Chapter 504 - 445: Brianna: The One Who Enters the Nest Tonight

Chapter 504: Chapter 445: Brianna: The One Who Enters the Nest Tonight

Brianna had lost count of how many residents had gathered around.

She had torn down the iron railings from the backyard fence one by one, piling them up so she could grab one as a weapon whenever she needed.

The "White Dough" resident in Jin Xueli’s room was very displeased by this, but it seemed unable to leave the house, only shrieking incessantly from behind the window.

The sound drifted out of the house only to be swallowed by a night filled with the din of furious battle, anxious rage, and long howls.

After dismantling the fence, Brianna coiled her body around Morando, again and again, piling it high to form a protective wall. For the first time, she was grateful for her endlessly long body; it wasn’t a complete nightmare after all.

Somewhere along her long, long, long, long body, Morando’s body heat nestled against her, cool and heavy.

Under the relentless attacks of countless residents, a rare gap would occasionally appear, allowing Brianna a moment to catch her breath.

In those moments, she would panic, desperately trying to feel Morando’s breath on the patch of skin on her back. The first two times, she thought she could still feel it.

But now, Brianna couldn’t feel it anymore.

The residents couldn’t die, but they could be injured and feel pain. Her coiled, serpentine body had become something of an encyclopedia of injuries—almost every imaginable type of wound was now carved into her flesh.

In one spot, a large patch of skin had dissolved away, revealing a foul mess of fuzzy, green, rotting flesh underneath. If she hadn’t been personally experiencing every drop of pain, Brianna wouldn’t have believed it was once her body.

In another place, her flesh swelled into mounds, forming dozens of roving, grape-like tumors. That part of her body grew hotter and redder, itching fiercely, until finally, every "grape" burst, splattering out dozens of tiny, shrieking shadows. They scrambled toward Brianna, screaming "Mama," and as soon as they latched onto her arms and body, they began to suck her blood.

’...Do I even have blood anymore?’

For a while, they grew all over her in a dense mass, as if her entire body was covered in barnacles.

By the time Brianna managed to crush them one by one, she was dizzy and gasping for air.

Some residents, finding it too troublesome or fearing the pain of a fight, gave up and left after a brief, unsuccessful attempt.

But more kept coming, a ceaseless tide drawn to the scene, trying to sever Brianna’s body, to knock her unconscious—to reach through the wall of flesh for Morando.

Fortunately, the "essence" of a resident could not be changed. For example, a Vulture couldn’t remain fixed in one form forever, and Brianna’s long body could not be severed.

"I don’t get it,"

The yellow-and-white moon-faced creature, which she’d thought had left, now slowly floated up to a streetlight, looking even more like a mutated moon. "It doesn’t look like you’re trying to kill her. So what are you doing? Protecting her?"

Brianna had no way to answer—a resident far stronger than her was just a few steps from breaching her "wall."

She latched onto its legs, her teeth sinking into its flesh, barely managing to "hang" from its leg and keep it from moving. But the resident kicked her head, caving in half of it. She could even taste her own ear bone in her mouth.

’...It’s fine. It’ll heal.’

’As long as Morando doesn’t see.’

She had to make Morando realize she was wrong. In the life Brianna so stubbornly craved, Morando was the most important part.

"This Hunter is a dead woman."

The yellow-and-white moon-face commented from its high perch.

"Even if you can last an hour, or two, what’s the point if you can’t get her out of here and to a doctor? With so many residents coming endlessly, sooner or later they’ll wear you down completely and get their hands on her."

"You’re just spouting nonsense," Brianna rasped as her throat and tongue finally healed enough to work. "You think I don’t know that? Get lost."

Just as it said, all of this was a futile effort.

But other than a futile effort, Brianna didn’t know what else she could do.

"...Bree."

The low call came just when Brianna was starting to think she was wrong.

’Maybe residents can die after all, if they sustain enough damage.’

She felt herself fading, on the verge of death. She couldn’t even tell where her head was, where her hands were, or if they were still connected to the rest of her body.

"Bree."

’It was Morando’s voice. Not a hallucination? Morando’s still alive?’

Brianna immediately scrambled up. It was a brief lull in the fighting, with only a few residents she’d beaten back peeking out from across the street.

She first felt her head and face, making sure her features, bones, and everything else were back where they belonged before carefully crawling back and answering, "I’m here."

One part of her body was so badly damaged that she could see Morando’s pale, lolling face through the gap.

Morando’s eyes were still slightly closed.

"What are you doing?"

Morando’s voice was clear and steady, as if she had regained some strength. ’Did her Illusion take effect?’

Brianna pushed the thought of "terminal lucidity" from her mind.

"I’m protecting you," she replied. "I won’t let any residents touch you."

Morando seemed to want to give a small smile. "Bree... Bree."

Brianna held her breath, waiting quietly for her to continue.

"I was one of the few bright spots in your past life... Bree, I understand." Morando’s head still hung to the side, her voice lighter than a phantom’s. "That’s why... you’re so persistent."

Brianna didn’t dare make a sound, afraid to disturb this sudden moment of tranquility.

"Bree... even though all this is fate... I don’t regret it," Morando said softly. "But I’m not the anchor that holds your life together... What will you do after I die? Bree, look at you. You’re covered in wounds."

The night seemed to pause for a moment.

"Bree... the best thing you can do right now is kill me. And take my body out of the Nest."

’There’s no other way, I know, but I won’t do it.’

"After that... just think of it as breaking up with your childhood girlfriend."

’Impossible, impossible, how could you? You don’t understand, you don’t understand anything at all!’

Brianna twisted away and crawled off—she couldn’t listen anymore. She slammed headfirst into another resident that had just crept near, roaring, "Get away from me! No one gets near her!"

"...Is this a trap?"

Brianna flinched and, along with the few remaining residents nearby, turned her head toward the source of the voice.

A human.

A human woman.

She had pinkish-silver hair that would probably have been shiny and lustrous if it were combed. But her face was pale and exhausted, and her hair was a tangled, frizzy mess, as if she too had just escaped a life-or-death struggle.

Even though she seemed tired, the female Hunter couldn’t hide her anxiety and curiosity.

"Is this to lure me into a trap? You’d go to these lengths?"

She pointed at herself, then at Brianna. She didn’t seem to pay much mind to the few residents across the street—and they didn’t advance on her either, which perhaps meant she was in pretty good shape.

"How did you know I’d enter the Nest again tonight? Even I didn’t plan on it. And how did you know I’d take this route? If it’s not a trap, then I’ve never seen a resident fight so desperately to protect a human..."

"I’m not a resident!"

Brianna’s roar was cut short—because the woman with the short, pinkish-silver hair suddenly glanced at Morando.

That single glance was like a splash of cold water to the face, shocking Brianna into understanding what she meant by "trap."

"...You know her?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Morando, right?" the pinkish-silver-haired woman said. "A friend of Brother Chaisi’s. But I’m guessing that’s a fake, meant to lure me over—"

Brianna couldn’t hold back any longer.

She burst into tears.

She used all her strength to beg the Hunter named Han Liuyue, pleading with her to take Morando away. To convince Han Liuyue to trust her, Brianna told her everything: her past and present lives, her name and identity, her relationship with Morando... everything.

"Just get her to a hospital, she’ll survive if you get her to a hospital, really."

Brianna cried as she backed away. To show she meant Han Liuyue no harm, she took several steps back for every one Han Liuyue took forward.

"Are you one of Chaisi’s subordinates? Chaisi will definitely thank you, I’m begging you. I’m a Domination Game player too. If you can just save her, whatever Chaisi asks of me in the future, I’ll cooperate..."

At first, Han Liuyue just peered from a distance. But as she got closer, her expression grew more and more solemn.

She stood outside the barrier of Brianna’s body, staring at the carefully protected Morando for several seconds.

"...It really is Morando," she said softly. "I’ve seen her once or twice before."

’Yes, yes, please, save her.’

Brianna was so frantic that the thought shot out like a bullet, and only then did she realize she hadn’t managed to say it out loud.

"You said... she’s still alive?"

"Yes, yes, she was just talking to me a moment ago..."

Han Liuyue gripped her gun, scanned her surroundings warily, and then finally stepped into the enclosure.

She knelt beside Morando and gently checked for her breath.

The night grew thick and stagnant. The wind stretched out, its sound slowly dying. It was as if a hand had wrung Brianna’s neck; she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t feel her own body.

To put Han Liuyue at ease, she kept her distance, able to see only a faint outline of half of Han Liuyue’s back.

After a frighteningly long time, Han Liuyue stood up.

She looked at Brianna. "You’re a Domination Game player too?"

"Y-Yes. I... I can show you the notifications on my phone..."

Han Liuyue nodded. "She used her Illusion to stabilize her injuries, right?"

"That’s right, that’s how she’s survived this long—"

Han Liuyue lowered her gaze to look at Morando.

As if trying to comfort someone, her voice softened.

"I understand... I’ll take her. The Kai Family has an affiliated hospital; I’ll get her there. I’ll leave the cleanup around here to you."