Chapter 6

"Hey, what?"

Chu Fei whipped around in a panic, only to see a monster barreling straight at him. It was round all over like a slab of meat, with neither head nor tail, and two pairs of wings sprouting from its back. He never even had time to react before it slammed into his body, and everything went black again!

No! I don't want to die yet!!! I still have so many things to do, and...

"No!!"

After a long while, Chu Fei finally came to. The first thing out of his mouth was a scream, but he quickly realized that nothing had happened to him at all, and that he was standing back in the dormitory. He looked down at his hands and feet in confusion, then patted his chest. Everything was just as it had been before, but what had that been?

What was that thing that had pounced on him?

Where had he just gone?

Wait, where was the bronze pot? Why wasn't it there?

Gurgle...

Just as Chu Fei was searching everywhere for the bronze pot, his stomach suddenly lurched violently. A wave of dizziness washed over him too, and he felt weak all over as if he hadn't eaten for days and nights. He hurriedly pulled a few apples out of his backpack. He had bought them before boarding the train, but hadn't eaten them because he had no appetite. To his shock, after he wolfed down all of them, his stomach was still aching with hunger!

What was going on?

He quickly left the dorm and stepped out onto the street. Luckily, it was night market hours, and the roadside was packed with stalls selling all kinds of snacks. Chu Fei found a halal noodle shop at random and ordered a big bowl of Lanzhou beef noodles. He finished it in just a few bites, but he was still starving!

He simply ordered another bowl and ate that too, but nothing changed. If anything, the other people in the shop were starting to stare at him strangely.

He hurried out. Chu Fei rubbed his stomach; two big bowls of Lanzhou beef noodles had vanished like they were dropping into a bottomless pit.

How could that be?

Chu Fei didn't remember ever being able to eat this much. This was the first time in his life!

Just then, Chu Fei suddenly caught a whiff of grilled lamb drifting past, and his stomach started roaring again. Saliva even surged into his mouth...

After a brief hesitation, Chu Fei still walked over and bought two skewers. He devoured them, let out a satisfied burp, and his stomach finally quieted down for the moment.

So what he needed was meat!

But that feeling of satisfaction lasted only a few seconds before his stomach started acting up again. Clearly, two skewers of lamb were nowhere near enough to satisfy it. But lamb skewers here in Shenzhen were ten yuan each. How was he supposed to afford any more?

With no other choice, Chu Fei staggered back to the noodle shop and ordered another big bowl of beef noodles. Even the noodle cook was looking at him funny now.

But a big bowl of beef noodles didn't mean there was much beef in it. After he finished it and stepped back outside, his stomach was protesting again.

If he kept eating like this, no amount of money would ever be enough.

Chu Fei forced himself to endure the hunger and headed for his family's shop. First he asked his mother, He Peiling, for some money, then went to a nearby hospital to register for the emergency clinic. Strangely enough, after examining him several times, the doctor helplessly told him that he was perfectly healthy and had no illness at all...

If I'm not sick, then why am I starving like this? Chu Fei cursed him bitterly in his mind, but there was nothing he could do. Unless he paid for a full-body dialysis-style examination or something similar, even the doctor was powerless.

By the time he walked out of the hospital, Chu Fei was so hungry he was seeing stars, and he didn't even have the strength to walk...

Meat! He wanted meat so badly!

And whether it was an illusion or not, Chu Fei suddenly saw the crowd on the street turn into piles of fresh meat before his eyes. The sight made his mouth flood with saliva again, as if those were delicious dishes right in front of him. Terror surged through him, and he instinctively fought the urge with all his might. How had he turned into this?

Had he become a monster?

Stumbling and swaying as he avoided the crowd, Chu Fei ducked into a dark alley in utter disgrace, because he was afraid he might not be able to stop himself from lunging at those piles of delicious flesh and tearing into them...

Had he really become a monster?

A monster that wanted to eat human flesh?

God...

How could this be happening?

Woof! Woof!!

Suddenly a stray dog darted out of a trash heap. It was highly alert to Chu Fei intruding on its territory and tried to drive him off, but seeing that Chu Fei didn't seem aggressive and was only crouching in the corner, trembling, the stray dog slowly approached. It lowered its nose to sniff at Chu Fei's body, as if curious what he was doing here. But at that moment, Chu Fei's hand suddenly clamped around its neck!

Chu Fei saw it clearly. The stray dog he had grabbed was already skinny to the bone, yet in his hand its body was shrinking at a visible rate...

Shrinking more...

Even when there was nothing left but skin and bones, it still didn't stop. Flesh, fur, and bones all kept shrinking together, smaller and smaller, until they disappeared completely...