Sena pressed his back against the iron tree root. His right hand, reddened from the gasoline spill earlier, throbbed violently, every nerve feeling as if it were being pierced by needles.
From behind the thick black smoke of the mantis's carcass, the shapes of the predators finally became clear. Not just one, but a dozen. Scrap-Hounds. Wild dogs with a nightmare anatomy; their skin consisted of rusted iron plates that ground against each other. But the most terrifying part was their jaws—rows of steel teeth that moved like hydraulic pistons, capable of shearing through an iron pipe as thick as a man's arm in a single bite.
The pack fanned out, forming a semi-circle. They didn't bark. They moved in a heavy silence, only the grind-grind of their iron plates audible as they cornered Sena in front of the root crevice.
The holographic screen at the corner of Sena's eye began to explode. The Akasha algorithm was going insane—the viewer count jumped as if possessed.
[Viewer Count: 1,205]
[Viewer Count: 4,890]
[Viewer Count: 12,400]
[@DeathCult_MC]:"LMAO, HE'S DEAD! After burning the bug, now he's dog food. Place your bets, which part gets eaten first? [Bounty: 500 RC if Sena cries for mercy]"
[@Handsome_Gamer]:"Damn, this is definitely the viral event of the year. Which studio made CGI this realistic?!"
[@Local_Weeb]:"OI, RUN BRO! DON'T JUST STAND THERE LIKE AN NPC!"
[@Anti_Prank]:"This has to be scripted. Those dogs are robots, right?"
"Scripted, my ass!" Sena cursed hoarsely, his voice nearly gone. "You think this is a game?! I need weapons, not bets on when I'm going to die!"
The largest dog—the leader—lowered its body. Its hind legs tensed, claws digging deep grooves into the iron earth.
Sena reached into his pocket, gripping his dull screwdriver with a trembling hand. He knew it was futile. He closed his eyes, waiting for the sensation of those hydraulic fangs snapping his neck.
It's over. I'm actually done for.
The dog leaped. Its iron jaws gaped wide, aimed directly at Sena's face.
Suddenly, Sena's holographic screen exploded in a blinding gold. A massive animated banner covered his entire field of vision, accompanied by a thunderous and tacky virtual trumpet fanfare.
[SUPER CHAT! @MithrilTycoon has donated: 50,000 RC!]
The chatbox instantly froze. The stream of messages that had been thousands per second stopped dead, as if every viewer on Earth held their breath at the sight of an amount equivalent to hundreds of thousands of dollars being thrown onto the screen.
A message in bold capital letters appeared in the center of the golden screen.
[@MithrilTycoon]:"BUY FLASHBANG IN EARTH SHOP. NOW."
Sena didn't ask why. His frantic mind immediately tapped the Earth Shop interface.
Flashbang - 50 RC. Click.
A flash of white light. A dark green metal cylinder landed in his palm. Sena yanked the grenade's pin with his teeth because his hands were shaking too much to work fast, then threw it with all his might toward the pack leader. He immediately curled into a ball, covering his eyes and ears tightly.
BAMMMM!!
Sena's world exploded. A white light brighter than the sun slammed into his closed eyelids. It was followed by a detonation that made his brain feel like it had been rattled inside his skull.
Total silence.
Sena remained curled up. His ears rang violently—a long, agonizing niiiiiing sound. He tried to open his eyes, but all he saw were white spots dancing in the darkness. The world felt tilted; a wave of intense nausea hit his gut as his adrenaline plummeted.
For nearly a minute, he just lay there, trying to confirm if he still had a head. In front of him, the pack of Scrap-Hounds were howling soundlessly. They were all blind and deaf, colliding with one another and fleeing frantically into the darkness of the iron forest in pure panic.
He was alive. He was actually alive because of some crazy person's donation.
Sena leaned his head against the tree root, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The residual golden energy from the massive 50,000 RC Super Chat was still dissipating in the air around him, crackling like static electricity. Some of those golden sparks drifted down, absorbing into his torn jacket where his fresh blood had soaked through.
Suddenly, something hard and warm moved against his chest.
He looked down. The black, scaly egg, acting as a catalyst for the mix of his blood and the concentrated system energy, was now covered in glowing blue cracks.
Crack. Crack.
The shell shattered. A small head the size of a fist poked out. Its scales were jet black, and it had four eyes—glowing red, staring at Sena with a strange curiosity.
The creature crawled out, resembling an ancient lizard but with obsidian spikes along its back. It opened its mouth, letting out a raspy sound, "Kroooo..." before immediately munching on its own rock-hard eggshell.
Sena could only stare at the strange creature blankly. "Kroco... yeah, your face looks just like a kroco," he muttered randomly.
The Akasha camera floated closer, catching a close-up of Sena's face smeared with blood, soot, and dried tears. Sena spat on the ground, staring directly into the glowing red lens.
The viewer count had broken 50,000. The chat comments exploded again, this time filled with shock emojis and cheers.
Sena pulled the corner of his lips into a thin, threatening smirk.
"Welcome to my survival stream," Sena said, his voice raspy. "From this second on, my life is in your wallets."