Free Web NovelChapter 273: Chapter 273: Sudden Blindness?
A subtle uneasiness crept into her chest.
Yue Yue blinked several times, instinctively trying to adjust her vision, but it made no difference. No matter how many times she blinked, the darkness remained unchanged, unmoving, absolute.
A faint panic began to rise within her. She slowly lifted her hand and waved it in front of her eyes. She could not even see her own hand.
Her breath hitched.
"...No way..." she whispered, her voice trembling slightly.
A cold thought suddenly surfaced in her mind, making her heart clench painfully.
Had she... gone blind?
Her fingers trembled as she tried again, moving her hand closer to her face, then farther away, but there was still nothing. No confirmation that her eyes were even open.
Her breathing grew heavier. She quickly shook her head, trying to push that thought away.
"No... this isn’t right..."
Forcing herself to stay calm, Yue Yue cautiously took a step forward. Her foot touched something.
Relief flickered in her chest for a brief moment. At least she was not floating in nothingness. There was ground beneath her feet, something she could stand on.
But the relief did not last long, because she still could not see it. She could feel it, but she could not see it. That contradiction made her chest tighten even more.
Yue Yue took another step, then another, moving slowly, carefully, as if afraid that the ground beneath her might disappear at any moment. Each step echoed faintly in her senses, yet even that sound felt muted, unnatural, like it was being suppressed by the surrounding void.
Her heartbeat began to quicken.
A sense of isolation wrapped around her, tightening like invisible chains.
"Yanshen...?" she called out suddenly.
Her voice carried a hint of urgency now, but there was no answer. It was as if her voice had been swallowed the moment it left her mouth. Her fingers clenched slightly.
"Xing Luoye?" she tried again, her tone rising just a little.
"Cang Yuze... Han Soi..?"
Her voice began to tremble. The names that once brought her warmth now disappeared into emptiness without leaving a trace. Her chest tightened painfully.
"...Xing Luoguang," she whispered, almost unconsciously. But even that name received no response.
Yue’s breathing became uneven. A faint fear began to spread through her entire body, cold and suffocating.
The realization hit her slowly, but when it did, it made her entire body go cold. She was alone.
Her steps faltered, and she stopped moving altogether. Her hands trembled slightly at her sides as her thoughts began to spiral.
"No... they have to be here..." she muttered under her breath, as if saying it aloud would make it true.
But deep inside, she could already feel it. They were not here.
Just as the fear began to overwhelm her, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind like a lifeline.
The system. Her eyes, though seeing nothing, seemed to focus slightly.
"System..." she called out quickly, her voice filled with urgency.
There was a brief pause. She waited.
"...System, can you hear me?" she tried again, louder this time.
Her heart sank slightly.
"System?" she called once more, her voice tightening.
No response.
The presence that had always been with her was completely gone.
As if it had never existed.
Yue Yue’s fingers curled tightly into fists. A cold chill ran down her spine. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
"...Answer me," she whispered, her voice almost breaking.
But the darkness gave her nothing.
Yue Yue turned around in sudden confusion, her eyes wide as the heavy blackness that had swallowed her whole suddenly melted away like smoke.
She blinked hard, trying to make sense of what was in front of her. This place... it looked nothing like the beast world she knew.
The sky was a dull, dirty gray, covered in thick clouds that seemed to choke the light. The ground was cracked and black, with strange glowing puddles that smelled acidic and bitter.
Ruined buildings leaned like broken bones, and far away she could see twisted trees that moved even when there was no wind.
Nothing here felt right. Just destruction and silence that pressed down on her chest. She opened her mouth to call for the system, but no voice answered. The usual soft glow in her mind stayed dark and empty. No help came... just... this.
Yue’s heart beat faster. Was she seeing things? Some kind of nonsense dream?
Then, right in front of her, a girl appeared.
The girl had jet-black hair that fell straight and heavy down her back, shining like polished obsidian even in the weak light. Her eyes were clear, almost too clear, carrying a sharp expectation that made Yue Yue feel uneasy.
Before Yue Yue could even think, the scene around her shifted. She was no longer just watching; she was inside it, seeing everything through the girl’s own eyes, feeling the cold wind on her skin, hearing the distant screams and growls.
The world had been destroyed. Pollution had spread like a living poison, eating away at everything.
Cities had fallen first.
Humans were the first race to break under the darkness. Then the mutations started.
Through the girl’s eyes, Yue Yue watched it all unfold like a terrible memory playing out.
Humans had changed. Some mutated into beasts, gaining the power to shift between human shape and animal form.
They became orcs—strong, fierce, with new strange abilities born from the same poison that tried to kill them. They fought back against the mutated monsters that roamed the ruins, but they had no safe place left.
Everywhere was danger. Everywhere was death.
Now Yue Yue followed only the girl’s perspective, as if she had slipped into her body and mind.
The girl ran through the broken streets, her breath coming in short, painful gasps. Her legs burned. Behind her, low growls echoed—polluted beasts, twisted things with too many eyes and dripping acid from their jaws. She ducked behind a fallen wall, her heart hammering so loudly she was sure they could hear it.
She was one of them now—mutated... but not like the others.
A pair of soft rabbit ears twitched on top of her head. They were fluffy, long, and completely useless for fighting. No matter how hard she tried, she could never shift into a full beast form like the strong orcs.
She stayed small, weak, stuck between human and something half-finished. The rabbit traits gave her nothing useful—no claws, no fangs, no speed that could outrun the real monsters. She could only scare away the smallest, weakest polluted creatures with a few desperate kicks and scratches.
No special powers had awakened in her either. Just these stupid ears that twitched at every sound and made her an easy target.
She was nothing but prey waiting to die.
The girl clenched her fists until her nails cut into her palms. She had to keep moving.
She had survived this long. She had been beaten, bruised, left bleeding in the dirt more times than she could count. Each time she thought it was the end, something stubborn inside her forced her to stand again.
A sharp pain exploded in her side as a polluted beast slammed into her from the shadows. She cried out, tumbling across the broken ground. Blood filled her mouth. The creature loomed over her, its breath hot and foul. Claws slashed down.
She rolled away at the last second, her rabbit ears flattening against her head in terror.
Her body screamed for rest, but she pushed herself up, her legs shaking. Another hit caught her shoulder, sending her crashing into a pile of rubble. Darkness flickered at the edges of her vision. She tasted metal and fear.
Why am I still alive? she thought, her chest heaving. Why won’t it just end?
But even as the monster came closer, that strange determination burned in her clear eyes. She refused to close them. Refused to give up. Even though her body had given up, her mind refused to.
No, she wouldn’t die a useless death.
