The streets—no, the entire world—was infested with them.

  Nightmarish, grotesque creatures covered every inch of space, so densely packed they blotted out the horizon.

  This wasn’t a human world.

  This was theirs.

  And humans?

  We were the intruders.

  Shadow-wrapped figures with no faces shuffled down the sidewalk.

  Headless giants, taller than skyscrapers, lumbered between buildings.

  Flayed, bleeding men.

  Gigantic floating heads with no eyes, their necks dangling forests of crimson tentacles.

  Monstrosities twisted into shapes no sane mind could comprehend—drifting like dandelion seeds in the wind.

  But these were nothing compared to what loomed above.

  The sky itself was occupied.

  A pair of enormous white wings stretched across the heavens—so pure they looked divine.

  But they were attached to a single, bloodshot eye, swollen with pulsing tumors.

  An eye larger than the sun, radiating a sickly red glow.

  Oppressive. Blasphemous.

  Further away, a bridal figure stood in the air.

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  Dressed in traditional red wedding robes, embroidered with a golden "囍" (double happiness) character.

  Her posture was elegant, hands folded demurely.

  But her head—

  Was a rabbit’s.

  Snow-white fur. Glowing red eyes.

  A smile too human for an animal’s face.

  The contrast was unsettling.

  A refined noblewoman’s grace… on a beast.

  And these weren’t the only ones.

  A slimy, gray-white mass covered in bursting eyeballs—popping like bubbles, only to regrow instantly.

  A blackened Buddha’s head, serene yet crowned with pulsating tumors.

  A shapeless fog filled with screaming human faces.

  A colossal, mud-carved deity, its expression frozen in malice.

  Each one radiated indescribable corruption, their very presence flooding Fang Xiu’s mind with maddening whispers.

  Words no human throat could shape.

  Knowledge that could break a soul.

  The old Fang Xiu would’ve shattered at a glance.

  But this Fang Xiu?

  He’d died eighteen times.

  Been eaten alive eighteen times.

  If souls were real, his was beyond broken.

  It was forged in hatred.

  So instead of crumbling—

  He laughed.

  A harsh, guttural laugh, like something clawing its way out of his throat.

  He couldn’t stop.

  Seeing this world of monsters was just…

  Too funny.

  He clamped a hand over his mouth, but the laughter leaked through his fingers.

  His head bowed, shadows hiding his face—

  But not the mad gleam in his eyes.

  "Hah… hahaha…"

  "This world… is hilarious!"

  He coughed, his laughter turning wheezing, choking.

  Then vomiting.

  But he kept laughing.

  "Uncle, are you okay? Are you sick?"

  A child’s voice.

  Fang Xiu looked down.

  A little girl, no older than five.

  Pigtails. A lollipop in her hand.

  According to his memories, this world pretended to be normal.

  People lived. Worked. Had kids.

  None of them saw the truth.

  So a little girl in the courtyard?

  Normal.

  Fang Xiu forced his laughter down, smiling gently.

  "I’m fine, little one. And it’s ‘big brother,’ not ‘uncle.’"

  He reached out to pat her head.

  Once, he’d dreamed of having a daughter.

  But then—

  The girl’s smile vanished.

  Her voice turned guttural.

  "You can see me."

  Fang Xiu’s hand froze mid-air.

  Then—

  He lost it.

  "HAHAHAHA—!"

  Tears streamed down his face.

  "Perfect! Just PERFECT!"

  He slammed his palm onto her head, ruffling her hair hard.

  But his hand bounced off.

  Because the girl was changing.

  Her body swelled, flesh bursting outward like overripe fruit.

  In seconds, the sweet child was gone.

  In her place—

  A two-meter-tall monstrosity.

  A mountain of exposed muscle, veins squirming like worms.

  Her pigtails? Now twisted black horns.

  Her lollipop? A femur, thick as a tree branch.

  "YOU CAN SEE ME!!"

  The thing screeched, raising its bone club high.

  Fang Xiu kept laughing, his eyes brighter than madness.

  "I like this version better."

  "Easier to kill without guilt."

  The club slammed down, casting a death-shadow over him.

  But Fang Xiu grinned wider.

  "Now I get it."

  "Why I’m laughing."

  "There are so many of you."

  "So many to slaughter."

  "So many—"

  "TO KILL!!"

  CRUNCH.

  The club pulverized him.

  But in that last second—

  His laughter never stopped.