Chapter 87: The Cunning Monster
The borderlands between Texas and Arkansas.
Dense forest covered the terrain ahead, transforming this region into a primeval wilderness that civilization had barely touched.
Looking at the path forward—which even their heavy-duty truck couldn't traverse—Chris carried Stewie out of the vehicle, took a deep breath of humid air, and said, "Can you pinpoint that thing's exact location? I really don't want to blindly walk into its territory."
Stewie adjusted his wristband, fiddled with various controls for a moment, then reported, "Negative. This entire area has been contaminated by that entity. Its residual energy signature is everywhere, creating too much interference for precise triangulation."
"Shit!" Chris kicked a rock into the jungle with frustration. The immense force launched the stone like a cannonball, creating a thunderous crash in the forest and startling massive flocks of birds and wildlife.
Having vented his dissatisfaction, Chris calmed himself and said, "Then you two wait here with the truck. I'll go kill that monster, and then we'll leave directly."
"No, no, no—there's absolutely no way I'm staying behind. I want to see what a genuine Wendigo actually looks like."
Stewie directly waved his finger in refusal. Having traveled between dimensions to get here, there was no way he'd miss this opportunity.
Ruby, on the other hand, remained silent, but the genuine concern in her eyes spoke volumes.
Seeing that neither of them wanted to stay behind, Chris sighed in resignation, "Alright, but just to be safe, you two need full tactical gear."
Hearing Chris's agreement, Ruby flipped athletically into the truck bed and emerged shortly afterward heavily equipped.
Chris assessed her loadout: tactical body armor and ballistic protection as base layers, with a grenade launcher, flamethrower, and a minigun covering her torso and back.
For additional firearms, she carried only two combat shotguns—the rest of her carrying capacity was dedicated to fragmentation grenades, incendiary devices, and various explosive ordnance.
Then Ruby secured a scaled-down bulletproof vest over Stewie's small frame, nodded professionally, and reported, "Boss, we're ready."
Stewie tugged hard at the collar restricting his neck, ensuring he could breathe normally, before complaining, "What exactly did you teach her? With you providing protection, does she really need to be this thoroughly armed?"
Chris, who was about to lead them into the forest, turned around and said with complete seriousness, "I actually think her equipment isn't sufficient. If we hadn't been pressed for time, I would've acquired an armored personnel carrier for her to operate."
Stewie was momentarily speechless, thinking to himself that this guy's paranoid level of caution was almost comical.
However, Stewie had no idea that ever since Chris had identified the entity competing with him for life essence as a Wendigo, he'd compiled extensive research about this monster.
And the more information he'd gathered, the more Chris realized how genuinely dangerous this creature was.
According to various Native American legends and documented encounters, this monster possessed tremendous physical strength, lightning-fast speed, apparent immortality, and psychic abilities including creating powerful illusions.
And if certain mythological interpretations were accurate, it might even possess actual magical capabilities.
Therefore, facing potentially the most powerful supernatural entity he'd ever encountered, Chris couldn't afford anything less than maximum caution.
Upon reaching the forest's edge, Chris retrieved several vials of dragon blood serum, handed a few to Ruby, then consumed three himself.
Abundant energy flooded his entire body, bringing Chris to absolute peak condition.
Then Chris activated every ability he possessed: the misfortune detection from Death, the empathic perception from Mickey, and his most fundamental regenerative power.
After awakening all his capabilities to their maximum potential, Chris stepped into the cold, damp, oppressive forest.
Unlike Chris's heightened tension, Stewie sat comfortably on Ruby's shoulder, curiously observing the corrupted forest that had been warped by the Wendigo's presence.
His wristband continuously emitted detection waves, recording environmental data about their surroundings.
As for Ruby, the moment she entered this domain, she felt strangely at home. Not only did her strength return to its nocturnal peak, but her fundamental life force began slowly increasing—as if the Wendigo's dark energy was calling to her transformed nature.
However, noticing Ruby's abnormal response, Chris quickly warned her, "Don't get seduced by this dark power. You won't be able to control it if you let it in."
Hearing Chris's command, Ruby instantly rejected this elevation of power, both physically and mentally severing her connection to the corrupted environment.
Seeing that Ruby's mind remained clear, Chris drew his monomolecular combat knife from his wristband and stared intently ahead.
"Stay close to me. That monster is directly ahead."
Ruby and Stewie looked curiously in the direction Chris indicated, but from their perspective could see only pitch darkness.
However, from Chris's enhanced perception, there was a massive beast emanating waves of dark energy, currently in apparent slumber.
An enormous deer skull rested on grotesquely humanoid clawed limbs, seemingly at peaceful rest.
Observing that the monster appeared to be genuinely sleeping, Chris actively suppressed his presence, then slowly advanced toward it.
After considering that Stewie and Ruby's life signatures wouldn't be strong enough for the Wendigo to perceive as threats, Chris didn't suggest they remain behind.
After all, they'd already entered the Wendigo's territory. If they separated from him now, there was substantial risk they'd be attacked individually by the entity.
So it was safer for them to remain close, allowing Chris to intervene immediately if anything went wrong.
With this reasoning, Chris led them to within several yards of the sleeping Wendigo.
Observing the apparently dormant creature, Chris's mind was filled with suspicion, but his hands honestly raised his blade and brought it down sharply toward the Wendigo's deer skull.
Swoosh—
A sensation like a hot knife cutting through butter entered Chris's awareness, but immediately afterward, his misfortune detection ability screamed danger. His body instinctively rolled sideways, and his combat knife slashed backward with the momentum.
With a tearing sound, several drops of viscous liquid splattered out, landing on the ground with an audible hissing as they corroded the earth.
This was immediately followed by a powerful gust of displaced air that nearly knocked Stewie off Ruby's shoulder.
"Incredibly fast! That monster detected us the moment we entered its domain. You two hold position."
Even with Chris's enhanced dynamic vision—capable of tracking supersonic objects—he could only perceive that the entity that had just attacked him was a humanoid shadow moving at extreme velocity.
However, even without seeing its specific form, Chris knew with certainty that it was his target: the Wendigo.
While maintaining defensive awareness against another attack, Chris glanced at what he'd actually struck.
A massive boulder, split cleanly in half.
It seemed that from the moment they'd entered this territory, they'd already been outmaneuvered by the Wendigo's intelligence.
The creature had apparently sensed that Chris was genuinely dangerous, so it had created an elaborate illusion to misdirect his attention.
Then it had ambushed Chris during his moment of vulnerability.
Fortunately, although the Wendigo's speed far exceeded Chris's reaction capabilities, from that single exchange, its raw strength was nowhere near a match for his enhanced physique.
It was precisely because of this assessment that Chris felt no panic whatsoever.
As long as he could confirm that this entity's supernatural abilities couldn't seriously harm him, that its physical capabilities were inferior to his own, and that he possessed a monomolecular weapon capable of piercing its defenses—
Then all he needed to do was identify the Wendigo's weaknesses, prevent it from fully exploiting its speed advantage, and Chris could methodically eliminate the creature.
He'd show it what true cruelty meant.
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