The snow kept getting heavier.

It seemed as if it would never end.

Huai Shi finally understood where all the water vapor from the terrifying drought of the preceding days had gone.

But as the endless blizzard raged, the temperature grew colder and colder, until the thin layer of fluff on Fu Yi's body was no longer of any use.

Having no choice, Huai Shi caught several foolish roe deer and skinned them. After he performed the most rudimentary tanning—using crude methods and his own special 'iron-sap' which was surprisingly adept at the task—Fu Yi quickly used psychokinesis and spikes to sew several crooked leather coats. She put them on…

She looked like a ball.

That was something Huai Shi didn't dare to say out loud.

The temperature dropped lower, and the snow grew heavier, seemingly endless, with nothing but white in sight.

They had been walking into the storm for two days, tirelessly…

Mainly, it was Huai Shi who was tireless. He had teeth strong enough to chew anything. He drank when thirsty and hunted when hungry. When he couldn't catch prey, even eating dirt was fine.

His terrifying body temperature completely resisted the harsh cold, and his mobility was barely affected.

In this way, they continued forward for two days.

But looking ahead or behind, through the dense snowflakes, all they saw was still an endless snowy plain.

They felt as lonely as if the world had abandoned them.

As the sky darkened, Huai Shi drove the snake-spine iron stake he dragged with his tail into the ground. He haphazardly piled some wood nearby, then skillfully spat on it, and a vigorous fire blazed up.

"Heating equals fire; fire plus a song equals me. And if you join me and the song, the temperature will rise even higher…"

Singing an old song off-key, Huai Shi nonchalantly dug a deep pit. He filled it with snow and spat into it to boil the water. Then, he began soaking his feet in the hot water to rest after a tiring day.

Well, whether soaking his feet was of any use to his current body was another matter…

Fu Yi used a spike to skewer the frozen chunks of meat from her binding space. As she repeatedly roasted them over the fire, she couldn't help sighing, "Ah, I would really love a bowl of hot soup…"

"Mm, I want to sleep in a big soft bed."

Huai Shi also soaked his tail in the water, stirring it contentedly. He let out a long breath. "I also want to play games. Then after playing, Uncle Fang's late-night snack would be ready… After the snack, keep playing games… After the game, it would be time to sleep…"

Fu Yi sighed dispiritedly, "I just want to have a feast of grilled meat."

"Then let's get to sleep quickly."

Huai Shi shook his head. "You can have anything in dreams… or just hit that 'Safe Exit' button. Your dad and mom will surely give you whatever you want then."

"You're just trying to find ways not to take me with you, is that it?"

Fu Yi rolled her eyes. "You're really annoying."

Huai Shi didn't speak, as if he had already fallen asleep in the hot water.

This guy, not afraid of catching a cold at all… Could it really be Husky possession? No, according to Fu Yi's speculation over the past few days, it wasn't that you became an animal and then took on its traits; rather, your inherent nature determined which animal you became. So… was she a hedgehog? And Huai Shi, a Husky? In some ways, it was quite fitting.

Fu Yi sighed and turned around, intending to remind him to be careful not to end up frozen in the pit he dug, as had happened yesterday.

However, when she turned around, she froze in place.

Behind her, there was no longer a hot water pool or the figure of a Giant Beast.

Huai Shi had disappeared.

"Hmm?"

She stood in a daze for a long time. She quickly recovered, unleashing her psychokinesis in all directions, then looked down at her map plugin. "Huai Shi? Where did you go?"

There was no response.

"Huai Shi!"

She called out, looking around. But when she turned again, the fire behind her had vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.

In the dead silence, only the snowstorm danced wildly.

But the raging wind seemed to be slowly subsiding. As countless snowflakes quietly fell, a scene finally appeared a few dozen steps away.

A wooden cabin abruptly appeared ahead.

Soft light shone from the tiny cabin, and smoke, thick with a strong fragrance, slowly rose from the chimney.

Warmth was within reach.

Fu Yi was dumbfounded.

In the silence, with a creak, the door was slowly pushed open. A somewhat elderly woman wearing an apron, her expression gentle and kind, gazed at Fu Yi from the doorway.

She had a slightly plump figure, a kind face, and six long whiskers drooping from her mouth.

She looked like a plump old cat.

"Another lost child?" she said with a smile, waving at Fu Yi. "Come in and warm up. I've just made some soup."

"…"

Fu Yi was silent for a moment, then shook her head. The White Weasel's psychokinetic power surged, lifting her into the sky and sending her flying into the distance as if fleeing.

Who in their right mind would enter a place they knew was haunted?

But when she landed, exhausted, and turned around, she saw the warm cabin, seemingly unmoved from its original spot.

And there was the old woman, standing quietly in the snow, waiting at the door.

"Come in, child," she said with a smile. "I made hot soup."

Fu Yi fled in panic.

Yet the warm light relentlessly pursued her from behind, like a maggot clinging to bone, drawing closer and closer.

Finally, Fu Yi no longer had the strength to run.

She collapsed in the snow.

When she turned her head, she saw the gentle smile of the old woman on the steps.

Cat Chef Mother suggested again, "The stew I just made is ready. If you don't mind, how about joining me for a meal?"

"…"

In the prolonged silence, Fu Yi closed her eyes. For the last time, she moved her consciousness away from that red 'Safe Exit' icon, and then opened her eyes.

She said, "Okay."

「. . .」

Huai Shi felt as though he was lost in a blizzard.

Suddenly, everything spun violently, and Fu Yi was gone.

He was thrown into a deep pit, unable to escape the sheer drop of the several-hundred-meter-high cliff.

When he turned his head, he smelled a foul, rank wind coming from the depths of the darkness.

Low, heavy footsteps echoed.

They were accompanied by intimidating low growls from the throats of beasts.

Soon, two colossal creatures emerged from an opened fissure. Their amber vertical pupils examined Huai Shi with a natural ferocity, their mouths open, dripping scorching iron droplets.

Huai Shi stood in place, stunned for a long time.

He almost suspected he was looking in a mirror.

Because the two giant beasts looked exactly like him, without any difference.

"Tch…"

Huai Shi squinted, looking at them, and suddenly asked, "Next, you're not going to say that everything from your bodies to your personalities is exactly the same as mine, are you?"

"That's exactly right."

The two doppelganger beasts responded. Their voices overlapped, sounding like one, yet upon closer listening, it wasn't one or two voices but dozens layered together.

"Well, that's just perfect…"

Huai Shi grinned, limbering up his body, and asked in a low voice, "So, you're saying… you now know what I'm thinking?"

At this, the two Wolf Beasts revealed a sinister smile.

The blizzard came out of nowhere.

It obscured everything.

「. . .」

Inside the cabin, the flames in the fireplace burned fiercely. The stew hanging over the fire bubbled, emitting waves of savory meat aroma that rose and dispersed with the stirring of the ladle.

Fu Yi sat beside the cozy dining table, looking around.

Oil lamp, table, chairs, utensils.

Everything seemed to have been created to suit her taste and intentions; it was deeply charming, and even though she knew it was strange, she was reluctant to find fault with the adorable decorations.

Faint voices constantly echoed, like soft whispers.

The oil lamp said, "She's looking at me… My arm is so itchy, can I scratch it?"

"Don't move; you're an oil lamp!" the table chided in a low voice. "Can't you hold on just a little longer? What if we get exposed?"

"Shut up, all of you!"

The tapestry interrupted their jumbled whispers. "She seems to have heard us talking!"

"Right, no talking!" the vase interjected, making its presence felt.

The oil lamp retorted indignantly, "Then what are you doing, farting?"

"Enough!" the cabinet jolted angrily. "Be quiet, everybody be quiet, don't talk… She's looking this way now…"

The surreptitious murmuring ceased.

Soon, a large wooden platter was placed in front of Fu Yi. On it were steaming hot stew, meat roasted until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and a variety of rich, fragrant sauces—sweet, tangy, spicy, and wonderfully appetizing.

"Please eat, child."

Cat Chef Mother lifted her plump paws, petting the White Weasel's head. "Don't be shy. You must be starving, right?"

"I am starving, indeed."

Fu Yi surveyed her surroundings, comparing them with the "Hell's Accidental Survival Manual" that her father had forced her to memorize as a child. She had already seen through the facade.

"But isn't all of this fake?"

She roughly grabbed a fork, stabbed a piece of meat, and lifted it. Then, using psychokinesis, she tore it apart. The juicy piece of stewed meat dissipated like a bubble.

"Are you really inviting me to dine, or am I the meal you're inviting yourselves to?" Fu Yi looked at the chef coldly. "To you, my friend and I are probably just food, right?"

Cat Chef Mother stared at her blankly for a long moment, then sighed helplessly. She pulled up a chair, sat opposite Fu Yi, and served herself a bowl of stew. Lifting her head, she asked, "Do you mind if I eat while I talk?"

"Do I have any choice?" Fu Yi responded indifferently.

Instead of the expected ferocious pounce, Cat Chef Mother picked up her fork and began to taste her stew, her manners elegant and her movements gentle.

"Relax, child. No one here wants to eat you."

Madam Cat lifted her head to glance at the anxious White Weasel. "Do you really think of us as barbaric creatures that consider anything alive as food?"

"Then why did you capture me and bring me here?"

"It was you who intruded, wasn't it?"

Cat Chef Mother smiled helplessly. "And we… we just wanted to rescue you."