Chapter 1: The Food of a Wolf Born into Darkness

Pain, pain, pain...
My head aches so much.

Zhou Mingxiang tried to rub his head.
But his hands wouldn’t lift; his arms felt as if bound tightly to his sides by some invisible force.

“Is this... sleep paralysis?”

His eyelids were heavy.
He struggled to open his eyes, only to be stabbed by the scorching sunlight directly in front of him.
Tears involuntarily welled up and streamed down.

In his blurred vision, he saw a figure standing before him.
Zhou Mingxiang tilted his head slightly, using the tall form blocking the fierce sunlight to shield his eyes.

Within the halo of light, he clearly made out the towering figure standing before him.
It was not human!

It was a colossal wolf, standing upright!
The giant wolf bore an eerily human-like demeanor, its gaze wild and mocking!

Only then did Zhou Mingxiang realize—
His body was tightly grasped in the hands of this massive wolf! His head pressed painfully against its long, sharp fingers!
He looked like prey waiting to be devoured!

I must be dreaming... he muttered quietly in his heart.

In an instant, a flood of memories surged in confusion.

He saw through the eyes of a woman named Helmeiani—
Dragons, phoenixes, demon wolves, demons, and other monstrous beings preyed ruthlessly on humans wandering the wilderness.

In this harsh reality, some humans found refuge under giants, elves, and the bloodline clans, forming tribes.

But the weak humans were seen as vassals, even as slaves, by these powerful races.
This was a world where humanity struggled desperately to survive amidst formidable creatures.
A world profoundly hostile to human existence…

“Sister, this human female is crying?” the giant wolf grinned savagely, baring its teeth. Beside him stood a female demon wolf, resembling him closely.

“This woman is quite famous among human tribes—she’s a survivor who swallowed an extraordinary trait…” The female demon wolf gazed at Zhou Mingxiang with greed, “She’s rare in mastering ‘hypnosis,’ ‘mind reading,’ and ‘dream traversal’ abilities, but these powers are nowhere near as strong as those of dragons and can’t affect us yet.”

The giant wolf’s expression shifted as he became more eager to devour Zhou Mingxiang, his stare burning hotter.
“No wonder this one smells so delicious—she’s a rare bearer of extraordinary traits among humans… definitely worth savoring slowly.”

Under the overwhelming rush of memories, Zhou Mingxiang’s mind wavered. Although he faintly heard the two monsters plotting how to consume him, he felt intoxicated, unable to think clearly or find a way to save himself.

Just as the giant wolf prepared to hoist him up for amusement, a cold, clear voice approached from afar:
“This is the prey assigned to me by the ‘King.’ You siblings are so crude, grasping what belongs to me… are you provoking me?”

For some reason, hearing the woman’s voice roused Zhou Mingxiang’s hazy mind. He struggled to turn his head toward the sound and saw an elegant woman in a dark black gown, her appearance strikingly human, walking in their direction.

The woman’s figure was human-like, but from her ribs and waist grew two pairs of arms each, covered in deep black short fur resembling that of the demon wolves.

These physical traits revealed her monstrous nature, yet even as a monster, her beauty was so exquisite it made one’s heart skip a beat.

Drawn by some mysterious allure, an intense desire surged within Zhou Mingxiang—to see this monstrous woman’s face clearly!

In his wide-eyed gaze, the woman’s face seemed veiled in layers of thin silk, hazy yet exceptionally graceful and beautiful.

As Zhou Mingxiang sank into this strange feeling, an unconscious transformation began within him—
Golden scales slowly sprouted from his exposed skin, while his black eyes gleamed with an eerie golden light, narrowing into slits!

“Doom…” the giant wolf showed clear fear. He tossed the mutating Zhou Mingxiang toward the six-armed monster woman named “Doom,” mumbling awkwardly, “Here, take him back. I was just curious, wanted to play a bit. I never intended to eat prey that belongs to you.”

The six-armed woman made no move to catch Zhou Mingxiang; he fell to the ground, rolling several times through the weeds.

Curling in pain on the earth, Zhou Mingxiang’s agony did not come from the giant wolf’s throw, but from within himself!
It felt as if something inside him was trying to tear through his skin and burst out!

...

Time passed unknown.

When Zhou Mingxiang awoke again, the veiled woman in black was crouching beside him. This time, she no longer had six monstrous arms, and her face was no longer ethereal and blurred.

She sat very close; even as Zhou Mingxiang regained consciousness, her gaze remained fixed on him, as if recalling something through his appearance.
Her cold eyes were inscrutable, impossible to read.

“Hello. Thank you for saving me.” Zhou Mingxiang greeted her awkwardly but familiarly in Draconic, yet she ignored him.

Could this monster woman also want to eat me? Zhou Mingxiang thought with a bitter smile.

At this moment, Zhou Mingxiang’s memories intertwined perfectly with Helmeiani’s, merging as one.

In Zhou Mingxiang’s memories, his last impression on Earth was watching a short video titled “Ten-Minute Speed Read of ‘The Master of Mysterious Affairs.’”

Because the protagonist’s name in that video was exactly the same as his younger brother Zhou Mingrui, Zhou Mingxiang even suspected it was a prank by someone he knew.

But just as he was about to forward the video to Zhou Mingrui, the video’s ending introduced a mysterious “fortune-changing ritual.”

Zhou Mingxiang watched the ritual and tried to forward the entire video to Zhou Mingrui, but poor internet connection caused the forwarding to fail twice.

He planned to show it to Zhou Mingrui later.

Unexpectedly, he suddenly recalled that the storyline of “The Master of Mysterious Affairs” began with a fortune-changing ritual.

Considering his recent career setbacks and his curiosity to try so-called mystical powers, Zhou Mingxiang idly imitated the ritual shown at the video’s end, although it differed somewhat from the story’s version.

Then... when he regained consciousness, he had become her!

Damn!

Zhou Mingxiang from Earth had become Helmeiani in the mysterious world!

Yes, after comparing Helmeiani’s memories with that video, Zhou Mingxiang was almost certain he had arrived in the mysterious world depicted in the story!

That strange, enigmatic, and maddening world of the extraordinary!

“Your Draconic is very fluent…”

At that moment, the veiled woman in black suddenly spoke. Her voice was light and clear, also in Draconic: “Who taught you?”