Chapter Forty-two: You Jump, I Jump.

In the continuously flashing lights, Lu Mingfei caught sight of what those creatures truly looked like.

They resembled slender birds with enormous patagia, their entire bodies covered in bronze-colored fur, with coarse joints, scarlet eyes, and rat-like little hands at the tips of their wings.

Yet, entirely mismatched with those tiny hands, every single one of their fingers bore claws as large as scythes.

Awakened abruptly from their slumber, the flock of Kamaitachi let out terrifying, piercing screeches, throwing themselves in a pitch-black tide toward Lu Mingfei, Liu Miaomiao, and the ghastly ghouls crawling out from the train.

Lu Mingfei had learned from school that the social structure of Kamaitachi was actually quite similar to that of ants and bees. A mother Kamaitachi was responsible for reproduction and giving orders, while the male Kamaitachi relied entirely on the mother’s commands and their own primal instincts to act.

They could not tell the difference between Lu Mingfei's group and the ghouls. Having been rudely awakened, they launched an indiscriminate attack on every living creature within their perception.

The ghouls, attempting to pursue and trap Lu Mingfei, were evidently bogged down by these aggressive, bizarre creatures, forced to swing their blades to hack at the chaotic swarm of strange birds.

Equally foul and pitch-black blood spurted from their shattered bodies.

The attacked Kamaitachi whirled in the air, emitting shrill cries that could have been joy or agony, only to surge even more excitedly toward the blood-stained ghouls the very next moment.

The light grew clearer little by little, and the airflow began to slow down—the train was decelerating.

"Get down!"

Lu Mingfei dropped the stick-sword stained with the ghouls' black blood, laid Liu Miaomiao flat upon the floor of the train car, curled his legs, faced upward, and raised his hands over his head.

He pressed his own body down upon Liu Miaomiao's delicate, girlish frame, clasping his hands together with his fingers tightly interlocked.

An ambiguous posture.

Feeling the young man's strength and heavy breathing, Liu Miaomiao finally couldn't help but open her eyes. The first thing that met her vision was Lu Mingfei's face, right before her.

Lips to lips, eyes to eyes, at a distance of less than ten centimeters. She could even see her own reflection mirrored within Lu Mingfei's golden pupils.

He only needed to lower his head slightly to kiss her with effortless ease.

The shyness and struggle in the girl's heart lasted only for a fleeting moment before being entirely replaced by panicked worry.

Because Liu Miaomiao instantly realized that every single muscle in Lu Mingfei's body was taut.

He had concealed her beneath him with no ulterior motive whatsoever, purely to protect her, to bear the brunt of the attacks from those bizarre birds in her stead.

"Are, are you alright, Lu Mingfei?" Liu Miaomiao asked, her voice so choked with anxiety she was nearly on the verge of tears.

"I'm fine. They just look intimidating; their attacks actually feel like nothing more than a scratch," Lu Mingfei said, a familiar, loser-like smile surfacing on his face.

"Don't worry, these creatures are drawn to blood, just like sharks. While fighting those ghouls just now, I deliberately avoided getting splattered, so neither of us really has much blood on us."

Though Lu Mingfei said this, Liu Miaomiao still saw numerous Kamaitachi hovering right behind him, their scythe-like, razor-sharp claws grazing past his back as they swept by.

"Does it hurt..."

Lu Mingfei was startled, clearly not expecting Liu Miaomiao to ask such a question.

"To be honest, it hurts a little," Lu Mingfei answered earnestly. "Not enough to kill me yet, though."

"You absolutely cannot die."

Liu Miaomiao buried her face in Lu Mingfei's clothes, her shoulders heaving with muffled shudders. As a damp, warm sensation slowly soaked outward from his chest, Lu Mingfei finally realized that Liu Miaomiao was crying after all.

Seeming reluctant to let Lu Mingfei see her in tears, she suppressed even her sobs, rendering her weeping completely inaudible beneath the piercing screeches of the Kamaitachi.

Suddenly, Lu Mingfei loosened his grip on her hands.

Liu Miaomiao lifted her head from his lapel, her red, swollen eyes staring blankly at Lu Mingfei.

"Stop crying, little girl," Lu Mingfei said. "Hold onto my waist just like before."

Though Liu Miaomiao had no idea why he suddenly called her a little girl, she nodded and obeyed his instructions.

It was then that Liu Miaomiao noticed the train had stopped once again, though she didn't know when. This time, it had arrived at a new platform, brightly lit for a change.

Accompanied by a shudder, the clanging sound of closing doors rang out once more. Who knew what passengers had boarded at this station?

The very instant the train began to accelerate, Lu Mingfei abruptly pushed himself up onto his knees, wrapped his arms around Liu Miaomiao's waist, and sprinted in the direction opposite to the subway's movement.

"We're jumping!" Lu Mingfei shouted as they reached the front of the car.

Liu Miaomiao suddenly recalled the famous Hollywood romance movie *Titanic*, where handsome Leonardo DiCaprio playing Jack and Suzy Amis playing Ruth met on the deck, and