Three days after his visit to the recipe room, Fang Zheng found himself standing at the village gates with two other Gu Masters, waiting for the morning patrol assignment.
The wolf tide had intensified. What had started as sporadic attacks had become a sustained siege, with wolf packs probing the village defenses daily. The three major clans—Gu Yue, Bai, and Xiong—had established a joint merit system to incentivize hunting parties. Kill wolves, collect their body parts as proof, exchange them for primeval stones and resources.
Simple economics. Supply and demand.
"Fang Zheng!" A burly young man clapped him on the shoulder, nearly knocking him forward. "Good to have you with us today. With your tactical mind and my strength, we'll rack up contributions easily."
Gu Yue Chi Shui—Rank 2 middle stage, Grade B aptitude. Specialization in strength-path techniques, favoring direct confrontation. The original Fang Zheng's memories tagged him as loyal but simple-minded, the kind of person who charged first and thought later.
"Don't get overconfident," the third member of their group cautioned. Gu Yue Yao Tu was leaner than Chi Shui, his movements more precise. Rank 2 middle stage as well, but with better tactical awareness. He carried himself like someone who'd survived more close calls than he'd admit. "The contribution rewards are high because the death rate is high. We're only three people—most groups have five or six."
"Three is enough if we're smart," Fang Zheng said calmly. "Smaller groups move faster, make less noise. And we have good class compatibility—Chi Shui's strength for close combat, Yao Tu's poison techniques for area control, my moon-path for support and ranged attacks."
The truth was more pragmatic: Fang Zheng had specifically requested a small group. Fewer people meant fewer witnesses, more flexibility in how situations were handled, and a larger share of any contributions earned.
Chi Shui grinned. "See? This is why you're the genius. Leading us to victory with that Grade A brain of yours."
Fang Zheng didn't correct him. Let Chi Shui think this was about victory. Let Yao Tu think it was about tactics.
Lu Yu Fang knew it was about resources.
He'd spent the last three days gathering materials for his blood-path Gu refinement plan—green grass, bamboo, moon orchid petals. The common materials were easy to acquire. But he needed primeval stones to purchase the more specialized components, and his bribes to Gu Xin had depleted his reserves faster than expected.
The merit system offered a solution. Wolf eyes could be exchanged for primeval stones. Wolf pelts for Gu materials. The higher-ranked the wolf, the better the rewards.
All he had to do was survive long enough to collect them.
The patrol assignment came through: Sector Seven, the western slopes. Known for frequent lightning wolf activity, considered moderately dangerous. Perfect.
They set out as morning mist still clung to the mountain.
Two hours later, they'd killed their first pack—seventeen lightning wolves, all Rank 1 equivalents. The wolves had been feeding on a dead deer, distracted and sluggish. Yao Tu's Poison Mist Gu had done most of the work, the yellow-green fog corroding the wolves' lungs while Fang Zheng and Chi Shui picked off stragglers with Moon Blade attacks.
Clean. Efficient. Almost boring.
"Seventeen wolf eyes," Chi Shui said happily, storing them in his crude storage Gu. "That's nearly fifty contribution points already. At this rate, we'll hit our quota before noon."
"Don't let your guard down," Yao Tu warned, though he too looked pleased. "The easy kills won't last."
Fang Zheng said nothing, scanning the surrounding slopes. The terrain here was steep, rocky outcroppings providing natural choke points. Good defensive positions if they needed them.
He hoped they wouldn't.
They continued deeper into Sector Seven, following wolf tracks toward what Yao Tu identified as a likely den site. More wolves meant more contributions, but it also meant greater risk.
The sky darkened as clouds rolled in, casting the mountain in shadow. The temperature dropped noticeably.
That's when they found the second pack.
Thirty-plus lightning wolves, clustered on a hillside about two hundred yards ahead. These were alert, not feeding, their heads turning in synchronized patterns as they scanned for threats.
"That's too many," Yao Tu said immediately. "We should report the location and wait for a larger group."
"Wait and split the contributions six or seven ways?" Chi Shui scoffed. "Look at the terrain—we're uphill from them. Fang Zheng, didn't you teach us that height advantage is everything?"
Fang Zheng studied the situation carefully. Thirty wolves was dangerous, yes. But Yao Tu's poison mist had area effect. Chi Shui's strength could hold a chokepoint. And the wolves were packed tightly together, making them vulnerable to coordinated attacks.
More importantly, thirty wolf eyes would be ninety contribution points. Enough to buy the materials he needed and still have stones left for cultivation.
"We can do it," Fang Zheng decided. "But we need perfect formation discipline. Triangle defense—Chi Shui at the point to absorb charges, Yao Tu and I on the flanks for ranged support. Nobody breaks formation, no matter what."
Yao Tu looked uncertain, but Chi Shui was already nodding eagerly.
"Trust me," Fang Zheng added. "I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think we could win."
That was true. Lu Yu Fang never took unnecessary risks.
The question was whether his companions understood what "necessary" meant.
They moved into position, Fang Zheng selecting a rocky outcropping that forced any attackers to jump upward to reach them. The wolves noticed their approach quickly, yellow eyes glowing in the shadow.
"Poison Mist Gu!" Yao Tu activated his signature technique, spraying yellow-green fog from his mouth. The mist rolled down the slope toward the wolves, spreading like a toxic blanket.
Fang Zheng and Chi Shui quickly bit down on black antidote pills, protecting themselves from friendly fire. The pills tasted bitter, metallic.
The wolves reacted immediately. Several charged uphill, trying to escape the poison before it reached them. Others held position, apparently more resistant to the toxin.
"Moon Blade!" Fang Zheng and Chi Shui activated their Moonlight Gu in tandem, crescent-shaped projectiles of condensed light shooting toward the charging wolves. The blades caught them mid-leap, slicing through fur and flesh, dropping bodies that tumbled back down the slope.
For several minutes, it worked exactly as planned. The wolves charged, the formation held, and bodies accumulated.
Then Fang Zheng noticed the pattern.
"They're not attacking seriously," he said, voice tight. "They're probing our defenses."
Yao Tu's eyes widened with realization. "They're organized. That means—"
A howl cut through the air, deeper and more resonant than any sound the lightning wolves had made.
And six massive shapes emerged from the tree line behind the pack.
Mighty lightning wolves. Each one twice the size of their smaller kin, muscles rippling beneath scarred pelts, eyes burning with intelligence that was almost human.
Rank 2 equivalents. Beast kings.
"Run!" Chi Shui's voice cracked. "We can't fight those!"
The three of them bolted, formation forgotten, survival instinct overwhelming everything else. Behind them, the six mighty wolves gave chase, their longer strides eating up distance with terrifying speed.
Fang Zheng's mind raced as he ran. Mighty wolves are supposed to be rare. Six together, organized, using tactics? This isn't normal behavior.
The wolf tide was worse than he'd realized. The beasts weren't just mindless killers—they were adapting, learning, coordinating.
Which meant the original timeline might already be diverging from what he remembered.
"We can't outrun them!" Yao Tu gasped, already falling behind. "We have to fight!"
"No!" But even as Chi Shui protested, Fang Zheng was already calculating.
Six mighty wolves. Three Rank 2 middle-stage Gu Masters with depleted primeval essence reserves. Terrible odds.
Unless—
"Wait!" Fang Zheng skidded to a halt, forcing the others to stop. "Look at them. Really look."
The six wolves were catching up fast, but now that they were closer, details became visible. One was missing its left forelimb entirely, hopping awkwardly on three legs. Another's right side was badly scarred, movement stiff and pained. A third had only one eye, the other socket an empty crater.
These weren't prime specimens. They were survivors—wolves that had been crippled in earlier battles, exiled from the main pack, forced to hunt together because they couldn't compete with healthy beasts.
"They're injured," Fang Zheng said quickly. "Probably expelled from the main wolf groups. That's why they're hunting in Sector Seven instead of better territory."
"So?" Chi Shui panted. "They're still mighty wolves!"
"So we can win." Fang Zheng's voice carried absolute certainty. "These are just disabled remnants. And if we kill them, the contribution rewards will be massive. Mighty wolf pelts, eyes, and the parasitic Gu worms they carry? We're looking at hundreds of points. Maybe thousands."
He saw the greed kindle in Chi Shui's eyes, the calculation in Yao Tu's.
"We can't escape anyway," Fang Zheng continued. "They're faster than us. So we either die running, or we fight and possibly win a fortune. Your choice."
It wasn't really a choice, and they all knew it.
"Triangle formation," Chi Shui said, jaw set with determination. "Same as before."
They arranged themselves quickly, backs to a large boulder that protected their rear. The six mighty wolves circled, yellow eyes assessing, in no apparent hurry.
They're intelligent, Fang Zheng realized with cold certainty. They know we're trapped. They're savoring it.
Three lightning-blue orbs suddenly shot toward them—Thunderball Gu attacks from different wolves simultaneously.
"Scatter!" All three dove aside as the thunderballs exploded against stone, leaving scorch marks.
"Three Rank 2 Thunderball Gu," Fang Zheng assessed grimly. "They're better equipped than I thought."
The wolf missing its forelimb charged first, perhaps trying to prove itself despite its handicap. Chi Shui met it head-on, his Iron Skin Gu activated, his forearms turned metallic gray as he caught the beast's jaws.
For a moment, Gu Master and wolf struggled, strength against strength.
Then Chi Shui roared and slammed the wolf into the ground with devastating force. Before it could recover, a Moon Blade from Fang Zheng took its throat.
First kill.
The other wolves attacked as one.
"Moon Raiment!" Fang Zheng activated his defensive Gu, and a milky-white mist enveloped all three of them. The Thunderball attacks struck the barrier and dispersed harmlessly, the moon-essence absorbing the impact.
But the Gu consumed primeval essence rapidly. Fang Zheng could feel his reserves draining.
Can't maintain this for long.
Chi Shui managed to grab the parasitic Gu worms from the dead wolf before they could flee—a Leaping Gu that enhanced jumping ability, and a miniature wolf-head shaped Gu that Fang Zheng recognized as Wolf Shadow Gu, useful for intimidation techniques.
"Good harvest!" Chi Shui grinned despite the danger.
The medicine soil looked envious but focused on the remaining five wolves circling them.
They traded attacks for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes. Fang Zheng's Moon Blade attacks forced the wolves to keep distance. Yao Tu's periodic poison mist sprays prevented them from coordinating effectively. Chi Shui held the line whenever a wolf got too close.
Two more wolves fell—one to a combined assault when it overextended, another to Chi Shui's brutal close-combat prowess.
But their primeval essence reserves were nearly depleted.
"We need to finish this," Yao Tu gasped, his face pale. "I'm almost empty."
The three remaining mighty wolves seemed to sense their weakness. They stopped circling and began to close in with predatory patience.
"Gather them together," Chi Shui said suddenly. "I still have enough essence for one more Iron Water Gu attack. If we can cluster all three, the molten iron will kill them simultaneously."
Fang Zheng evaluated the plan. Iron Water Gu was Chi Shui's ace—a Rank 2 attack-type that sprayed superheated liquid metal. Devastating against grouped targets, but it required careful positioning and left Chi Shui vulnerable during activation.
"I'll bait them," Yao Tu volunteered. "I have Grass Armor Gu for defense. I can take a hit or two."
"Do it," Fang Zheng agreed.
Yao Tu deliberately cut his arm with a knife, fresh blood soaking through his green grass armor. The scent drove the wolves into a frenzy—they were starving, Fang Zheng realized. These exile wolves probably hadn't eaten properly in days.
The three beasts charged Yao Tu as one.
He backpedaled toward the position Chi Shui had indicated, leading them exactly where they needed to be.
"Now!" Chi Shui activated Iron Water Gu, and his rust-colored ant-like Gu worm spit a stream of molten metal toward the clustered wolves.
Everything should have ended there.
Then one of the mighty wolves—the one that had been hanging back—activated a Gu worm neither of them had noticed.
Dark blue electricity arced from the wolf's body, striking the stream of molten iron.
Metal conducted electricity perfectly.
The current traveled up the molten stream like a lightning rod, straight into Chi Shui's body.
Chi Shui screamed, his body convulsing as electricity coursed through him. He stumbled backward, lost his footing on the rocky slope, and tumbled downward.
"Chi Shui!" Yao Tu's shout was desperate.
Fang Zheng and Yao Tu fought their way to him, Moon Blades driving back the wolves. They dragged Chi Shui's twitching body toward a cave opening Fang Zheng had spotted earlier, barely making it inside before the wolves could close in.
They quickly rolled boulders to block the entrance, creating a makeshift barrier. Not perfect, but enough to buy time.
In the dim light filtering through gaps in the stones, Fang Zheng assessed Chi Shui's injuries.
It was bad.
The electricity had caused severe burns. Worse, one wolf had managed to bite his left forearm during the chaos—the limb was barely attached, bone visible through torn flesh. His right leg was similarly mangled, chunks of meat missing where teeth had found purchase.
Blood pooled beneath him, dark and spreading.
Chi Shui was unconscious, breathing shallow and erratic.
"We need to stop the bleeding," Yao Tu said, voice shaking. "If we can stabilize him—"
"He's dying," Fang Zheng said flatly. "Even if we stop the blood loss, infection will kill him within hours. We're miles from the village, and the wolves are blocking our exit."
"Then what do we do?" Yao Tu's eyes were wide, panicked. "We can't just let him die!"
Fang Zheng met his gaze steadily. "We don't have healing Gu. We barely have primeval essence left. And those wolves aren't leaving. They know we're trapped."
He let the implications hang in the air.
Yao Tu stared at him, comprehension slowly dawning. "You can't mean..."
"I mean we need to think practically," Fang Zheng said. "Chi Shui is dead whether we accept it or not. The only question is whether we die with him, or whether we use the resources available to survive."
"Resources?" Yao Tu's voice cracked. "You're talking about—he's our teammate! Our clanmate!"
"He's already gone," Fang Zheng said, though he made his voice softer, reluctant. "Look at him. He's not waking up. And even if he did, he'd just slow us down, make it impossible to escape."
Fang Zheng began to recover his primeval essence, sitting cross-legged, deliberately giving Yao Tu space to process.
The cave was silent except for Chi Shui's labored breathing and the sound of wolves pacing outside.
Hours passed.
Their primeval essence slowly regenerated, the recovery rate painfully slow without external assistance. Fang Zheng reached about seventy percent capacity. Yao Tu was probably similar.
Enough to fight, maybe. But the wolves outside were fresh, uninjured, and patient.
"It'll be dark soon," Fang Zheng said quietly. "More wolves will come out at night. Our window to escape is closing."
Yao Tu was staring at Chi Shui's unconscious form, his expression twisted with internal conflict.
"The wolves are hungry," Fang Zheng continued, voice carefully neutral. "Starving, probably. That's why they attacked so aggressively. If we give them something to distract them, something to feed on... they'll be occupied long enough for us to slip away."
"Stop," Yao Tu whispered. "Just stop talking."
But Fang Zheng could see the calculation happening behind Yao Tu's eyes. The same cold math he'd already completed.
Three people enter the cave. Only two could possibly leave.
And the one who couldn't leave was already as good as dead.
"I'm going to check the wolf positions," Fang Zheng said, standing. "See if there's a pattern to their patrol, any gaps we can exploit."
He moved the stones blocking the entrance just enough to peer outside. The three mighty wolves were still there, spread out in a loose perimeter. Watching. Waiting.
As Fang Zheng observed them, he allowed himself a thin smile where Yao Tu couldn't see.
He'd led them here. To this exact situation. Not by accident, not by misfortune, but by careful manipulation.
The battle had been winnable with three people. But costly. They would have survived, but exhausted their resources, split the contributions three ways.
This way was cleaner.
Chi Shui's death provided a distraction for their escape. His share of contributions would be split between the two survivors. And Yao Tu would carry the moral weight of the decision, making him easier to influence going forward.
Lu Yu Fang hadn't pushed Yao Tu into anything. Hadn't suggested the specific solution. He'd simply laid out the facts and let human nature take its course.
If Yao Tu chose to sacrifice Chi Shui, that was Yao Tu's choice. Yao Tu's burden.
Fang Zheng was just... surviving. Using available resources. Thinking practically.
Exactly what this world demanded.
He turned back to the cave interior, his expression carefully composed into worry and reluctance.
"The wolves are still there," he reported. "We need a distraction. Something to draw their attention long enough for us to run."
He met Yao Tu's eyes and saw the decision already made there, hidden beneath a thin veneer of horror and self-loathing.
"I'll check Chi Shui's wounds again," Fang Zheng said quietly. "See if there's anything we can do."
There wasn't, and they both knew it.
But the pretense mattered. The theater of regret, of having tried everything, of having no other choice.
Lu Yu Fang understood theater. In his previous life, he'd been an actor. He knew how to perform sincerity, how to make people believe the story you wanted them to believe.
This was just another role. Another performance.
And the audience of one was already convinced.