Chapter 197

Chapter 197

They had only just come to a stop when a roar rang out from beyond the door.

It did not sound like anything a human could make. It was more like some wild animal putting on a show of force.

Moore and William stood beside her, trembling.

Heavy footsteps sounded outside the door. Each one seemed to land on Tu Nan’s heart, and with every step, the pressure bearing down on her grew heavier.

At last, the doors were shoved open with tremendous force.

A gust of wind carrying a rank, bloody stench blew in. The doors slammed into the wall from the momentum, letting out a thunderous crash.

Tu Nan shuddered despite herself. She glanced toward the doorway and saw that the impact had even dented the wall.

A tall, massive figure appeared in the doorway.

[Target has appeared. Current Favorability toward you: -10]

They had never even met. Why was his Favorability already negative?

Before Tu Nan could complain, the “person” in the doorway suddenly let out another furious roar.

Even though she had fully prepared herself mentally, the moment she saw the “Prince,” she still could not help holding her breath.

He was more than two meters tall, and standing in the doorway, he looked like a small mountain, radiating an overwhelming pressure. He had a human body and the face of a Beast, and he was covered from head to toe in shaggy brown fur.

On that animal face were two huge eyes, shining almost like lightbulbs. In almost the same instant, that oppressive gaze landed on her.

Moore and William dropped to their knees, trembling. One of them said fearfully, “Master, we have brought you the daughter of that audacious thief who attempted to steal your rose.”

The Beast advanced toward her with heavy steps. Only when he was right in front of her did Tu Nan force herself to lift her head, suddenly realizing just how utterly small and weak she was before him.

She felt as if he could crush her to death with one foot.

“What is your name?” the Beast asked.

The Beast’s appearance was exactly as she had imagined, and his voice was low and rough, buzzing in her ears.

“Belle,” she replied, doing her best to remain calm. “Sir, I am very sorry my father did something wrong. Perhaps this is a misunderstanding…”

“Shut up!” the Beast roared. “He is a thief!”

Tu Nan flinched, her ears ringing.

“I can make amends…”

“Make amends?” The Beast bent down, bringing that enormous animal face right up to hers.

A foul, bloody smell hit her in the face.

Tu Nan held her breath and did her best to control her expression, keeping any hint of disgust from showing.

But he was too close. She could not stop herself from seeing the coarse, stiff fur on his face, especially around his mouth, where there seemed to be faint traces of blood.

It made her think of certain unpleasant images, and her stomach churned.

“I don’t need you to make amends,” the Beast said in a harsh, gruff voice. Those terrifying eyes stared straight at her, filled with undisguised murderous intent. “But if you insist, I do happen to be hungry right now…”

“I can prepare food for you!” she cut in quickly. Yet the uneasy premonition in her heart only grew stronger.

“Food?” The Beast let out a low laugh, his voice dangerous. “Isn’t there something ready-made right in front of me?”

Time seemed to pause for a second. In his eyes, Tu Nan saw a real, unmistakable craving for food.

He was not joking. He truly wanted to eat her!

The Beast straightened up, his huge hand reaching toward her.

Tu Nan had no doubt that if he caught her, the Beast would only need to exert the slightest force with both hands to tear her in half and turn her into his midnight snack.

She immediately ran in the opposite direction.
There weren’t many places to hide in the hall. Her only advantage was that she was agile enough to squeeze into the narrowest spaces she could find.

“Let’s talk!” she shouted as she dodged. “I don’t have much meat on me. You definitely wouldn’t like the taste!”

The Beast let out a mocking laugh.

Compared to her urgency, the Beast seemed more like he was playing a game of hawk-and-chick with her.

Tu Nan noticed that several times, he could have caught her, but he had deliberately let her go.

He was doing it on purpose. He was toying with her, savoring this effortless game of Cat and Mouse. Once he got bored, he would catch her cleanly and tear her in half without the slightest hesitation.

No wonder the first mission of this Instance was for the Player to stay alive.

Right now, even staying alive was hard enough. She truly couldn’t imagine what she was supposed to do to make the Beast in front of her fall in love with her.

It was pure fantasy.

At a time like this, if only she had Song Yanhao’s talent. A direct thirty-point increase in Favorability would probably keep him from instantly killing her up close.

Tu Nan froze for a split second, suddenly thinking of the Skill Card Song Yanhao had drawn.

With a thought, she immediately chose to use that card: “The Most Needed Skill Card at the Moment.”

[Use successful! Generating Skill Card according to the Player’s current needs… Generation successful!

Congratulations, Player. You have obtained the buff: If I Were Food, I’d Be Seriously Unappetizing

Buff duration: One day]

Tu Nan: “…”

Just hearing the name of that buff was enough to leave someone speechless.

At that exact moment, the Beast finally got bored. Moving with a speed completely at odds with his massive frame, he snatched her up.

He lifted Tu Nan before his eyes with effortless ease.

Tu Nan struggled with all her strength, but those hands were like iron clamps. She couldn’t budge them at all.

At this point, all she could do was pray that the buff was useful enough.

The Beast held her up and examined her carefully for a while. Then he suddenly leaned closer and sniffed her.

Tu Nan went rigid with tension, staring at him without moving a muscle.

“Why do I suddenly find you so unappetizing?” the Beast asked in confusion.

It worked!

For the first time in her life, Tu Nan felt excited to hear someone call her unappetizing.

She bit the tip of her tongue hard, forcing herself to calm down.

“Perhaps it’s because I’m not very suitable as food, sir.”

This buff would only last one day. Within that one day, she had to work hard to raise his Favorability and make the Beast before her stop thinking about eating her.

The Beast stared at her for a long time. He seemed to go through an internal struggle before finally setting her down.

“You are very strange.” Those enormous eyes fixed on her, making a chill crawl up her spine. “I didn’t feel this way a moment ago.”

Tu Nan wiped the sweat from her forehead. She took a deep breath and forced herself to smile. “Your servants said you are a Prince. In my eyes, you are also a rather strange Prince.”

“Oh?” The Beast looked at the girl before him, who was far too weak in his eyes, and said with interest, “You’re not afraid of me?”

“More than afraid, I am curious about you,” Tu Nan said calmly. “For example, why you have… this appearance.”

[Your Target’s Favorability toward you is: -20]

“Too much curiosity is not a good habit, Miss Belle.” There was danger in the Beast’s voice.

Tu Nan lifted her head to look at him. Her body trembled slightly from fear, and even her voice shook along with it. “I’m very sorry, but since you were already planning to eat me, I thought I might as well be a little bolder before I die?”

All she could do was gamble.