The Hatching Egg

"Tired. Seems like I can't handle the Holy Land on my own." Ye Chuan lifted his head, gazing at the sky at a 45-degree angle.

Hmm. Gloomy and overcast.

The Holy Land was an existence even more formidable than the Upper Three Sects. Bing San's guardian envoys were all at the Enlightenment Realm—a level equivalent to Qingyun Sect's leader, Qin Tianya.

If he hadn't threatened that old geezer last time by activating Void Form and vowing to shatter the Demon Core, the bastard might not have fled in fear.

All around, snow stretched endlessly, and the treasury was just as barren.

In this frozen wasteland, all Ye Chuan wanted was a bit of warmth to soothe his icy heart—preferably from a certain snow maiden.

"Guess I'll save and log off."

At least he'd refined an entire sect, and his cultivation had improved somewhat.

Next time, he’d aim to refine Qingyun Sect.

……

When he opened his eyes again, familiar warmth enveloped him.

After logging off, Ye Chuan found himself back in his rented apartment.

Luo Xi was fast asleep beside him, strands of hair clinging to her cheeks as she curled up against his chest—while on the other side, Ye Yue hugged a small pillow, pressing close.

Sleeping soundly, huh?

Ye Chuan reached out and stroked Luo Xi’s cheek. She responded with a muffled murmur, "Mmm?"

Picking up his phone, he checked his progress in the adventure worlds.

[Aiser Continent—Save Point (Ys Town): Inactive (Gray)

Main Quest: Escort the Princess to the Royal City, Eliminate the Skin-Stealing Monsters

Side Quest: Acquire the Succubus Parlor]

……

[Tianxuan Continent—Save Point (Ice Xuan Palace): Inactive (Gray)

Main Quest: Destroy Qingyun Sect

Side Quest: Defeat the Egg-Protecting Sage, Elder Xuan]

……

Exhausted, Ye Chuan buried his face in the "snow maiden’s" embrace, the chill in his body seemingly dispelled. His eyelids grew heavy, and soon, he sank into deep slumber.

He slept straight until dawn.

……

Morning came, and when Ye Chuan woke, he found his arm tightly bound. Blinking groggily, he glanced down—only to see it wrapped in writhing tendrils of flesh.

Ye Yue’s hands had split apart, transforming into a mass of tentacles, yet she remained oblivious, still sound asleep.

Ye Chuan: "……"

Waking up to this was… quite the visual shock.

He chose to ignore the tentacles. After all, Ye Yue was never ordinary to begin with.

A monster wasn’t so bad.

But now, he wasn’t sure how to free himself and get up. With no other option, he gently patted Ye Yue’s shoulder.

"Ye Yue?"

"Ye Yue…"

Her crimson eyes fluttered open, the tentacles swiftly retracting until she blinked up at him, utterly harmless. "Brother… did I hurt you? I didn’t mean to."

"I know you didn’t. It’s fine." Ye Chuan ruffled her hair.

"Let’s go wash up and have breakfast?"

"Okay!" Instead of moving, Ye Yue rolled over and pinned him down, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Brother, I want a hug!"

Ye Chuan obliged, holding her tight. Ye Yue seemed delighted, nuzzling into his chest as she greedily inhaled his scent.

By the time they got out of bed, Luo Xi had already prepared breakfast.

"Hmm?"

Something felt off. Ye Chuan’s gaze shifted until he spotted it—a cracked eggshell on the floor.

"The egg…"

Wait.

"Where’s my egg?" Ye Chuan blurted out. The egg he’d obtained after defeating that kaiju-like monster was gone.

"Brother, it’s still here." Ye Yue glanced down.

Ye Chuan: "?"

Ye Yue: "?"

……

Ye Chuan immediately released his spiritual sense, scanning the room—until he sensed something. His eyes snapped to the corner, where a massive, metallic-hued spider loomed.

Its body gleamed in shades of crimson and violet, each leg sharp as a scythe.

The spider remained frozen, its many eyes locked onto Ye Chuan, huddled in the corner too terrified to move.

The moment it realized it had been spotted, it shrank even further, letting out a tiny, "Squeak!"

"Lilith! Lilith!" Ye Chuan called out urgently.

A faint violet glow shimmered as Lilith materialized, tilting her head. "What’s wrong? Why the panic?"

"Spider."

"Huh?" Lilith raised a brow—but the second she looked up, her entire body stiffened. "Sp-spider?!"

"Eek!"

She lunged at Ye Chuan’s face, clinging like a facehugger, her legs locking around his shoulders—and effectively smothering him.

"W-wait—"

Blinded, Ye Chuan staggered and toppled onto the bed.

"Brother, me too!" Seeing the commotion, Ye Yue cheerfully piled on top, squashing his stomach.

"Oof—"

After much flailing, Ye Chuan finally managed to sit up, eyeing Lilith. "Lilith, I never took you for someone afraid of spiders."

"You’re mistaken. I, the great Lilith, fear no spider," she stated flatly.

"Then what was that just now—"

"A hallucination." She averted her gaze.

"Sure, let’s go with that." Sighing, Ye Chuan pointed at the cowering spider. "Is this thing the monster that hatched from that egg?"

"A being of the Void. Indeed."

"And you told me to keep it because…?"

"No idea."

"Excuse me?"

"Its abilities remain unclear. You’ll have to nurture it first." With that, Lilith dissolved into violet light and vanished.

"Hey—"

"Hey?!"

Watching her disappear, Ye Chuan’s eye twitched. He turned back to the spider and commanded,

"Come here."

"Squeak."

"Enough squeaking. Get down here, or I’m turning you into soup."

The spider obediently scurried over—only for its razor-sharp legs to shred Ye Chuan’s bedsheets.

"My bed!" He swatted at it, sending the spider tumbling back into the corner, where it trembled pitifully.

Ye Chuan: "……"

"Am I really that scary?" he muttered. He hadn’t even hit it hard, yet the spider acted like it was on death’s doorstep.

"Squeak!" The spider nodded emphatically. After all, even inside the egg, Ye Chuan had bullied it relentlessly.

"……"

Ye Chuan pulled out his phone and navigated to the pet menu:

[New Pet Discovered: ???

Origin: [Void], Abilities Unknown

Realm: None

[Pet Quality: S]

[Passive Effect: Permanently boosts all tenants’ stats by 22%]

[Special Bonus: Unknown]

Damn.

A percentage-based buff?

Even better than that black mutt in the yard.

Power creep much?

22%?

No wonder Lilith insisted on keeping it.

Ye Chuan looked at the spider again, his gaze softening. He beckoned gently. "Come here, little Crimson."

The spider: "Squeak?"

It inched forward cautiously, unnerved by Ye Chuan’s sudden warmth.

Somehow, this terrified it even more.

This man…

Was far scarier than any monster.

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