... um..."

Gao Yang looked around and saw the curious gazes of the cashier and customers.

It was indeed strange for the two of them to be blocking the entrance. Gao Yang grabbed Wan Sisi's hand and led her to a corner of the convenience store, sitting side by side against the glass display window. Then, he bought some food and drinks.

One minute later, Wan Sisi sipped her instant coffee in small sips, gradually becoming less nervous and even a bit excited. She lowered her head and muttered softly, "He held my hand and even treated me to coffee..."

"What did you say?"

"Ah, it's nothing!" Wan Sisi nervously raised her head, "Thank you for the coffee."

Gao Yang took a bite of his hot dog, "Tell me, what's the matter with following me?"

Wan Sisi lowered her head again, her voice becoming quieter, "Gao Yang... Li Weiwei's incident, you must be feeling very sad, right?"

Gao Yang was slightly stunned and didn't say anything.

"I feel like you've changed recently. You don't talk much with your classmates and you're always lost in thought." Wan Sisi's tone was filled with concern.

"Really?"

Gao Yang was grateful, "Thank you for reminding me. It seems like I should try to maintain my original social circle in the future, or else I might reveal my mistake."

"People can't come back to life. No one wants something like this to happen..." Wan Sisi cautiously glanced at Gao Yang, "You must not overthink it. If you have anything on your mind, you can tell me."

Gao Yang paused his eating and looked at Wan Sisi attentively. She had short hair, bangs, an oval face, clean skin, a slender figure, and big eyes that were always shy and nervous, blinking like a timid little deer.

Wan Sisi usually spoke softly and seemed a bit insecure. She didn't dare to look into other people's eyes and was the type of girl that everyone liked to "bully."

There were actually quite a few boys who liked her, but she didn't notice it herself.

On ordinary days, Gao Yang had a decent relationship with Wan Sisi. She was the English class representative, and he would occasionally ask her for help with English questions.

Since Li Weiwei's death, Gao Yang had hardly spoken to her, so it was no wonder she was concerned.

Wan Sisi blushed as Gao Yang stared at her, and she awkwardly looked away, "I'm sorry... Forget what I just said..."

"Thanks." Gao Yang smiled gratefully, "I didn't expect you to care about me so much."

"No! I don't care!" Wan Sisi denied it firmly, but her expression had already given her away, "We're just classmates, it's only natural!"

"Don't worry, I won't overthink it. I just need a few days to adjust." Gao Yang said.

The two of them chatted about various things, such as daily life and college entrance examination preferences, until the hot drinks on the table were finished and the snacks were gone.

Wan Sisi took the initiative to throw away the trash. She looked around, took the disposable cup containing the instant coffee, and secretly hid it in her pocket, her face filled with happiness.

Gao Yang didn't miss any of this.

Could it be that Wan Sisi had a crush on him?

Suddenly, Gao Yang remembered the night of his birthday, when Li Weiwei almost killed him. Perhaps Wan Sisi was the same: one moment she would say she liked him, and the next moment she would turn into a terrifying Angry Beast and devour him alive.

Gao Yang felt a mix of emotions.

The two of them walked out of the convenience store and parted ways. It was only after Wan Sisi's happy figure disappeared around the corner of the street that Gao Yang opened the System again.

His Lucky Points didn't double, indicating that Wan Sisi was indeed not a threat.

After this little incident, Gao Yang continued walking forward. But after only a couple of minutes, he stopped again.

Something wasn't right... Why did he still feel like someone was following him?

Speaking of which, he had become more sensitive. It was probably due to the increase in his "Mental Strength." It seemed that the improvement in this attribute was indeed useful.

Gao Yang suddenly quickened his pace, turned at the next intersection, quickly threw away his school bag, and hid behind a vending machine, holding his breath.

Seven or eight seconds later, a figure ran out. The person immediately noticed the bag on the ground and was about to bend down to pick it up when Gao Yang jumped out, "Wang Zikai?!"

Wang Zikai was startled, "Ah—"

"You were following me?"

Wang Zikai smirked, "Damn, bro, you're amazing. I hid so well, yet you still found me!"

"Didn't I tell you to stay at home and cultivate properly!" Gao Yang couldn't help but feel a headache. Bro, if you keep acting recklessly like this, I won't be able to protect you even if I want to.

Wang Zikai had a mournful expression, "Cultivation is so damn boring. I really can't stand it!"

"How can you become stronger if you don't cultivate?"

"Can't I go kill monsters? Or do something else... Does meditating every day really make you stronger? I feel like it's useless!"Gao Yang sighed, "Your constitution is very special, your growth rate is slower than ours, but once you've trained, you'll be stronger than us. You need to be patient. As the saying goes, 'Heaven, when about to place a great responsibility on a man, will first sap his will, harden his bones, starve his body, empty his body...'@@novelbin@@

"I understand the principle," Wang Zikai said with a pitiful look, "But it's really too boring!"

Gao Yang fell silent.

Seeing Gao Yang's stern face, Wang Zikai quickly tried to appease him, "Bro, bro, don't be angry, okay? Can't I just go back and continue my training?"

"Stop talking."

"What's wrong?" Wang Zikai lowered his voice, looking around curiously, even becoming excited.

"We... are being followed."

Gao Yang felt like he was going crazy.

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

When would this ever end?!