I knew them very well.
They were the same ones who spat on me, who looked at me like trash every time our eyes met.
But Chen Wu… he was different.
He was like me. Pathetic. Weak. The joke everyone laughed at.
And why was he with them?
Obvious. The same reason the Venomfang Serpents used bait.
Chen Wu was their bait.
And I was right.
I saw it before he did — Zhao Min's fingers twitching, those vine-thorns snapping out like snakes.
Not at the serpents.
At Chen Wu.
The corner of my mouth lifted. "Poor Chen Wu…" I whispered, almost amused.
He could've survived — I knew it the second the thorns hit. All he had to do was harden his skin, just once, use that Titan Ape bloodline.
But he didn't.
He froze. Still believing they'd turn back for him.
Still thinking they'd protect him.
Still thinking he mattered.
Pathetic.
Delusional.
The thorns hit, clean and fast. I heard the wet crack when they pierced through.
Chen Wu screamed, stumbling, poison already crawling under his skin.
His eyes went wide — that kind of wide you only see when hope dies slow.
"Wait—wait, what the fuck are you doing!?" he choked.
The rest came out as coughing, bloody gasps. "We're… on the same team… right?"
He reached out, fingers shaking, grasping at the air — but they were already gone.
They didn't hesitate. They didn't even turn their heads.
They just kept running.
I watched them go — three silhouettes, clean, calm, leaving their own behind like he was trash.
Thrown away like garbage.
My hands wanted to clap. Instead I curled my fingers into the dirt and savored the small, hot pleasure of being right.
But as I watched them run, something felt off.
They didn't go far.
I narrowed my eyes.
No… they weren't running away for real.
They still needed the monster cores.
What they did was simple. Bait.
Chen Wu's body was tossed down like trash, and the three Venomfangs rushed at him, hissing and snapping, their backs exposed.
That's when Liu Fang, Zhao Min, and He Jian circled back around.
Liu Fang threw up her flames, and the whole place lit with fire, it was hot enough to sting my face even from here.
The hiss, the crack, the smell of burning scales — it all hit at me once.
I didn't look away. Watching them twist in that heat felt good. Too good. For a second, I wanted it to spread, to take all of them — the serpents, the cowards, everyone — burn them until nothing was left but black.
I felt the vibration in my legs when He Jian's stone fists smashed into the ground, the impact cracking the earth and sending a shockwave under their bodies. The serpents shuddered, balance breaking, coils collapsing.
Then Zhao Min's poisonous thorns struck, piercing deep. Venom spread fast, their massive forms trembling, muscles going numb, their movements slowing.
The three Venomfangs shrieked, twisted—and finally crashed down, writhing before going still.
Dead.
"See? Easy," Liu Fang sneered, wiping sweat from her brow.
"Hah, didn't even need to waste more energy," Zhao Min chuckled.
He Jian spat on the ground and smirked. "Tch. Chen Wu's good for something after all."
I could hear the grin in every word. They sounded so alive standing over the dead — like the fire had burned their shame clean.
I watched them carve the cores; I heard them laughing and mocking Chen Wu as he lay there half-dead.
Every laugh cut through me like a blade scraping bone. I could've walked right up to them, grabbed their heads one by one, and twisted until the noise stopped.
My mouth went dry, my chest tight — not from anger, but from how good the thought felt.
And Chen Wu? He was still alive. Barely. His body shook on the ground, foam at his lips, the poison burning him from the inside out.
"W-Wait… Help me… please…" he choked, his words slurred.
The three of them didn't even look at him.
They turned their backs, holding the cores in their hands like trophies, smiling as if they'd just won a game.
I crouched lower behind the tree, my nails digging into the dirt.
The dirt felt soft, warm. Like it'd been drinking blood too. My fingers sank deeper until mud filled the cracks of my nails.
I could smell everything — the poison in the air, the burnt scales, the stink of blood.
I could hear Chen Wu's breath hitching, his throat choking on every word, that wet sound when he tried to beg. He was falling apart right there, and I just listened.
Humans using humans as bait. Laughing while one of their own was left to rot.
Just like the monsters.
And watching them, it finally hit me — this was it, the moment when the masks come off.
The words "We're a team, we'll protect each other"? Worthless. A cheap lie.
I watched their masks melt.
The smiles, the promises, the fake courage — it all burned away the second death walked in.
What was left wasn't loyalty. It was just fear, selfishness, and the cheap currency of betrayal.
All of it burns away the moment survival's on the line… or when someone finally climbs higher than you.
When they get what they wanted.
When you've served your purpose and you're no longer useful.
That's when they show you their real face.
The one that smiles while cutting you loose.
Funny… it reminded me of her.
The same look my sister gave me that day — calm, perfect, pretending she still cared while she twisted the knife behind the smile.
Back then, I thought she was different. Thought she was light in all that filth.
Turns out she just wore the prettiest mask of all.
Now I knew the real face of people — you measure their value by how quickly they cut the rope when it stops serving them.
I almost laughed. For years, I thought I was the fool, the weakling, the trash. But no. I was just blind.
Blind to what people really are when the mask slips.
This was the truth in front of my eyes.
And it was uglier than any monster.
And Chen Wu? He was no different from me. Pathetic. Discarded. Worthless in their eyes.
But unlike me… he had no Abyss to catch him when he fell.
A cold fire burnt in my chest. My teeth clenched until they hurt.
One day, I swore, I would deliver the same fate to them.
Liu Fang. Zhao Min. He Jian.
I would make them bait. I would make them the sacrifice.
And I would laugh while they begged.
Why wait for one day? It'll start right now.
Perfect. No speeches. No glory. Just payoff. I ticked off names in my head — who to break first, how long each scream would last, where they'd beg for mercy — and the plan tasted like victory.