This octopus-like abomination was nothing like the one at the port.
It was the difference between a father and his child.
This one had come in search of its father. He had said he was going out to "catch a human for a bite" and never returned. So the child came, too, eager to play with humans.
But humans refused to play.
They ran at the very sight of him—how dull.
Could it be… that I'm simply too beautiful? So beautiful that humans feel inferior just by looking at me?
Perhaps that's it.
Lin Fan and Old Zhang stared into the distance, eyes fixed on the oncoming octopus.
Grrrrgle!
Lin Fan rubbed his belly and said calmly, "I'm starving."
"I'm not that hungry," Old Zhang replied.
Every time Lin Fan unconsciously practiced his internal qigong, an immense hunger followed—as though he could devour anything in sight. Edible or not. Steel included.
"Look how long its arms are."
"Mm. That's what makes it cute."
People continued to flee in waves. Faced with such a monster, their minds went blank. Nothing else mattered—only survival.
The mute man crushed atop the ambulance roof scratched at the windshield with bloodied fingers, desperately writing "SOS." The message was clear: I'm not dead yet. I can still be saved. Since you have time to gawk at the monster, can't you just drag me to safety?
"Move!"
Vice Director Li gripped Lin Fan and Old Zhang by their wrists. He couldn't leave them behind.
The reason was simple: I'm going to be Director soon.
A leader might not command dragons or tigers, nor hold the heavens on his shoulders—but protecting his patients was the bare minimum of duty.
"Is it cute?" Lin Fan asked again.
Vice Director Li stared at him in disbelief. Despair crept into his voice. "Don't start hallucinating now. Whether it's cute or not doesn't matter! Trust me—I'm not trying to hurt you. But we need to run. There's still time."
Had Director Hao been present, he would have calmly said:
You really don't understand psychiatric patients.
When he asks if it's cute—just say yes. Why give answers he can't comprehend?
"I'll protect you, Vice Director!"
The driver stepped forward, courage mustered. His moment had come. Standing beside his superior, his voice was firm.
Even if he was terrified.
Opportunities don't come twice in life. Miss it now, and regret it forever.
Vice Director Li smiled, gratified. He patted the driver's shoulder. "Good. With employees like you, I'm proud. There's a metal pipe in the back of the ambulance—go get it and fight the monster. If you die, the hospital will look after your wife and child. If you're badly injured, we'll care for you for life."
The driver blinked.
This… was not the outcome he had envisioned.
You're seriously sending me to my death? So cold, so cruel!
Meanwhile, Lin Fan and Old Zhang whispered to one another.
They had never seen such a creature before. Yet instinctively, they found it… beautiful. Far more adorable than Hellhounds or Serpent Spirits.
The standard of cuteness = the bigger, the better.
The driver retrieved the metal pipe, trying to look calm as he returned to stand beside Vice Director Li.
The Vice Director, on the other hand, wanted to flee. The thought of abandoning the two psychiatric patients had crossed his mind—but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
The demonic octopus crept closer. Just ten meters away now.
"Vice Director, you go. I'll hold it off."
The driver gripped the pipe tightly, ready to die. Thoughts raced through his mind—his wife, his son.
For you, I'll fight. My death will buy your future.
He had driven ambulances for ten years. The pay was low. His family struggled, cramped in a tiny flat. They couldn't afford new clothes. It was a hard life. But they had grown used to it.
Still, as a man, he couldn't let them suffer forever. He had worked hard. But life was cruel—hard work didn't always pay off.
"Come on then! Fight me!"
He slammed the pipe on the hood of the ambulance, trying to draw the creature's attention.
To the octopus, he was barely a minnow.
SPLAT!
A hand landed on his shoulder.
The driver turned—and found that Vice Director Li's expression had changed.
"Let me handle it," Li said, voice calm and measured.
His eyes were steady. Slowly, he removed the electronic watch from his wrist and handed it over. "Take care of this watch. It holds deep meaning. The year I became a lead surgeon, I saved a mother on the operating table. Her child, in gratitude, gave me the watch his father bought him."
"See this? Isn't it nice? Fine craftsmanship. It was all the rage among elementary schoolers. Has a quiet sort of elegance."
"I liked it. Always wore it. Now you guard it well. Don't lose it."
Taking the metal pipe from the driver, he cracked his neck—pop, pop, pop.
In that moment, his presence changed.
He looked like a retired underworld king—one who had just tattooed a full dragon on his back and re-entered the dark world.
"Director…"
The driver was stunned by this transformation. Words caught in his throat.
A smile played on Li's lips. "Did you know? I served three years in the army—named an exemplary soldier. Later, I applied to the High Buddhist Academy. Had it not been for a stomachache that day, I'd be a legendary powerhouse now, not just Vice Director of a hospital."
"A mere demonic octopus… Watch closely."
The driver watched Li's retreating back.
Suddenly, the Vice Director's silhouette seemed grand, luminous.
So awe-inspiring he felt compelled to kneel.
Clutching the watch in trembling hands, he knew—this was Vice Director Li's most treasured item.
To be entrusted with it meant everything.
Tears streamed down his face.
"Director, I swear it—I'll protect this watch with my life!"
Li strode toward the octopus, raising a hand behind him in an OK gesture.
Confidence radiated from him like a sunburst.
Gone was the man who once begged Director Hao to let him off.
Gone was the one who snatched red envelopes faster than anyone.
This—was someone else entirely.
Standing before the octopus, he looked up.
Raising the metal pipe, he pointed at the beast.
And said, calmly:
"Unaccepted applicant to the High Buddhist Academy. Vice Director of Huadian Tertiary Hospital. One of Yan Hai City's Top Ten Outstanding Youths—Li Laifu.
Today, I shall slay you."
"Come."
A gust of wind swept through.
His white coat flared behind him.
The hairstyle he'd carefully fixed with mousse fell into disarray. A few rebellious strands rose defiantly.
The octopus tilted its head, blinking.
Humans are so strange… and kind of dumb.
(End of Chapter)