Chapter 1: Red Hare

That evening, after just finishing his work for the day, the first thing He Denghong did upon arriving at the park was engage in a staring contest with a fluffy rabbit lying on a bench.

It wasn’t because he was bored, but rather because he happened to lock eyes with the rabbit the moment he arrived.

The rabbit’s fur color was quite bizarre, a mix of red and black. Two black buttons served as its eyes, but other than that, it looked like an ordinary rabbit.

‘This little thing is quite unique. Did some kid leave their plush toy here?’

He Denghong wondered to himself as he walked toward the bench, intending to relax for a while in the park.

A cold wind brushed through the park trees, causing the branches and leaves to make a soft *rustling* sound. Under a flickering streetlight near the bench, He Denghong’s long, narrow shadow was cast.

He Denghong sat down on the park bench and sighed. His relaxed face revealed a hint of exhaustion.

As a freelancer and an 18-year-old high school dropout with full civil capacity, his daily life could be described as impoverished. At the moment, he could only maintain a basic standard of living.

He Denghong pulled his phone out of his pocket, but after a moment’s thought, he decided it would be better to first experience the peaceful environment. He pushed the phone back into his pocket and turned to look at the rabbit that was likely a plush toy still lying on the bench.

Only then did he notice that the plush rabbit was holding a crystal-clear bead in its mouth. Within the bead, several streaks of light were intertwining and circling one another.

“Do you want to become a hero?”

the rabbit asked, turning its head toward He Denghong. The black buttons on either side of its head seemed to flicker with a cunning light, though it might have just been a reflection.

“Hmm?”

He Denghong didn’t react for a moment. Once he confirmed there was no one else around and that the rabbit was indeed turning its head to stare at him—not just a hallucination—he began to calmly analyze the situation.

“Toys these days are really fancy. I remember when I was a kid, we didn’t have plush toys that could talk and move. Times really are changing.”

He Denghong stood up, feeling that he didn’t need to pay attention to this pre-recorded audio designed to amuse children. He planned to head back to his rented apartment, take a shower, play a few games, and go to bed.

“Hey, I’m talking to you! Why are you leaving without answering anything? Are the people here all this impolite?”

He Denghong heard the rabbit’s voice coming from behind him, but he had no intention of responding. He kept walking toward his apartment building, certain that the words were just pre-recorded audio clips.

However, He Denghong soon came to a halt.

He suddenly felt something resting on his head. It felt fluffy and a bit heavy.

Ironically, this made him feel much more at ease. At the very least, it didn’t feel like bird droppings.

‘There’s no way that plush toy jumped onto my head, right? Even if toys are fancy nowadays, they wouldn’t be designed to do this.’

While thinking this, He Denghong pulled the object off his head. Looking closely, it was indeed that fluffy rabbit, just as expected.

At this moment, he was face-to-face with the rabbit. He looked at the rabbit, and the rabbit looked at him. For a moment, the atmosphere turned inexplicably subtle.

Suddenly, the rabbit began to struggle violently. It lunged out of He Denghong’s hands while he was still dazed, pouncing toward his mouth. Despite its size, it managed to dive into He Denghong’s mouth without any obstruction.

Coming to his senses, He Denghong frantically tried to pull the rabbit out, but it was too late. He could only try his best to poke his throat, trying to find a way to vomit the rabbit up.

Soon after, the rabbit abruptly pushed aside He Denghong’s fingers and crawled back out of his mouth. However, the bead it had been holding earlier was gone.

He Denghong felt an unbearable itch in his throat and couldn’t stop coughing. His eyes, however, were fixed on the rabbit that had rolled onto the ground and was now looking at him with its head tilted.

“Squeak? Why haven’t you transformed yet? Could this Hai Rui be broken? That shouldn’t be possible; I checked it earlier… unless, is your gender actually male?” the rabbit asked in confusion.

“What else would I be?! Are you blind? Besides, what on earth are you? Why did you just crawl into someone’s mouth without a word?!”

Though He Denghong didn’t want to admit it, the rabbit before him was clearly a living creature. Not only could it talk, but it also seemed quite intelligent.

“You’re asking who I am? You can call me Red Crow Rabbit, or you can use my professional title, ‘Exploiter.’ But let’s not worry about that for now. First, I need to create a ‘Container’ for the Hai Rui.”

“After all, since the Hai Rui has already been placed inside your body, we might as well use it rather than let it go to waste.”

As the rabbit spoke, its entire body began to erupt with a red and black light. Everything in the surroundings was instantly submerged in this radiance.

Once the light faded, He Denghong slowly opened his eyes, only to find a girl standing in front of him. This girl was making the exact same movements he was.

The girl had red eyes with black cross-shaped patterns inside them. Her hair was styled in a sharp side ponytail with red highlights. Her face was delicate, yet it wore a world-weary expression.

From her appearance, she looked to be around the age of an older elementary student or someone about to enter middle school.

She wore a black-dominated military-style uniform with two rows of neatly arranged gold buttons. A crimson sash crossed over her upper body, while the cuffs and collar were decorated with red and gold trim.

The girl wore a black beret on her head and a crimson belt around her waist. Her lower body featured an A-line military skirt, and she wore black knee-high military boots.

While the overall look was military-inspired, the girl’s figure and face blended together to create a unique aura of both sharpness and cuteness. She was also draped in a black cloak with a red velvet lining.

“Squeak-gh-gh-gh, all done!”

The Red Crow Rabbit gave a strange laugh and leaped from the ground, landing on the girl’s head and twitching its ears.

He Denghong realized that the current situation wasn’t as simple as an extra girl appearing. An additional perspective had appeared before his eyes—a perspective belonging to the girl standing in front of him.

“What the hell is going on!?”

“What the hell is going on!?” The girl in front of He Denghong mimicked his tone, speaking the exact same words in unison.

The sensation He Denghong felt now was very strange. If he had to describe it, it was like his two hands were simultaneously controlling two completely different game characters, and trying to make them perform different actions at the same time was quite a struggle.