Chapter 3: Four Little Teeth

Jiang Xiaoya figured her mommy-chan was either a total slob or maybe just really into some kind of alt, non-mainstream aesthetic.

She had just lain back down, her mood still unsettled, when she looked up and saw her mommy-chan on the ceiling.

The Water-Marsh Monster was slowly twisting its neck up there, its green vertical pupils meeting the baby’s gaze below. Its pupils immediately shrank to a tiny dot.

Jiang Xiaoya: “…”

Mommy, save me!

Jiang Xiaoya’s brain might be smooth, but she wasn’t actually stupid. A profound sense of terror washed over her instantly.

But a baby doesn’t have many ways to react. Besides drinking her milk in terror and sleeping in terror, all she could do was widen her already-large eyes.

Eyes wide with fright, she turned around, presenting her butt to mommy-chan.

She tried to comfort herself. Mommy has been feeding me on schedule for so many days. Maybe she just looks a little horrifying, but deep down, she has the heart of a loving mother!

However, that morning, Jiang Xiaoya heard that strange sound from outside the prison again. After a moment’s hesitation, she quietly crawled out, following her mom’s wet footprints.

The abandoned prison was like a small boat sinking in the swamp. Outside was a boundless marshy lake; farther still, the ruins of a former town were now covered by the swamp, with only a few exceptionally tall, dilapidated skyscrapers breaking the surface.

The Forbidden Zone was home to many high-level Water Ghouls. After being killed, an endless number of new ones would be born from the lake water, meaning this calm-looking marshland hid infinite danger.

The morning dew was heavy. Through the damp mist, a group of tall, humanoid shadows appeared, their movements bizarre. They often paced slowly through the fog like phantoms of the marshland searching for food, letting out low, deep moans.

They were bone-white creatures that looked more like the White Walkers from some TV show; even their eyes were blue.

The child held her breath, about to crawl away. Suddenly, she saw a giant monster slowly emerge from the swamp. Its large, pale hand casually grabbed a Water Ghoul and crushed its head, as easily as smashing a winter melon at the market.

The Marsh Monster was born from the swamp. Unlike the other Ghouls, after killing the strongest among them, it didn’t become the leader of the wandering pack. Instead, it lived in isolation, often standing at the edge of the watery mist, long hair dripping, neck twisted, its ghostly green eyes gazing at the other pacing Ghouls.

It knew instinctively that it was different from them. Later, as it grew bigger and stronger, able to crush their heads easily, the Marsh Monster understood the difference: Water Ghouls were on its menu.

Jiang Xiaoya watched her kind and tranquil mother, neck contorted at a grotesque angle, sharp white fangs glinting from beneath her black hair. A horrifying hhhh sound rumbled from her throat as she bared a set of shark-like teeth.

Crunch, crunch.

Suddenly, as if sensing it was being watched, the kind mommy whipped her head around.

Jiang Xiaoya immediately stuck her butt in the air and scurried away like a cockroach.

Seemingly confused as to why she was there, the Marsh Monster let out a very rough hhhh to warn her. But this time, Jiang Xiaoya neither charged at it nor enthusiastically tried to slurp slurp it. Instead, she let it carry her back to her box and remained perfectly, unnervingly well-behaved.

As if sensing this change in her attitude, the giant monster above her suddenly stopped moving. Its vertical pupils slowly sized up Jiang Xiaoya.

Jiang Xiaoya turned her head in terror, aiming her butt at it again.

The tiny baby’s mind was racing: Did Mommy realize I’m scared of her?

She figured it was because it had discovered she wasn’t afraid and even treated it like a mother that its maternal love was born. It thought she was cute, and that’s why it hadn’t eaten her.

She vaguely remembered that’s how it always played out in the TV shows from her past life! The moment she showed fear, she would be killed.

The baby fought back her terror. Under the threat of death, she turned her head back to look at her mom.

Maybe I should give Mommy a kiss.

But Jiang Xiaoya was too much of a coward. She crawled over and stared blankly at the giant monster. The moment it bared its fangs menacingly, she scurried back at the speed of light and continued to point her butt at her mom.

However, Jiang Xiaoya clearly gave herself too much credit.

This inhuman monster was, of course, incapable of maternal love. What’s more, it was a crude and ill-tempered monster.

At least, until dawn broke, the Marsh Monster very much wanted to abandon Jiang Xiaoya!

The baby was getting stronger, able to crawl farther and farther, often sneaking out from her corner to ambush it. And because she was so tiny, it was impossible to guard against. Every time it got close, she would try to slurp slurp it or rub her soft cheek all over it.

Each time, the giant monster would freeze as if struck by lightning, and its shadow on the wall would puff up into a giant hedgehog.

A powerful predator, naturally, would not enjoy a clingy cub.

It was going to find a place to dump Jiang Xiaoya!

Feeding her to the Water Ghouls wasn’t a bad idea. But anything fed to a Water Ghoul becomes a Water Ghoul. If Jiang Xiaoya turned into a little baby Ghoul, crawled out of the river, and chased after it going slurp slurp slurp… that would be a disaster.

The Marsh Monster stood silently in the swamp like a tall tree all night until it finally, vaguely, realized it had to send Jiang Xiaoya far, far away!

That place that produced milk bottles would be perfect. It decided that today, when it went out to hunt, it would just drop her off at that human hospital.

Yes, dump her in the hospital trash can!

It was about to pick up Jiang Xiaoya, wooden crate and all, and toss her out right now.

But suddenly, the giant monster paused its movements—

The child’s behavior today was unusual. She was overly quiet and very well-behaved.

In the past, whenever they made eye contact, the little beagle would eagerly scoot over. But now, when it slowly approached, the baby would immediately turn her head, acting like she was very busy looking at the sky and ground.

Suddenly, a low, deep growl rumbled from the giant monster’s chest.

Jiang Xiaoya jolted.

To make matters worse, it leaned in closer, baring a row of shark teeth. “Hhhh— Hhhh—!”

Jiang Xiaoya burst into tears. Waaah!

After a while, she finally quieted down.

The giant monster approached again, leaning in. “Hhhh!”

Jiang Xiaoya broke into heartbroken sobs.

The Water-Marsh Monster observed this for a moment.

Suddenly, it tilted its head in a human-like way and turned back, satisfied.

It decided to delay abandoning Jiang Xiaoya.

---

That night, a violent storm swept over the swamp. The temperature dropped by ten degrees. The abandoned prison’s walls were cracked, and wind whistled through, carrying strands of rain and making the night unbearably cold.

This place was not suitable for human survival, let alone for a cub. A single storm, a single cold snap, could easily snatch away a young life.

The Marsh Monster sensed the drop in temperature and slowly walked toward the small box. Cubs in the wild are fragile. When the temperature drops, they die.

The giant monster leaned its head over, wanting to see if the cub was dead yet.

If it’s dead, I’ll just eat it.

The baby’s clothes weren’t thick. She was curled up in the corner, a tiny little thing.

The Marsh Monster leaned in and began to sniff, checking if the baby was still breathing.

Jiang Xiaoya was awakened by the cold in the middle of the night. She opened her eyes and groggily saw a pair of green eyes looming in the darkness, and heard a terrifying, inhumanly cold breathing sound. The sniffing sent a wave of terror through her, and her eyes shot wide open.

Honestly, Jiang Xiaoya was confused. After all, her mom didn’t seem like a desperate mother overflowing with maternal love who would just pick up a random baby to raise. She seemed more like the type to brain someone at a moment’s notice.

So why did she rescue me?

Now she knew the answer. A newborn baby is tender, but once it’s fattened up, it must be delicious.

Realizing she wasn’t dead, the Marsh Monster left the box in disappointment. It decided to slowly move into the swamp to watch the spiders weave their webs. It enjoyed ripping the webs apart just as they were finished.

But perhaps it was the plunging temperature, the whistling cold wind.

It remembered the dry, cold winter in the swamp from a few years ago. The Marsh Monster had only just been born then. It lived in the same abandoned prison. When it was born, a thick iron chain was clamped around its ankle. It was too weak to break free and could only be tethered there.

The winter wind was freezing. It didn’t rain, so no water entered. The swamp’s ground was so dry it was nearly cracking, and the tiny water droplets on it froze into ice.

The Marsh Monster was frozen along with the swamp. It felt so cold, experienced so much pain, and let out terrifying shrieks. But all it could do was wait for winter to pass and for the first rain of spring.

It waited for a long, long time.

The Marsh Monster’s slow footsteps paused.

Right. The giant monster returned to the front of the large box.

It leaned its head over, twisted its neck, and solidly draped itself over the top of the crate.

Now the wind was much lighter.

And just like that, a terrifying shadow loomed over Jiang Xiaoya all night. Its strange vertical pupils stared fixedly at her, and long hair draped down to cover the small box. The scene was utterly horrifying and bizarre.

Jiang Xiaoya stared with wide, terrified eyes.

But she was still a baby. She could only be partially terrified. Because after being 40% terrified, she fell asleep.

---

Maybe in her past life, Jiang Xiaoya hadn’t been that afraid of death—but being eaten alive was another matter entirely!

Because she was being sniffed daily to check if she was dead yet, Jiang Xiaoya’s “go full kelp” mood vanished completely. She was worried she’d be turned into a cold-tossed appetizer and eaten.

Right now, their relationship was extremely delicate.

It was sort of like the symbiotic relationship between a cockroach and a human.

When the Marsh Monster appeared, Jiang Xiaoya held her breath, doing her best to stay unnoticed. Even while crawling, the moment it looked away, she would dash away quickly, terrified it would remember her and crush her like a bug.

She was cautious and timid, living like a cockroach.

She would often hide behind the wooden box, with just two antennae poking out, secretly observing her mommy.

Little did she know, this sneaky behavior soon caught the Marsh Monster’s attention.

One evening, the Marsh Monster brought back a mutated crocodile. Just as it was about to tear into it, it felt a strong sense of being watched from behind.

But when it turned, the sneaky little head immediately vanished.

The giant monster continued to eat, tearing open its prey’s chest cavity, enjoying the sensation of its claws ripping through flesh. The Marsh Monster had an extremely strong sense of territory and possession, especially over its food.

It had no virtue of sharing. On the contrary, as the apex predator of the swamp, it brutally regarded all food here as its own. It would kill any challenger who tried to take its food.

Soon, it discovered the peeping, sneaky Jiang Xiaoya.

The massive shadow snarled, baring its fangs. It suddenly raised its claw, about to strike.

Jiang Xiaoya was so scared she plopped down where she sat, instinctively covering her head with her hands, waiting to be smacked to death.

But death didn’t come.

She peeked.

A crocodile tail, bigger than she was, had been rudely thrown in front of her with a loud THUD.

Then, the monster turned away and kept eating its own portion.

—Okay, so it was the worst-tasting part of the crocodile.

Jiang Xiaoya peeked out timidly, looking at the section of tail. Clearly, this was an attempt to share food with her, even if it seemed very reluctant.

The child hesitated. Even though Mommy is terrifying, she’s never actually hurt me, and she still brings me a bottle every day. Maybe… she isn’t just fattening me up to eat me?

In this strange world, deep down, she still really wanted to have a mother.

That hope and longing soon triumphed over her fear.

The little beagle timidly peeked at her mom.

She quietly crawled over, a little closer. Seeing no reaction, she moved a little closer still.

This was the first time in a week that Jiang Xiaoya had come within three meters of her mom.

The Water-Marsh Monster turned its head.

It observed the terrified child staring at it with wide, hopeful eyes for a long time.

Suddenly, the giant monster bent down, its green eyes narrowing into vertical pupils. It bared its fangs and let out a terrifying roar at her: ROAR ROAR ROAR—

Jiang Xiaoya burst into tears. Waaah!

It’s too scary!

Jiang Xiaoya has to escape!