Yu Sheng was momentarily stunned upon “hearing” Hunter’s words. Yet, his first instinct was neither suspicion nor excitement—but rather, the clear recollection of a strange dream from before.
In that dream, Hunter had silently appeared before him. Curious, Yu Sheng reached out to touch the empty hunter’s garb, only to see his hand pass straight through its sleeve—if he hadn’t hesitated in shock, he might’ve already been wearing Hunter’s outfit.
[So, that dream was Hunter’s first “attempt”? Was ta already trying to make me wear this hunter’s garb then?]
Yu Sheng frowned, remaining cautious instead of acting impulsively. He spoke in a low voice, “What’s your reason?”
“We know what you’re seeking,” the empty, blurry voice echoed again in his mind. “The path to the ‘Deep Layers’ is sealed by illusions. Only by becoming a part of ‘it’ can you bypass this Forest. We’ve found the way, but we can’t resist its will. That’s why we’ve been confined to performing the ‘script’ of this stage. But you… you seem capable. Wear this hunter’s garb—become the Hunter in the Black Forest—and you will see the Forest’s true path.”
“If you truly have the courage and determination to confront it, go and face it.”
Yu Sheng sharply noticed a peculiar term Hunter used when referring to ta-self: “We.”
“You’re the Deep Dive Squad from years ago—you’ve merged into one Entity?!”
“Yes, exactly as you’ve guessed. ‘It’ can’t distinguish between our individual selves and a collective, so during the ‘Fracture,’ we fused together amidst our descent,” Hunter calmly explained, seemingly with only a faint hint of nostalgia. “But we still remember many things. That photograph you brought…”
As swiftly as it appeared, the illusion vanished. The Forest fell briefly silent once more, and Hunter’s voice urgently resurfaced, tinged with anxiety: “Quickly! We don’t have much time—it’s realized the actors on this stage are acting on their own. ‘Hunter’ must revert to its original state before Wolf Granny appears! Trust us, we’ve waited long for this chance, ‘it’ is about to—”
Without hesitation, Yu Sheng lunged forward, reaching for the empty hunter’s garb.
He knew his action was reckless.
Hunter had provided insufficient information. There was no real trust between himself and “them.” What would happen once he wore the garb? How to act next, or what precisely the “true path” was—none of this had been clarified. Rushing forward based solely on impulse seemed a dangerous gamble.
But there was no time left for deliberation.
Because at this moment, he sensed Anka Aila once more—the shadow of countless eyes scanning overhead again, like a mechanical program combing through data. He could practically “hear” the Black Forest resonating, responding to this command. Amid the rising noise mixed with infant wails, Yu Sheng vaguely perceived that the trapped Dark Angel within the depths of the “Fairy Tale” had noticed him, marking him as an Intruder within the Forest.
He could open a Door and escape—but opening it now risked revealing the coordinates of the real world directly to that Dark Angel.
Yu Sheng’s hand again passed through the hunter’s garb, just as it had in his dream—the “Hunter” was merely a hollow illusion, intangible and incorporeal.
Yet, Yu Sheng clearly sensed that as he threw himself towards that empty garment, his connection to the hunter’s garb abruptly intensified.
Anka Aila’s gaze shifted sharply towards him, as if a puppet suddenly moving on its own had startled the puppeteer into alertness.
Yu Sheng felt the hunter’s garb enveloping him, drawing him into an additional “shell.” His thoughts momentarily dulled as alien emotions and memories surged into his consciousness, flowing away in an instant. Yet, within that fleeting moment, he glimpsed scattered, chaotic scenes—
He saw twelve figures in thick protective gear standing together, with himself among them.
He heard voices delivering commands and the sound of water filling the “Deep Dive Pool.”
He heard chaotic roars, countless voices merging and distorting together, mingled with echoes resembling the mechanical hum of innumerable devices operating simultaneously.
He saw himself hurtling through endless darkness. His outer shell was shattering into countless fragments.
Wild torrents of energy lashed against the protective barriers, each nerve ablaze with warnings of collapsing internal structures. A cacophony of error messages flooded his mind, screaming relentlessly—
Warning: “Umbilical Cord” severed!
Warning: Core connection lost…
Yu Sheng felt his consciousness leaping wildly between different viewpoints—not only those of the Deep Divers from seventy years past, but also visions that belonged to something inhuman. Memories impossible for a human surged before him. In the final glimpse, he saw himself plunging through a chaotic storm of swirling light.
At the end of that fall lay an empty clearing surrounded by a few old, worn-out buildings.
The blinding radiance faded.
Yu Sheng opened his eyes, now standing in the heart of the dark Little House, clothed in Hunter’s garb.
His vision swayed gently. Countless red cloaks surrounded him like silent flames, setting the quiet night ablaze.
The gaze of Anka Aila drifted slowly across the night sky above the Little House.
Yu Sheng raised his eyes cautiously beneath the brim of the Hunter’s hood. For a moment, the Little House’s roof seemed to vanish, revealing an enormous shadow drifting overhead, a shadow filled with countless blinking eyes. The monstrous shape continued its slow, deliberate path, gradually descending toward the edge of the Black Forest.
It had not detected the intruder hiding inside Hunter’s guise.
Yu Sheng steadied his breathing and tentatively asked deep within his mind: [Are ‘you’ still there?]
There was no direct reply.
Yet faint, hollow whispers stirred in the darkness. Those echoes seemed intentionally sent, like distant signals acknowledging his call. It appeared “they” were still present, merely hiding themselves carefully to avoid alerting Anka Aila.
Standing quietly, Yu Sheng examined himself, cautiously lifting his arm.
He saw Hunter’s familiar garments but felt no unusual restraints or sensations as he moved. The worst-case scenario—that this uniform was a trap designed to transform him into a puppet, a Hunter bound by the cruel rules of the Black Forest—had thankfully not occurred.
Yu Sheng blinked slowly. He still sensed something had subtly changed within him, though he could not clearly grasp what exactly it was. As he pondered, he felt another gaze resting on him.
Turning slightly, he saw Squirrel crouching nearby, trembling slightly but courageously refusing to flee from the house.
“So,” Squirrel asked in a hesitant whisper, “does this mean you’re a ‘Hunter’ now?”
“Maybe?” Yu Sheng considered briefly, stepping forward and gently scooping up Squirrel. “But nothing really feels diff—”
He abruptly stopped speaking mid-sentence.
Squirrel nervously tugged at his fingers. “What’s wrong?”
Yu Sheng didn’t answer. He simply stared blankly at the wall before him.
The wall began to flicker in his vision.
It flashed erratically, vanishing one moment, reappearing the next. When it disappeared entirely, he could clearly see the Black Forest outside—and now the entire forest flickered like an unstable projection, trees and bushes blinking in and out, increasingly unreal with every passing second.
Guided by instinct, Yu Sheng stepped forward. He passed effortlessly through the flickering wall, emerging outside the Little House with Squirrel still in his grasp.
“Whoa!” Squirrel squeaked in shock, finally registering what had just occurred. “Did we just walk through the wall? How’d you do that?!”
Yu Sheng didn’t respond. His eyes were fixed on another sight.
A vast, yawning fissure stood silently at the heart of the Black Forest. It was identical to the rift he’d once seen tearing through Old Zheng’s room, the same wound Anka Aila had opened to pierce the real world.
It had always been there, hidden behind the illusions of the Black Forest—a path to the truth behind the stage, unseen until now.
“Do you see that?” Yu Sheng asked, carefully raising Squirrel with one hand and pointing toward the fissure with the other.
Squirrel looked confused, her tiny face blank. “Huh? See what?”
“Never mind.” Yu Sheng sighed softly. “Seems only a ‘Hunter’ can see it.”
Taking a deep breath, Yu Sheng began walking toward the fissure.
But the moment he took that first step, a wave of chilling wolf howls and a terrifying roar thundered through the night, freezing him in his tracks.
“Wolves! They’re coming!” Squirrel shrieked.
And indeed, the Wolves arrived.
Countless wolves appeared instantly, materializing from thin air, their savage forms filling every space within Yu Sheng’s sight. He knew at once—this horde far exceeded anything he’d encountered even when he and Foxy stormed through the Black Forest to face Wolf Granny.
A tangible aura of murderous intent saturated the air, almost thick enough to taste blood.
Yu Sheng gasped sharply, teeth clenched. Reaching behind him, he awkwardly pulled out the Hunter’s rifle, gripping it unsteadily.
He growled defiantly.
The wolves charged, surging forward.
Then, they tore him apart.
Into countless, tiny fragments.
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation