Shao Feng, who had just climbed the cliff, was unfortunately spotted by the skeletons lying in wait.
They immediately swarmed toward him.
Shao Feng quickly dashed into the jungle and ran... He had no idea how long he ran.
Just as his stamina was about to give out, the pursuing skeletons suddenly disintegrated...
The remaining skeletons halted, not daring to take another step forward, but hurled their weapons at Shao Feng.
Shao Feng dodged behind a tree.
It seems they don't persist indefinitely; once they cross a certain boundary, they revert to mere skeletons.
Thinking of this, Shao Feng let out a slight sigh.
He flipped off the skeletons behind him.
"Damn it." He cursed loudly to vent his frustration, then turned and ran away quickly...
As the last ray of sunlight vanished on the horizon, the entire forest was enveloped in darkness.
Having escaped the skeletons, Shao Feng breathed a sigh of relief.
But looking at the pitch-black trees around him, he knew he faced an even greater danger.
The jungle at night was perilous.
After a full day, his stomach began to protest with hunger.
Wandering aimlessly through the dark forest, Shao Feng half-hoped some foolhardy creature would try to attack him.
He was starving right now.
At that moment, a faint bloody scent drifted in...
"Prey." Shao Feng's heart leaped with joy. He drew the ninja sword from his back and headed toward the source of the smell...
After advancing several hundred meters, Shao Feng hid in the shadow of a large tree and peered ahead. In the dim moonlight, dozens of green glowing spots dotted the area not far away.
"A wolf pack?" Shao Feng muttered to himself.
He crept closer slowly.
Sure enough, under a tree, a slender figure was tightly surrounded by dozens of black wolves. In front of her lay the corpses of five or six black wolves.
The bloody scent came from these dead wolves.
"A human?" Shao Feng's heart rejoiced. If it's a human, maybe they can lead me out of here. With that thought, he stepped forward...
"What?" As he approached, Shao Feng was stunned by what he saw. Cowering under the tree was a naked girl. "An illusion?" Shao Feng halted slowly.
"Woo—" The alpha wolf suddenly howled at the sky. This was the signal to attack. All the black wolves stood up, growling menacingly at the girl under the tree...
Undaunted by their intimidation, the girl crouched low to the ground, baring her fangs at the wolf pack and letting out a "Rawr"...
"Fangs?" Shao Feng shook his head.
Just as he wondered if he'd seen wrong, their battle began.
One black wolf leaped forward, extending its claws and opening its jaws wide toward the girl.
The girl swung her left arm.
Her fair arm transformed into sharp claws.
She swatted the wolf from the air, pinning it to the ground, then lunged and bit its neck. Fresh blood sprayed out immediately...
Whoosh, whoosh... Two black wolves jumped simultaneously toward the girl under the tree...
The girl abandoned her current prey, shrinking back quickly as her legs powered her into a high leap, dodging the attack.
Not only that, she counterattacked in mid-air.
Her front claws reverted to arms, each hand grabbing a wolf's tail.
With a perfect somersault, she landed on her feet, then yanked her arms forcefully—bang!
The two wolves collided head-on...
"A Devil Fruit user?" Shao Feng sighed slightly.
This was the One Piece world, after all.
The legendary 2D realm where anything was possible.
But should he help her?
With that in mind, Shao Feng pulled out his shuriken.
He recalled reading in a book that no matter how many wolves you kill in a pack, they won't flee as long as the alpha lives.
So, take out the alpha, and the rest will scatter...
With that, Shao Feng aimed at the alpha wolf.
Whoosh, whoosh... Three shuriken pierced the alpha's body accurately, embedding into the tree behind it.
The unlucky alpha didn't even have time to howl in agony before dying by Shao Feng's hand.
Sensing the alpha's death, the wolf pack scattered in all directions, vanishing from sight in an instant.
"Um, hello." After the wolves fled, Shao Feng slowly approached the girl, sizing her up.
The girl used one arm to cover her chest, her body covered in blue welts from whippings.
She had clearly been beaten severely.
Slender, pale legs.
And a black tail.
But her right foot was twisted in an odd position, evidently badly injured...
"Are you hurt?" Shao Feng took a couple of steps forward. "To fight so agilely with such serious injuries?"
"Rawr—" Clearly ungrateful, the girl glared warily at the approaching Shao Feng and let out a loud growl to intimidate him...
"Don't be tense. I mean no harm. I just want to check your wound," Shao Feng said, opening his hands to show he was unarmed, hoping to gain her trust.
The girl waved her left hand, now clawed, in front of her to ward off his approach.
Seeing how hostile the girl was, Shao Feng had no choice but to back off helplessly. Besides, he wasn't a doctor anyway—he couldn't treat her even if he checked.
With that thought, Shao Feng felt his stomach rumble again.
He gathered some dry branches, lit a bonfire, and began roasting the black wolves over the flames...
Seeing that Shao Feng ignored her, the girl slowly lowered her waving left hand.
But her vigilant gaze never left his figure.
Suddenly, as if drawn by the aroma of roasting meat, the girl sniffed the air deeply. For the first time, her alert eyes shifted from Shao Feng to the meat on the fire, swallowing hard...
Seeing her reaction, Shao Feng smiled faintly. "How about it? Want to try some?"
The girl looked at Shao Feng blankly, clearly not understanding what he said.
"Sigh!" Shao Feng sighed slightly, cut off a piece of cooked wolf meat, and walked toward the girl under the tree. She immediately went on high alert. Her clawed hands revealed sharp barbs.
"Don't be nervous. I mean no harm." Shao Feng slowly offered the roasted meat to her.
The girl wrinkled her nose, sniffing the meat intensely, and swallowed again. But her eyes remained wary on Shao Feng.
"Alright, alright... I'll leave the meat here. Eat it slowly." Shao Feng bent down, placed the meat on the ground, and slowly retreated to the bonfire to enjoy his own dinner.
Only after Shao Feng retreated did the girl's gaze shift to the meat before her.
She sniffed it deeply.
Then, with one claw, she tentatively touched the meat.
Suddenly noticing Shao Feng smiling at her, she quickly retracted her claw.
Shao Feng shook his head with a wry smile and stopped looking at her, focusing on his own roasting meat. Soon, the sound of the girl devouring the food voraciously reached his ears...
Unknowingly, a wave of drowsiness washed over him. Shao Feng stretched and lay down by the fire, falling into a deep sleep...
After wolfing down the meat in front of her, the girl licked her lips longingly and eyed the roasting meat by the fire. Swallowing hard, she decided to risk getting more...
She moved her body gently but aggravated her foot wound.
The pain twisted her face.
Gritting her teeth, she inched toward Shao Feng.
She sniffed lightly at his body... The scent from Shao Feng made her wrinkle her nose.
She shook her head vigorously, seemingly regretting her decision.
She quickly backed away two steps, took the meat from the fire, and ate it... In his hazy sleep, Shao Feng felt an itch in his nose.
He shook his head irritably.
It was dawn.
Shao Feng squinted his eyes, using his hand to shield against the sunlight filtering through the tree leaves into the jungle.
But he discovered something extra in his arms.
Looking down, it was the girl, curled up and nestled against him.
Her pointed black cat ears on top of her head twitched slightly.
"What the heck is this?" Shao Feng grumbled, his sweet dream interrupted.
But then his face flushed red—his hand was actually grabbing her chest.
He quickly released his hand and shifted his body back, creating distance from the girl in his arms.
Feeling Shao Feng's reaction, the girl wriggled, seemingly wanting to burrow back into his embrace.
At that moment, her movements suddenly froze.
She jerked her head up.
Looking at the now-awake Shao Feng, she showed a complex expression.
Seeing the girl's face, Shao Feng burst out laughing.
Her nostrils were stuffed with green leaves.
Such a bizarre, comical sight—it was no wonder he laughed.
Then, Shao Feng's laughter abruptly stopped.
"So stinky." He grimaced; his body emitted a foul odor. Glancing at the girl still lying in his arms, Shao Feng reached out...
The girl squeezed her eyes shut in fright, but realized Shao Feng's hand was just petting her head. A feeling she'd never experienced before...
She cracked her eyes open slightly, looking at Shao Feng in confusion, not understanding what he was doing. But since she felt no hostility, the girl smiled for the first time.
Shao Feng reached to remove the leaves from her nose, but she refused, shaking her head vigorously and making a frowning face.
"Idiot. If you hate the smell, don't come close," Shao Feng said with a smile, shaking her head gently.
"Shao Feng. My name," Shao Feng said smilingly.
"???" The girl tilted her head, utterly puzzled, clearly not understanding.
"Could it be a cat that ate the Human-Human Fruit? Like Chopper. But Chopper can talk," Shao Feng muttered doubtfully.
"How's your foot wound? Let me see." With that, Shao Feng grabbed her left leg.
"Rawr—" The girl yelped strangely, her right hand turning into a claw and slashing across Shao Feng's chest.
"Ah—" A piercing pain hit him, and Shao Feng cried out.
Seeing her claw land on Shao Feng's body, fresh red blood immediately staining his clothes.
The girl froze, looking incredulously at Shao Feng's chest.
Tears slowly streamed down...
She covered her mouth with both hands in shock, shaking her head vigorously.
Her mouth emitted "Ah... Ah... Ah..." sobs as her body backed away... Suddenly, she turned and fled...