Newbie Guardians

Chapter 1 Dream

A chill ran through Huang Shen, who couldn't help but shiver. He opened his eyes and found himself standing on a dark rock.

The surroundings were covered in snow, looking somewhat like soft cotton. The terrain was flat, a vast expanse of white stretching as far as the eye could see.

"The scenery is beautiful, it's breathtaking," he muttered to himself.

From the age of seven until now, at nineteen, he experiences bizarre and fantastical dreams every night, having lost count of how many times it has happened. Each dream is different, so real that it makes him question the meaning of life. Without exception, he is chased by monsters, and the ending is always the same—he is killed by the monsters and wakes up covered in sweat.

But tonight's dream was a bit cold.

He looked down at himself, dressed in sportswear and sneakers. He zipped his jacket up to the top and felt less cold, though he wasn't sure if it was just psychological.

As is customary, one should first familiarize oneself with the environment. Huang Xin tentatively took a step forward.

"Creak—"

The snow was just above his knees, and the crisp, melodious sound was exceptionally clear in the silent snow, instantly awakening his childlike wonder. Having grown up in the south, the feeling of stepping on snow for the first time was indescribably wonderful; he couldn't help but stomp again and again. Crunch! Crunch! The sound never stopped.

But soon, the snow seeped into his shoes, melted with his body heat, and turned into icy water. A chill ran down his ankles, clearing his head. It was time to get down to business.

Huang Xin walked forward, and in less than half an hour, his feet were numb from the cold. But all around him was still a vast expanse of white, without a single tree in sight.

He stopped and looked back at the path he had come from. Behind him was a long trail of footprints, which, when connected, formed an arc that gradually shifted to the right. He remembered his grandfather saying that if a person walks in one direction without any reference points, and goes far enough, they will eventually circle back to their starting point. He had never believed it then, but now he finally understood what it meant to be ignorant.

He chuckled self-deprecatingly and was about to continue walking forward—

A white shadow suddenly flashed by in the distance.

A monster has appeared!

Huang Xin's nerves tensed instantly, and he instinctively lunged forward, burying himself in the snow, which made him shiver violently. He slowly raised his head, leaving only his eyes visible, staring intently at the white figure.

A dozen seconds later, the white figure got closer and closer, and its outline gradually became clearer.

It was a snowman, over two meters tall and covered in white fur, with a bulging chest, clearly female. It moved extremely fast, taking large strides, yet its footprints were shallow, and it was several times larger than Huang Xin's.

"No wonder it's a snowman," Huang Shen muttered to himself. "Its feet are like sleds, no wonder it can run so fast."

What is that snowman doing? Is he running to exercise?

The answer came quickly.

Three gray figures followed closely behind the snowman—three burly wolves with fierce eyes.

The snowman walked steadily, his pace neither hurried nor slow, and the three wolves followed at a similarly unhurried pace.

Just as Huang Xin was puzzled, about fifty meters away from him, the three wolves simultaneously accelerated, rapidly closing the distance. The wolf in the middle let out a long howl, and the other two immediately scattered to the sides, accelerating again to encircle him from both sides. Their movements were clean and efficient, their coordination as perfect as actors who had rehearsed countless times. In the blink of an eye, the three wolves had the snowman surrounded.

The snowman stopped, letting out two low growls. Its thick forelimbs quickly pawed at the snow, its right palm clutching a large, solid snowball. It crouched slightly, assuming a ready-to-attack stance.

The three wolves maintained a distance of seven or eight meters from the snowman, slowly circling it, searching for the best opportunity to attack. The snowman's body swayed from side to side in response, ready to counterattack at any moment.

The stalemate continued.

One minute, two minutes, five minutes...

Huang Xin lay prone in the snow, shivering uncontrollably. It was already cold enough, and being buried in the snow without moving made her feel like her toes were about to become numb.

Just as I was thinking about whether I should change my position to stretch, I suddenly heard heavy breathing not far behind me.

Huang Xin's heart tightened, and he hurriedly turned his head to look—

A small snowman, about 1.6 meters tall, was stumbling and running towards them. Its steps were hurried, and it kept turning its head to look back, making "woof woof" sounds.

A hundred meters away, a particularly large wolf was following leisurely behind.

Huang Xin understood everything at once.

This is a wolf pack tactic. The three wolves surrounding the yeti without attacking is stalling for time, waiting for the alpha wolf to drive the little yeti over so they can then hunt it down. The big yeti will inevitably lose its composure, at which point all four wolves will pounce—

Sure enough, the big snowman became enraged the moment he saw the little snowman, and roared furiously.

The little snowman was running too fast and tripped over something, stumbling and almost falling. The thing was kicked out of the snow, arcing through the air before landing five or six meters away from Huang Xin and disappearing back into the snow.

Huang Shen had excellent eyesight and could see it clearly. It was a dry tree branch, about 1.2 to 1.3 meters long and as thick as an arm. Judging from the depth it was buried in the snow, it must have been quite heavy.

Ignoring the numbness in his legs, he scrambled forward. After staggering five or six steps, he lunged forward, his right hand rummaging through the snow haphazardly until he found a dry branch. He grabbed it, feeling much more at ease.

Huang Xin slowly stood up, gripped the branch tightly, and swung it twice with force. It felt heavy, and the sound of it cutting through the air was particularly loud in the silent snow.

He casually struck a pose, extended his left hand, hooked his index and middle fingers together, and made a provocative gesture towards the alpha wolf.

The alpha wolf stopped twenty or thirty meters away, staring coldly at the suddenly appearing, weak human, its eyes full of scrutiny and vigilance.

Suddenly, the alpha wolf let out a long howl.

Upon receiving the command, the three wolves launched a lightning-fast attack, pounced on the snowman together.

The snowman suddenly turned around and hurled the snowball in his hand at the wolf closest to him.

The wolf was prepared; it gracefully somersaulted in the air and easily dodged the snowball.

The other two wolves seized the opportunity and pounced from both sides simultaneously.

The snowman neither dodged nor flinched, but slapped the wolf on the right with a powerful blow. With a muffled thud, the wolf was sent flying three or four meters away, howling as it sank deep into the snow, struggling several times before finally getting up.

The wolf on the left had already bitten its shoulder tightly from the side.

Fresh blood gushed out, staining the white hair with a shocking crimson.

The snowman seemed completely oblivious to the pain, and with a sudden grab of its right hand, it opened its mouth to bite—its posture clearly indicating its intention to shove the wolf's head directly into its mouth and crush it.

Sensing danger, the wolf quickly released its grip, used its hind legs to push off the snowman, and leaped two or three meters away.

The wolf that had dodged the snowball earlier leaped up on the snow, seized the moment when the snowman turned to attack, pounced from behind, and bit down hard on the neck.

The snowman reacted incredibly quickly, turning around and thrusting his left hand towards the wolf's mouth while raising his right hand high. Clearly, he was willing to injure his left hand to use this opportunity to shove the wolf into the snow and strangle it to death.

The wolf instantly cowered. It twisted its body in mid-air to dodge the yeti's near-suicidal attack, landed gracefully, and jumped out of the circle.

The three wolves circled back around, continuing to spin.

Blood kept flowing from the snowman's shoulder.

That bite was quite severe, likely damaging an artery. It let out a muffled howl, signaling the little snowman to stay away. It grabbed a handful of snow and pressed it against the wound, its whole body trembling slightly, clearly in considerable pain. The little snowman stood there, continuously whimpering.

Huang Xin tried hard to suppress his inner panic, pretending to be indifferent, and stared at the alpha wolf with disdain.

He knew perfectly well that victory was impossible. He was no match for his opponent in strength or speed, and all he had was a dry twig. In a real fight, he wouldn't last even a minute. But against the alpha wolf, he absolutely couldn't afford to lose in terms of morale.

More importantly, he was certain—it was a dream. Over three thousand harrowing experiences had long since rendered him immune to the fear of death; at most, he would feel pain for a few seconds, and then he would wake up.

This fearless aura intimidated the alpha wolf.

It kept making low "woofing" sounds, its body slightly lowered, but it hesitated to attack.

The stalemate lasted for about two minutes.

Huang Xin felt even colder and tried hard not to shiver. He smiled and shook his head: "I gave you a chance and you didn't take it, so I won't be polite."

He gripped the branch tightly and strode toward the alpha wolf. Each step was steady and firm, and he would occasionally wave the branch in his hand, as if the wolf before him were merely a stray dog ​​with its tail between its legs.

The alpha wolf was completely enraged. It lowered its body again, tensed its hind legs, and pushed off with all its might—its entire body soared into the air, viciously lunging at Huang Xin. Its two eyes were fixed on the most vulnerable part of his neck, its killing intent almost tangible.

This seemingly fierce pounce actually left room for maneuver.

The alpha wolf subtly adjusted its angle in the air, ready to respond to Huang Xin's counterattack at any moment. It was an extremely cunning hunter, retaining a final degree of vigilance even in its rage.

Huang Xin stood still, a malicious smile spreading across his face.

We've been waiting for this moment.

He held his breath, his eyes fixed on the alpha wolf's nose, his mind racing with calculations.

five meters.

three meters.

Two meters —

Huang Xin seized the opportunity and suddenly exerted his strength, striking the air about 30 to 40 centimeters in front of the alpha wolf's head.

The alpha wolf felt a chill run down its spine.

Its sense of danger made it instinctively tuck its head in and quickly pull its two front paws together to protect its nose.

But it was all too late.

To outsiders, it looked like the alpha wolf had deliberately placed its nose on the tree branch.

"Bang—"

Huang Shen felt a jolt in his wrist, and the branch almost slipped from his grasp.

The alpha wolf let out a mournful howl. A sharp, piercing pain shot through its nose, and then its two front paws slapped against it—adding insult to injury. The pain caused its entire body to twist and turn, losing its balance in mid-air and tumbling into the snow like a dead dog.

He struggled for a full half minute before he staggered to his feet.

When had the alpha wolf ever suffered such a loss? It shook its head, stared fiercely at the weak human, bared its gleaming white teeth, drool dripping from its mouth, and let out a low growl, ready to attack again at any moment, wishing it could tear the human to shreds.

however--

This reckless human, oblivious to the danger, lifted his leg and walked towards it again.

He casually draped the branch over his shoulder, his eyes practically overflowing with contempt.

A chill ran through the alpha wolf's heart.

It stared into Huang Xin's eyes and saw a strong sense of confidence, the kind of look only a seasoned hunter with countless battles in his life could possess.

The alpha wolf's heart skipped a beat, the murderous intent in its eyes receding like a tide. It let out a long howl of resentment and turned to flee. With a few leaps, it disappeared into the vast white snowfield.

The other three wolves, upon hearing the signal, also retreated decisively, disappearing in a flash.

Huang Xin stood upright in place like a war god. Only after the wolf pack had completely disappeared did he suddenly bend over, put his hands on his knees, and gasp for breath.

"Huff... huff..."

The adrenaline surged, my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest, my back was covered in cold sweat, and my hands and feet were trembling uncontrollably. If I had missed by even two centimeters, or if I hadn't scared it off, it would definitely be devoured to the bone by now.

"I won again, that was so exciting!" he muttered to himself like a fool.

After a while, he straightened up and turned his head to look—

The little snowman was hiding behind his mother, peeking out half his head, his dark eyes curiously observing him.

He looked a bit simple-minded, which was kind of cute.

The blood on the snowman's shoulder had already congealed, forming dark red icicles that clung to its white fur. Although it maintained a wary posture, its body had relaxed considerably. It stared blankly at Huang Xin, its eyes full of confusion, seemingly unable to understand why this human, who was clearly terrified, would still jump out to help.

Huang Xin knew that although the snowman didn't seem very smart, it definitely wouldn't attack him.

He looked down at the dry branch in his hand, and it was completely intact.

He casually hoisted the branch onto his shoulder, then waved to the snowman and her son, saying, "I'm leaving, bye-bye."

Then he turned and strode away without looking back.

The snowman completely relaxed.

It turned around, pulled the little snowman into its arms, and hugged it tightly, as if afraid of losing it at any moment. The little snowman buried its face deeply in its mother's arms and made a low "woof" sound, which sounded like it was being spoiled, or like it was feeling wronged.