Chapter 55: Novel Lover

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Novel Lover

Time seemed to pass with excruciating slowness.

After what felt like an eternity, but was really just over forty minutes, Belte was about to start pacing impatiently when Zoya’s figure reappeared, emerging from the shadows like a phantom to rejoin them.

She didn’t speak, simply handing over a piece of rough paper from under her cloak.

On it, the nearby terrain was roughly sketched out in charcoal.

The drawing showed a distinct omega-shaped bend in the stream near the village, which partially encircled a few isolated houses.

Seven X’s marked the locations of the Thorny Wild Boars, all of them scattered in the fields on the outer side of the bend, maintaining some distance from the houses.

Zoya extended a finger, first tapping the houses on the map. That soft, mellow voice of hers emerged from beneath her hood again.

"Villagers... safe."

Then, her fingertip moved to the X closest to the houses.

"This one... eating... potatoes."

Tom leaned in to look at the drawing, gesturing as he said, "From the looks of this map, the closest boar is still a good four or five hundred meters away from Old Jack’s place."

Hulk studied the map carefully, nodded, and made his assessment. "Mm. This herd of Thorny Wild Boars has plenty of food right now, so they probably won’t attack the villagers’ houses for the time being. Tom, you head back first. Tell everyone the situation is stable and to leave this to us."

Tom breathed a sigh of relief, thanked them profusely, and hurried back to the village.

Hulk then looked up at the sky, estimating the time. "It’s around seven in the evening. Everyone, grab a quick bite, then get some rest as soon as you can. We’ll split the night watch into three shifts. I’ll take the middle four hours."

He looked at Belte and Hailey. "Belte, Laila, you two take the first watch, from eight to twelve. Any problems?"

"No problem, Captain!" the two responded in unison.

Hulk’s gaze shifted to Hesia and Zoya. "Hesia, Zoya, you two take the last watch, from four in the morning until dawn. Any problems?"

Hesia immediately nodded. "No problem."

Zoya also gave a slight nod from beneath her hood.

Hulk gave his final instructions. "Remember, stay alert during your watch. If anything unusual happens, wake everyone up immediately! If a boar actually tries to approach the houses, I’ll be the first to go up and draw its aggro. Galen, you’ll use the Earth Spike Technique to try and restrict their movement and buy everyone else time to react."

He paused, his tone softening a little. "Of course, based on Zoya’s scouting, they’ll most likely stay put in the fields chewing on potatoes tonight. So, those of you who can rest, get a good rest. Recharge your energy. Tomorrow is the real battle."

"Yes, Captain!" everyone replied.

Hesia watched Hulk swiftly arrange everything, a silent admiration growing within him.

Whether it was assigning himself the most grueling late-night watch to ensure his teammates could get more consecutive sleep, withstanding the pressure from the villagers to stick to his professional judgment, or quickly formulating an emergency plan based on the scouting report, it all demonstrated the qualities and experience of an outstanding captain.

’These are all things I should learn from him.’

...

A little after four in the autumn morning, the sky was not yet light, and the night was at its thickest.

In his sleep, Hesia felt something wet, soft, and warm lapping at his cheek.

He reluctantly, slowly opened his eyes, his gaze meeting the glowing eyes of Bruce in the dark and the dog’s busy tongue.

’So it’s this guy waking me up...’

At that moment, the entirety of Shixi Village was shrouded in a thick morning fog. The damp, cold mist clung to his skin, making him pull the thin blanket around himself tighter.

The nearby bonfire had dwindled to its last embers, giving off a negligible amount of light and heat.

"Doggy, come back."

A soft, mellow voice, kept extremely low, called out.

"Let him... sleep."

It was Zoya.

Bruce immediately stopped pestering his master, trotted over to Zoya’s leg with a wagging tail, and lay down, the very picture of obedience.

Zoya, on watch, was leaning against a thick oak tree, her right hand stroking Bruce’s head from time to time. The dog’s eyes were narrowed in an expression of pure bliss.

Hesia grumbled to himself that the dog had always been one to judge by appearances.

’This damn lecherous dog! The only other time he made a face like that was when Isha petted him. Back in Print Town, he’d bark his head off if anyone else even tried to touch him!’

He noticed that Hulk was already asleep on the other side of the bonfire, his breathing steady.

’Is it past four already?’ Hesia felt a little embarrassed. ’Zoya must not have had the heart to wake me up on time... This habit of sleeping in, I still haven’t kicked it even after transmigrating for over a month.’

His gaze drifted upward.

He saw that Zoya was holding an open book in her left hand, reading with rapt attention by the soft glow of a Magic Lamp hanging from a branch.

He squinted, just barely making out the title on the spine—The Skin Peeler in the Forest.

...A horror novel?

He was taken aback.

He’d never expected this mysterious and contradictory Stalker to be so bold.

’To read a book like that while standing watch alone in the wee hours of a foggy morning...’

A mischievous thought suddenly popped into his head: what if he made a couple of crow calls right now, or some other strange noise...

But then his gaze fell on her slightly furrowed brow and her focused, purple eyes.

’Nah, better not scare her.’

He sat up quietly and stretched, his joints letting out a soft "POP."

Zoya’s head snapped up, a flash of fear in her eyes. Even the light from the Magic Lamp beside her flickered anxiously.

Only when she saw it was Hesia who had made the noise did her tense shoulders finally relax.

She instinctively flicked her wrist as if to hide the book in her cloak, but it was too late.

Zoya looked down, flustered, and said in a small voice, "...Dog... woke you."

Hesia froze for a second. His first thought was: ’Is she calling me a dog?’

Then he saw she was looking down and gently patting Bruce’s head.

’Oh, she was blaming Bruce for waking me up...’

However, a minute passed, and Zoya remained with her head down, focused on stroking Bruce, never looking up.

The atmosphere became a little awkward.

Hesia took the initiative, walking over to her and asking in a low voice, "Reading a novel?"

Zoya kept her head down, but her hood bobbed slightly in the air.

Hesia knew she must be nodding.

To ease the slightly stiff atmosphere, he continued trying to make conversation. "I used to love reading novels, too. Is that one any good?"

Zoya seemed to hesitate for a moment, then finally looked up at Hesia. A glimmer of light flashed in her purple eyes, which seemed especially bright under the glow of the Magic Lamp.

"It’s good."