Wolf ears?
Kevin stood frozen in his tracks for a moment. After Lily had walked a certain distance ahead, he rubbed his eyes hard and took a closer look. The girl in front of him was still the ordinary short-haired girl.
However, he was absolutely sure that he had just seen a pair of pointed, weird ears! He could even clearly recall the appearance of those ears: triangular, growing on top of Lily's head, standing up spiritedly, covered with beautiful silver-white fuzz. It couldn't be wrong! Kevin had always been confident in his vision and short-term memory.
But now there was nothing on Lily's head, and what he had just seen was indeed not conventional. So he patted his face and comforted himself by murmuring, "How come I'm so sleepy today, even having hallucinations."
"Landlord, what did you just say?" Lily suddenly turned her head and looked back. Her big eyes sparkled with vitality in the night. "What hallucinations and stuff?"
Kevin thought to himself that the girl's ears were really sharp, as she had heard his low murmur. But he didn't show it on his face and just waved his hand casually, "Nothing, I made a mistake. Let's hurry up. We need to settle you in tonight."
"Oh," Lily walked ahead carrying a huge suitcase, and kept talking as she walked, "By the way, landlord, is there a place to eat nearby? I haven't eaten yet... Can I eat at your place today? I'll pay for the meal. Hey, landlord, why are you walking behind? You lead the way, I don't know the way..."
Kevin caught up with her in a few steps. He thought that although this chatty girl was a bit dim-witted, she was also quite straightforward and interesting. He casually said, "It's okay, I'll take care of the meal.Anyway, I'm the only one there, so no matter how much or how little I cook, it's all one pot."
As soon as he finished speaking, the "flutter flutter" sound that had sounded before suddenly came from above again!
This time he looked up even faster than before and clearly saw a bat-like shadow as big as an eagle gliding across the night sky!
Of course, he didn't think it was really a bat, but just a big bird flying in from somewhere to forage in the residential area: not far from here was wasteland, and it was not uncommon for wild birds to fly into residential areas occasionally. But he was worried that Lily would have a bad impression of this place, so he casually reassured her, "Don't worry, it's probably a wild bird flying in. This place is quite close to the wasteland."
Lily's voice suddenly came from a very close place, sounding a bit urgent, "Landlord, why don't you go ahead first? I... I'll catch up later. I have something to do!"
Kevin was taken aback by her words and said casually amidst his confusion, "How can that be? I have to show you the way. The paths here are winding, and it's easy to get lost for those who live here... Hey, why are you leaning in so close?"
He only then noticed that Lily's voice had been very close when she spoke earlier. When he turned his head, he saw her face only inches away from his, her exceptionally bright big eyes staring straight at him. Although beautiful, they were truly startling in the darkness. Kevin immediately jumped backwards by more than half a meter, exclaiming, "Let me tell you! I'm a decent person!"
This was his flaw; when nervous, he would babble nonsense.
Kevin wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but he noticed an urgent expression on Lily's face. She looked up at the night sky and then sniffed hard a few times, "Landlord, you go ahead. I really can catch up with you. I've remembered your scent... Oh, why are you so hesitant? I really have my own business to attend to!"
"No way!" Kevin's stubbornness also kicked in. He didn't even bother to discuss what "remembering your scent" meant. His face became stern, "What if something happens? How can I leave you here in the dark at night? I can't bring myself to do it. Why can't you just tell me what's going on?"
As mentioned before, Kevin was really a good person - at least a person with normal responsibility. He had brought Lily to this place, so he felt responsible for safely escorting her to his home. Although she was an exceptionally strong girl, that had no bearing on his concerns: if something happened to her, his conscience wouldn't rest easy.
Moreover, he couldn't understand what kind of important matter this girl, who had just arrived from another place, could possibly have to attend to at this crucial moment?
Lily's face was already filled with urgency, and her behavior became noticeably strange: she put her large suitcase down on the ground with a loud "thud", and then continuously looked up at the surrounding high walls. On both sides of this small path were old two-to-three-story buildings, symbols of the residents' wealth when this place was still prosperous. However, times had changed, and the once glorious buildings had turned into mottled old houses. Only uneven, dark high walls stood on both sides of the path, leaving only a narrow strip of the night sky visible between the buildings.
Lily's gaze quickly shifted between these high walls, and she began to sniff frequently, as if trying to distinguish some scent from the air. At the same time, she lightly moved her limbs. Seeing this scene, even Kevin, who was slow to react, should have realized that something was wrong. Although he still thought the girl was strange in every way, the two strange sounds from the sky earlier had already made him somewhat nervous and unable to focus on anything else. And now, seeing Lily's peculiar behavior, he naturally knew that she had discovered something, "Liu Lily... What's wrong?"
"Just call me Lily," she subconsciously replied and then looked at Kevin in surprise, "Oh, landlord, why haven't you left yet?"
"Didn't you hear what I just said?" Kevin cautiously approached Lily's side, his tone light but his fists already clenched. He couldn't see anything unusual around him, yet he did feel that the atmosphere had become strange. A faint scent of blood and a chill that didn't match this season were seeping out from the dark corners all around. To be honest, he felt his legs trembling slightly.
Kevin considered himself quite brave, but you couldn't blame him for finding the current situation bizarre.
Until now, Kevin still didn't know what was going on. He had heard many urban legends and modern ghost stories, including the vengeful spirits in alleys and the soul-taking ghosts at crossroads, but he had always regarded them as mere entertainment after meals. However, what was this now?
At first, he could still explain it away by saying he was overly sensitive and "infected" by Lily's strange behavior. But as time passed, the scent of blood in the air had become so strong that it felt like taking a mouthful of bloody sweetness with every breath. The chill from all directions had made people's breath turn to frost. No matter how much he believed in science and rejected superstitions, he knew he had encountered something abnormal. At this moment, he suddenly remembered how Lily had hurriedly urged him to leave earlier, how she had shown vigilance even when "everything around was normal," and how she had prepared herself without any panic... He suddenly understood that this girl, whom he had privately mocked as a "silly girl," knew exactly what was going on!
"What the hell is wrong with this timeline? How did I end up in this situation..." Kevin cautiously looked around, enduring the pungent scent of blood and the omnipresent cold, feeling his thoughts slowing down, "Is this still the real world? Where is the promised scientific and happy life?"
"Landlord, I'm sorry for dragging you into this. This 'thing' might be looking for me," Lily's voice suddenly came from behind Kevin, tinged with a hint of hoarseness, "You're a good person, better than anyone I've met before. So I'll try my best to keep you alive, I promise!"
"Don't give me that good person card at a time like this..." Kevin's teeth chattered, but he still turned around to complain. However, after seeing Lily's appearance, he couldn't say another word:
A nearly unfamiliar girl stood beside him, her silver hair reaching her waist, her face beautiful. But she had a pair of golden, unhuman-like eyes, which even glowed slightly in the night, reflecting a completely different light from normal eyes. A pair of silver-white, wolf-like ears stood erect on top of her head, trembling occasionally in the cold wind and turning sensitively towards every faint sound source around.
Behind the girl, a bright silver tail emerged from the gap in her clothes, swaying in the air.
A wolf-like girl... Or, in the popular way of saying it now, a furry attribute?
Kevin didn't know why he could still make jokes, but he knew that his life had become quite entertaining.
If he still had a life after today.