Chapter 9: Run, Little Wolf!

Running at full speed, Neo still refused to drop the bucket of water he was carrying.
Kara didn’t have Neo’s determination; as she tried her best to run, she couldn’t help looking back. In the distance behind them, flames rolled like waves, with various burning objects flying everywhere. The scene was terrifying, yet it was impossible to see what monster was causing all this.
“Hide in that barrel for now. Once you’re sure the Evil Fire Puppet is far away, leave!” Even in such a situation, Neo’s voice remained calm. Only then did Kara realize that Neo wasn’t running at full speed—probably to protect her.
“Hide together!” Kara still had some insight. She knew that, judging from the chaos caused by the Evil Fire Puppet, it was at least level 5, maybe even close to level 5. Relying solely on level differences, it would be very difficult for Neo to escape in a normal chase.
“It’s too late!” Neo didn’t mind revealing the truth. He added, “I have a plan.”
Neo wasn’t the kind of person who would give others a chance to survive and face death himself on the first meeting. He truly was struggling to keep up with the situation. To completely hide his presence, he needed the scorching heat of fire and time to settle things. What he lacked most right now was time. If the Evil Fire Puppet found him trapped in that small wine cellar, he would be doomed.
If Kara hid instead, it would be more advantageous. To the Evil Fire Puppet, she was a stranger, not a target. With a real prey right in front of it, the chance that the puppet would waste time searching for Kara was less than 15%. But just to be safe, it was better to change hiding places after avoiding the immediate danger. That’s why Neo advised Kara to hide temporarily before leaving quickly.
As they approached a fork in the road, turning toward the wine cellar was necessary. There was no time to hesitate. Kara said goodbye and turned toward the cellar. As a girl, she wasn’t carrying as much as Neo. With just one bucket of water, she could submerge herself entirely in it. However, entering that fire-like cellar terrified her, but given the current situation, she had no choice.
As soon as Kara turned the corner, the Evil Fire Puppet broke through a burning wall and appeared. Seeing its prey up close made it even more excited. It charged forward, roaring, dragging its axe. The red-hot axe left scorched grooves in the ground, with sparks flying everywhere. It was unclear how heavy it was to cause such effects.
Neo knew that although he was agile, while the Evil Fire Puppet was a typical brute-force fighter, the level difference meant he had no speed advantage over it. Moreover, while the puppet didn’t mind moving in a straight line, Neo did. Even if he could endure the flames to move forward, he still had to worry about whether it had the ability to break through walls like a battering ram.
Neo insisted on moving in a straight line, which could buy some time. But in doing so, he had to endure the constant attacks of flames thrown by the Evil Fire Puppet, putting him in extreme danger.

For the Evil Fire Puppet, every fire source it passed by was a source of material for throwing flames. With its battle axe, it would pry and pull, causing large pieces of burning material to be detached and then hurled at Neo with force. The burning material made a hissing sound, resembling small lava bombs, crashing down with a loud bang and scattering mud, sand, and flames like flowers, displaying immense power.

Neo could rely on his agility and hearing. Even amidst the wind and the sound of burning, he could still distinguish the howling sound of those burning objects in the air.

As for evasion, it mostly depended on luck, as Neo hadn’t yet reached the level of predicting flight paths by hearing. Fortunately, there was plenty of melted snowwater on the ground. When the burning objects approached, they cast shadows on the water-covered ground, allowing Neo, with full concentration, to have some control.

One fled, the other pursued, and the distance between them gradually narrowed. Neo didn’t panic; he still held the bucket in his hand, its water rippling as if mocking him for stubbornly refusing to let go of the burden at such a time.

30 seconds later, Neo suddenly turned—a right turn, an actual right angle!

The Evil Fire Puppet was delighted. This wasn’t a track and field arena; taking a shortcut wouldn’t bring any punishment. With a roar, it moved diagonally, stepping through fires and destroying houses, rapidly closing the distance.

Neo turned again, also at a right angle, this time left. While this reduced the Puppet’s advantage of taking shortcuts, a new problem arose: ahead was a sea of fire!

He poured water over himself—half a bucket. Whether it would work was up to it. Neo headed straight into the raging flames.

The horror of flames lay not only in burning but also in the scorching heat. Moreover, the burning piles themselves were terrifying traps—one wrong step could mean certain doom.

Neo had no choice. Fighting the Evil Fire Puppet meant certain death, but braving the sea of fire gave him at least a chance to survive, albeit with a high risk.

A few seconds later, Neo emerged from the other side of the sea of fire. Parts of his clothes were charred and stiff, even sticking to his skin. His face seemed wet, but it wasn’t water—it was oil from the scorching heat. Even after pouring half a bucket of water, burns were inevitable. But right now, Neo couldn’t worry about those injuries.

The Evil Fire Puppet was now approaching this end of the sea of fire. Neo’s speed and success in crossing it had enraged it greatly. Its roar was long and deep, like a trumpet blast, carrying an indescribable scorching aura that made one imagine the flames of hell.

After roaring, contrary to Neo’s expectations, the Puppet didn’t cross the fire but leaped over it. Its massive and heavy body soared like a projectile from a catapult, tracing a fiery arc in the air before plummeting to the other side of the sea of fire.

The unusual sound of its flight made Neo turn around for the first time. Seeing the Puppet descending, he immediately recalled a description from a book: “Burning leap, earth-shattering strike.” This combined move was costly for the Puppet but extremely powerful. Neo knew that although he was over 5 meters away from where it would land, he was still within range of its earth-shattering strike. Timing was crucial now.

“2, 1, jump!” Neo leaped high into the air.
At the same time, the Evil Fire Puppet held an axe in both hands and slammed the base of the axe handle hard onto the ground.
Boom! The floor and soil around the Evil Fire Puppet cracked like ice broken while fishing for winter fish—stones split, soil flew apart, and an invisible wave spread out, creating distinct ripples on the surface.
Neo avoided the shockwaves from the ground, but was still knocked off balance by the strong wind swirling in the air. On the verge of falling, he quickly rolled forward, continuing to run at nearly the same speed. Remarkably, the half-barrel of water remained intact. Even Neo marveled that he might consider joining a circus if needed in the future…
The failed attack made the Evil Fire Puppet even angrier. However, it was normal for its recovery after a heavy strike to be slow, so it could only watch as Neo kept running ahead, while it had to restart and accelerate to catch up.
One chasing, one fleeing—the distance narrowed again. A sea of flames appeared ahead. Neo poured the remaining half-barrel of water over himself, then discarded the metal barrel as a projectile at the Evil Fire Puppet behind him.
Cough! As the flames flashed, the metal barrel split in half mid-air. The Evil Fire Puppet appeared clumsy in movement but was actually extremely swift and fierce. Even with Neo’s focused and precise strike, the power was only so much—yet the Evil Fire Puppet executed it effortlessly, showing the stark difference between them.
After breaking through the second sea of flames, Neo suffered new injuries, clearly worse than the first time. His boots were burned through, and his soles were blackened, but in his eyes shone the light of dawn approaching.
Final distance—go!
The flames blocked the Evil Fire Puppet’s vision, but it didn’t matter. Continuing like this, it would surely catch its target within 100 meters. This time, the Evil Fire Puppet calmed down and rushed into the flames like Neo had done. Success was within reach, and no tricks were needed.
Yet when the Evil Fire Puppet emerged from the flames and saw what lay ahead, it realized it had been tricked. Just a dozen meters away, at the end of steps clearly leading underground, was a narrow arched cave. Most importantly, the iron bars at the cave entrance were twisted open, wide enough for a person to pass through.
It was the entrance to the sewer cleaning system—a new urban improvement project started the year before last to address the mess and sewage in the commercial district. The entrance was left there to allow cleaners to descend and clear the debris.
Roar… The Evil Fire Puppet screamed as it threw its battle axe!
The flaming axe flew toward Neo!
Like a howling fire wheel, the flaming axe rushed through the air with immense force.
Neo had already guessed that the Evil Fire Puppet would use this tactic. He had to enter the sewer before the axe arrived, otherwise, even without the axe collapsing the entrance, its presence alone would seal Neo’s only escape route.
Almost as soon as the Evil Fire Puppet released its flaming axe, Neo transformed himself into a projectile and shot forward like a thrown water droplet.
Whoosh!
Boom! Splash!

Bricks, stones, and mud rained down from the sewer entrance. The flaming axe stood there, turning the surrounding snow into steaming vapor. Yet Nio had already dived into the sewer by less than a second.

The Evil Fire Puppet wasn’t giving up. It rushed forward frantically, grabbed the large axe, and began slashing wildly. Indeed, the city’s sewer system ran parallel to the ground at a depth of about 5–7 meters. With the Evil Fire Puppet’s abilities, finding an entrance and quickly breaking through it wasn’t particularly difficult. But Nio wasn’t the type to think everything was fine just by diving into the sewer. Without stopping, he rolled forward a few times before digging and kicking his way deeper. No matter how capable the Evil Fire Puppet was, how could it possibly keep up?

Boom! With its final swing, the Evil Fire Puppet completely blocked the entrance, then turned back outside. Reaching the original entrance, it grabbed the iron bars and yanked one of them out as if pulling wheat. At the tip of the bar was blood from Nio’s injuries during his escape. The Evil Fire Puppet licked and sucked at it affectionately, like a child licking a malt candy stick… It had remembered the taste of Nio’s blood. Next time it hunted, it wouldn’t lose its way again…