The Labyrinth of the Monsters

Here's the translation:

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To start with the conclusion: Gao Yang might finally say goodbye to being single since birth.

The story begins two days ago.

Two days ago, Wang Zikai, who is Gao Yang's buddy, stole Gao Yang's phone and sent a 300-word "heartfelt confession" to Li Weiwei as a prank.

By the time Gao Yang found out, it was too late to retract the message. Although he immediately sent another message to explain, Li Weiwei didn't reply. Not only that, but for the next two days, she avoided speaking to Gao Yang and even deliberately avoided him at school.

Li Weiwei and Gao Yang were childhood sweethearts. Their families lived close to each other, and they met in kindergarten. Later, they moved to Leave City together and attended the same high school, making their connection quite deep.

According to the memories of the host before the age of six, he indeed had a crush on Li Weiwei. When he first saw this little beauty billet in kindergarten, he secretly decided he would marry her when he grew up. Unfortunately, before he could realize his dream, Gao Yang had already traveled through time.

Over the years, thanks to Li Weiwei, Gao Yang was often the envy of his male classmates.

Gao Yang naturally had deep feelings for Li Weiwei. He liked her, of course—who wouldn't like a beauty? But he never really thought about it in that way. If he had to be pretentious, maybe it was just missing that "heartbeat" feeling.

In two months, the classmates would graduate from the college entrance examination and go their separate ways.

As Gao Yang's buddy, Wang Zikai couldn't stand it anymore—he was just bored and decided to "matchmake" the two, leading to this prank.

Now, two days later, Li Weiwei finally replied on WeChat: I accept.

Gao Yang felt conflicted. He thought, didn't I explain that it was Wang Zikai who sent that prank message? Why did you ignore that message?

No, I have to explain again...

WeChat chimed again: "Want to meet up today?"

Gao Yang hesitated for a moment and replied, "Okay."

...

2 PM. Shanqing District. Dawan Plaza.

When Gao Yang arrived, Li Weiwei had already been waiting for a while.

On this rare weekend holiday, Li Weiwei wore a light green sweater, and her usually tied-up hair flowed smoothly over her shoulders. As the wind blew, her hair and skirt fluttered gently. She pressed her long hair by her ear and waved happily at Gao Yang, "Over here, Gao Yang, over here!"

The spring breeze was bright and beautiful, and the girl's smile was as radiant as a flower.

At that moment, Gao Yang somewhat understood the feelings of those sycophants in the class. He truly didn't know how lucky he was.

Gao Yang walked over with a smile, "Sorry, I'm late."

"It's okay, Qing Ling and I walked around first and bought some teaching materials at the bookstore. I got you two books as well," Li Weiwei said.

Only then did Gao Yang notice a tall girl with a ponytail standing not far behind Li Weiwei. She had one hand in her pocket, playing coolly with her phone.

The girl with the ponytail was named Qing Ling, standing at 1.67 meters tall, a sprinting specialist in the class, and Li Weiwei's best friend.

Besides that, Qing Ling was also recognized as the school goddess.

Her pretty face was a given, and despite being exposed to the sun every day, her skin was as white as snow, which was quite excessive. Due to long-term training, the curves of her body under the tight sportswear were aesthetically pleasing, and her long legs were a straight male slayer.

Interestingly, compared to Li Weiwei, who frequently handed out good person cards, Qing Ling had almost no suitors. She never spoke to boys, or more accurately, her gaze at them always revealed a physiological disgust as if she were looking at flies.

Over time, everyone knew she had misandry and stopped bothering her.

However, Gao Yang believed she wasn't suffering from misandry; she was likely a beautiful... lily.

As if sensing Gao Yang's gaze, Qing Ling put down her phone and met his eyes. Her aura was so strong, and the disgust so deep... it made Gao Yang feel like not only a fly but a fly staring at dung.

"Qing Ling, want to join us?" Li Weiwei called out to Qing Ling.

"No, you two have fun." Qing Ling smiled at Li Weiwei with an angelic gentleness.

Double standards! Such double standards!

...

In the afternoon, Gao Yang and Li Weiwei drank milk tea, watched a movie, and ate barbecue, spending a pleasant and fulfilling day together.

Late at night, Gao Yang walked Li Weiwei home. On the quiet, deserted road, Li Weiwei walked ahead. Suddenly, she turned around: "Hey, do you regret it?"

"Huh? Regret what?" Gao Yang asked.

Li Weiwei blushed: "Regret confessing to me."

"Weiwei, actually..."

"I thought you'd be happier if I accepted your confession." Li Weiwei tilted her head, her eyes showing some insecurity, "But maybe not. Do you guys lose interest right after winning over a girl? Then realize you didn't really like her?"

"No, actually, that message..."

"Gao Yang," Li Weiwei narrowed her eyes in dissatisfaction, scrutinizing Gao Yang, "What's wrong with you today? Are you hiding something from me?"

"...Am I?"@@novelbin@@

"You are! You've been distracted all day." Li Weiwei's tone was somewhat displeased.

In fact, Gao Yang had been a bit distracted today. He wanted to use the "date" to distract himself, but the more he tried not to think about it, the more he couldn't help it.

After hesitating for a long time, Gao Yang finally asked, "Li Weiwei, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"In third grade, didn't your grandmother pass away from a stroke?"

"Yes."

"Did you see her one last time?"

Li Weiwei was stunned, blinking: "What do you mean?"

"I mean, did you see her body after she died?"

"I was at school then. By the time I got home, my parents had already sent her for cremation."

"I see."

Gao Yang thought: Just as I suspected.

"Is there something strange about it?" Li Weiwei was puzzled.

"Nothing..." Gao Yang hesitated.

Before traveling through time, Gao Yang, though only six years old, had attended the funeral of the dean. He had long vaguely realized that this parallel world had some differences from his previous world.

For example, in the current world, many people are cremated immediately after death, without holding a "body farewell ceremony" or similar customs.

It's as if they're in a hurry to destroy evidence, like his grandfather or Li Weiwei's grandmother.

Thinking of this, Gao Yang felt inexplicably alarmed.

"What's wrong with you... you look terrible." Li Weiwei noticed.

Gao Yang thought for a moment and said, "Li Weiwei, have you ever thought that the world we live in is actually full of danger?"

Li Weiwei immediately became nervous: "What are you trying to say? Don't scare me..."

"I was caught by a mental patient last night, you know?"

"I heard. Luckily, the police shot him, or you would've been hurt. I was really worried about you." Li Weiwei blushed as she said this, "Actually, it was because of this incident that I decided to accept your confession."

Gao Yang shook his head: "No, he wasn't trying to hurt me; he was warning me."

"Warning?" Li Weiwei was confused, "Warning about what?"

Gao Yang briefly explained the situation and mentioned the incident of his grandfather's death when he was five.

Li Weiwei became more frightened, unconsciously moving closer, her soft chest inadvertently pressing against Gao Yang's arm.

"Could it be a dream? After all, you were so young..."

"No, it was definitely not a dream!" Gao Yang was certain.

"Do you think your grandfather was..." Li Weiwei couldn't finish the sentence.

Gao Yang shook his head: "Not necessarily, I just feel something's off."

"Didn't you secretly peek into the room back then?" Li Weiwei said, "What did you see?"

Gao Yang fell silent. In the dream of his memory, he did see something, but he wasn't sure if it was an illusion.

"Actually..."

"Ah! Forget it, don't say it..." Li Weiwei lowered her head, "Let's hurry home."

"Li Weiwei, don't you believe me?" Gao Yang grabbed Li Weiwei's hand.

Li Weiwei was initially stunned, taking some time to overcome her fear, then nodded firmly: "I believe you."

"I believe you too. I don't know who else to talk to about this." Gao Yang took a deep breath, mustering the courage to speak, "Actually, I saw an arm."

"An arm?"

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"Yes, to be precise, it was as thick as a normal person's thigh, covered in grayish-blue scales. Those scales looked like small bugs crowded together, wriggling and rolling, utterly disgusting..."

"Oh my god..."

"I don't know what it was, but it couldn't possibly be a human arm," Gao Yang frowned.

"Gao Yang." Li Weiwei looked up at him, "Is this the kind of arm you saw?"

Gao Yang was suddenly shocked!

—A sharp pain shot through his wrist!

He looked down to see Li Weiwei's slender, white arm suddenly split open, with grayish-blue scaly flesh emerging piece by piece.

In the moonlight, the edges of those scales shimmered with a ghastly, eerie light. They grew longer, burrowing into Gao Yang's skin, like leeches sucking his blood.

"Li Weiwei... you..."

Li Weiwei quickly reached out with her other hand, gripping Gao Yang's neck and effortlessly lifting him. The grayish-blue scales on the girl's arm transformed into soft, sticky tentacles, crawling into Gao Yang's mouth, nostrils, ear canals, and even the corners of his eyes.

Gao Yang's head was under unimaginable pressure, feeling like it would explode like a watermelon in a microwave in seconds.

"Gao Yang, thank you." Li Weiwei's voice hadn't changed, even gentler than before.

She smiled, "You're the first awakened being I've encountered."

"…"

"I will never, ever forget you."