Chapter 154: Butterfly Village

Li Zhi immediately realized that this was a failed half-formed creature, a half-human, half-butterfly monster just like Li Jianxi.

This kind of monster fed on human blood.

They would drain people into dried husks.

Metamorphosis wasn’t a guaranteed success. Over the past few centuries, there must have been many such monsters, but the people of Butterfly Village had disposed of them all. Tonight, their luck had run out—they had encountered a freshly emerged one, clearly starving and eager to drain them dry in one gulp.

Two legs could never outrun a winged monster. Li Zhi made a quick decision: “Kill it!”

The fleeing players skidded to a halt, pulling out their tools to deal with the giant fluttering moth. With the parasitic influence gone, Li Zhi had also returned to normal, no longer the weakling who ran a high fever and lost strength at night.

The audience outside the screen watched as she pulled out her baseball bat, charging toward the monster in one swift motion, and instantly erupted into cheers.

[Move aside!!! Our badass Sister Zhi is back!!!]

[I feel like Li Zhi, now that her strength is restored, has built up a reservoir of rage and could take on ten at once!]

[Step back! Sister Zhi is unleashing her ultimate move!]

[Thought the big shot was gonna stay weak from start to finish—didn’t expect her to make a fierce comeback mid-game!]

[Sister, who did you just slay? You slayed me! Giant fluttering moth, you’re lucky to die by Sister Zhi’s hands!]

[Giant fluttering moth: Oh, you want this kind of luck for yourself?!]

...

The butterfly monster dove toward them, only to be met with a crushing blow to the head from Li Zhi’s bat, sending it crashing into the nearby mountain wall. A small tree on the cliffside snapped instantly. The monster flapped its wings, struggling to take off again, its shrill screech growing even more piercing—clearly, it was furious.

Li Zhi’s hands stung from the recoil, forcing her to shake them out. The monster’s head was as hard as iron, and the backlash nearly split her palms open.

The monster quickly recovered, taking flight again. Li Zhi gripped her bat with both hands, blocking its attack while shouting to her teammates, “Aim for its abdomen!”

That night when Li Jianxi had held her, she had felt the softness of his stomach. If this monster shared his origins, its weak point should be the same.

Jiao Shen immediately adjusted his approach, dropping to his knees and leaning back, slashing his knife toward the monster’s belly. But the creature was fast—it blocked the blade with its wings. Jiao Shen’s military knife stabbed into the wing, as if sinking into some sticky, rubbery substance, nearly getting stuck. The massive wing flung him away, sending him tumbling hard to the ground.

So, the abdomen was the only vulnerable spot.

Li Zhi swung her bat again, knocking the lunging monster off course, then turned and yelled at the less combat-ready players, “Torches!”

These players had earlier cut their arms to stay conscious and resist the parasitic butterflies’ influence. Already weak, their injuries now made them even less useful in a fight. At Li Zhi’s reminder, they quickly lit the torches they had brought into the mountains.

The forest instantly blazed with fire. Li Zhi tossed her baseball bat to Guan Xiaoxing, grabbed a torch from her, and thrust it toward the monster’s mantis-like eyes.

Insects feared fire, and even a monstrous butterfly instinctively shied away from flames. It flapped its wings, trying to rise above the torch. Li Zhi had been waiting for this—she shouted, “Jiao Shen!”

Jiao Shen didn’t need prompting. Seeing the opening, he lunged.

But the monster was too fast. Despite his quick reflexes, his knife only grazed its tail. Thick green fluid dripped from the blade as the monster let out another ear-splitting shriek, its wing smacking Jiao Shen away again.

Xu Yan followed up, slashing at the monster’s front. Caught between attacks, the creature’s screeches grew even louder. Xu Yan suddenly had a bad feeling: “Is it… calling for backup???”

“Are there more butterfly monsters in these mountains?!”

“Yeah! Yin Fu! And the one that took Li Zhi!”

Li Zhi’s expression turned complicated.

If this monster was calling for help… could it be summoning Li Jianxi?

Jiao Shen growled, “Doesn’t matter if it called for help or not—kill it first! If another one shows up before we finish this one, we’re screwed!”

Everyone agreed. Li Zhi, Xu Yan, and Jiao Shen fought the monster head-on while the other four attacked with fire, using every tool they had.

Guan Xiaoxing saw Li Zhi’s torch flicker out and quickly lit another, about to call out to her—only to see Li Zhi charge straight at the monster, grabbing its grotesque head and swinging onto its back.

Enraged at being ridden, the monster thrashed wildly, trying to throw her off. Li Zhi locked her arms around its spiked neck, lifting its upper body by sheer force from its back.

Seizing the opportunity, Jiao Shen and Xu Yan rushed in from both sides, plunging their knives deep into the monster’s abdomen.

Another agonized shriek rang out. Thick green fluid sprayed as the monster flapped its wings, trying to escape. But with its belly wounded and Li Zhi choking its neck, it crashed straight into the mountain wall, its wings drooping weakly.

Li Zhi exhaled, jumping off its back. Her right arm felt numb, barely responsive.

Xu Yan rolled up her sleeve—her once fair skin was now covered in bloody gashes from the monster’s neck spikes. “Could they be poisonous?”

Li Zhi pulled out the spray Li Jianxi had given her from her inventory and applied it to her arm. The bleeding wounds quickly scabbed over, but her arm remained numb and weak—likely due to toxins from the spikes. It would take time to wear off.

“It’s fine.” She pulled her sleeve back down, glancing at the distant mountain path. “With all this noise, the villagers must’ve noticed. We need to hide.”

At the very least, they had to get away from the cocoon grove and avoid lingering near this path.

Just as they prepared to leave, another shrill cry echoed in the distance. Everyone looked up to see a massive dark figure swooping toward them under the moonlight.

The players were on the verge of collapse. “Another one?! It really did call for help!”

With one of Li Zhi’s arms temporarily out of commission and everyone’s stamina drained, they weren’t sure they could take on another monster.

Everyone braced for defense—except Li Zhi, whose expression was once again unreadable as she watched the figure approach, landing right before them.

Han Wenlin blurted out, “It’s Li Jianxi!”

“Huh? Li Jianxi? That friendly NPC? Why’s he a monster now?”

“If he’s a monster now, will he still help us?”

“Isn’t the system a bit unfair? Same species, but the last one was ugly as sin—how come Li Jianxi’s still kinda hot?”

“Wait, he looks kinda feral… Does he still have human consciousness? Is he gonna attack us?”

The players murmured nervously, not daring to lower their guard—because Li Jianxi did look… unhinged.

He had heard his kin’s call, already struggling to suppress his monstrous instincts. The scent of his kind’s death had further agitated him. Li Zhi watched as his blue eyes darkened, teetering on the edge of violent frenzy.

Suddenly, she walked toward him.

Han Wenlin tried to call her back, but Xu Yan stopped him. Everyone watched, tense, as Li Zhi stepped closer until she stood right before the monster.

Li Jianxi’s wings fluttered slowly, his gaze flickering between失控 and control. But Li Zhi’s presence eventually overpowered the scent of death, and he gradually calmed. When he looked at her again, his expression was… odd.

His eyes unconsciously dropped to her soft lips before darting away, his wings beating faster.

Li Zhi raised her hand. Li Jianxi flinched, then froze, his voice hoarse and slightly panicked. “Go ahead and hit me. I deserve it.”

Li Zhi laughed. “You think I’m going to hit you?”

He lowered his gaze, guilt-ridden. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

Shouldn’t have what? He didn’t finish.

The audience outside the screen filled in the blanks:

[Shouldn’t have kissed her!!!]

[Shouldn’t have made out with her!!!]

[Shouldn’t have gone for the smooch!!!]

[What ‘shouldn’t’??? You absolutely should!!! Too late! Too short! Kiss her harder! Li Jianxi, you did nothing wrong! You’re the most correct man alive!]

[Li Zhi, cut our little Li some slack—he’s just a little monster. Look how pitiful he is.]

...

Li Zhi blinked. “Was that… sharing breath?”

Li Jianxi froze. “What?”

But he quickly realized what she meant.

She was asking—was that life-saving air transfer, or was it a kiss?

In that moment of失控, had he truly only been trying to save her? Or had there been a sliver of awareness, using失控 as an excuse to kiss her?

But monsters had no right to love, let alone kiss the one they loved.

Trapped in the副本, controlled by the system—even if he retained human traits, what difference was there between him and a monster?

Li Zhi noticed Li Jianxi’s eyes slipping back into that bloodthirsty frenzy, mirroring the earlier monster’s rage.

From the distant woods came the faint sound of voices. The mountains were quiet—every rustle carried. The players turned to see a trail of torches winding through the night like a fiery serpent, heading straight for them.

“The villagers! They’re coming!”

Panic set in.

Li Jianxi saw them too. Suppressing his狂暴, he rasped to Li Zhi, “Follow me.”

There were too many players—he couldn’t carry them all. Instead, he led them through dense, uncharted wilderness, deep into the mountains.

Afraid of drawing attention, the players didn’t dare light torches. Fortunately, Li Jianxi’s glowing wings provided faint illumination—a soft blue-gold like bioluminescent jellyfish, oddly beautiful.

He flew ahead, his fierce aura scaring off any potential predators.

They trudged on, stumbling through the dark, until the moon hung high overhead. Finally, Li Jianxi stopped.

If he was stopping, they must be far from the villagers. Li Zhi turned on her flashlight, revealing a cliff ahead. At its base was a cave large enough to fit a dozen people, water dripping from the rocks at its entrance.

In the grass around it lay scattered bones—human and animal.

This was clearly Li Jianxi’s hiding place.