Jin Shu navigated a dense forest path, carefully pig his way through prickly brambles and thiderbrush. His eyes lingered on the map he’d received from the old vendor, where a dragon coiled around the mountain ranges like a mythical guardian.

  Acc to legend in Bck Mountain City, a dragon had scorched the peaks with its fiery breath thousands of years ago—giving it its bck color, and some even whispered that it still slumbered beh the Bck Mountains.

  A rustling sound above pulled his attention. A horned squirrel scurried through the branches, and Jin Shu smirked at the sight. It reminded him of Earth’s squirrels—one of his favorite animals back then. Some things, it seemed, didn’t ge.

  He’d been walking for hours and, notig his hunger, searched the foliage. Wild strawberries grew in clusters nearby, their small red bodies glistening in the sunlight. He hated strawberries in his old life, but in this one, he couldn’t get enough of them. He was unsure how his memories would affect his hatred for the berries. Only one way to find out.

  As he reached for a handful, a rapid chattering broke out from above. The squirrel from earlier, now with a red-stained mouth gnawing on a half-eaten strawberry, was watg, clutg the berry as though it were precious. Jin Shu ig and bit into a strawberry, sav the ued sweetness—a mix of roses and pineapple.

  “Mm, they're good, though not actually strawberries.”

  The squirrel watched, bristling in fury, theed him with a barrage of nuts. Bop! A nut smacked his head.

  Jin Shu ughed until o nded square in his mouth. He spluttered, nearly choking, he spit it out into his hand and tossed it back with ued speed, hitting it square on and sending the squirrel flying.

  Bam! It smashed into the trunk of the tree, slowly sliding down.

  If the little creature survived, he ig, finishing his snack before resuming his journey.

  ***

  The same chattering creature returer, sp a rge welt on its forehead—a persistent menao matter how far Jin Shu walked, every few minutes, a nut would strike him squarely on the head. He tried to ig, hoping the creature would eventually tire itself out.

  “It was just a few strawberries,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

  Bonk!

  Another nut smacked the back of his head. His patience wearing thin, Jin Shu reached into the hidden pocket of his hanfu sleeve, fingers brushing against the etal of his pistol and its solitary bullet. For a fleeting moment, he seriously sidered using it on the annoying little pest.

  ***

  A sudden, loud crack froze him. A massive tiger emerged from the underbrush—a t beast of muscle and striped fur with white wings tucked at its sides.

  Jin Shu pressed himself against the tree trunk, his heart hammering. The Wiiger. This beast wasn’t just any predator; it rivaled cultivators at the higher Qi stages, far beyond Jin Shu’s meager abilities.

  Slowly, he drew the pistol and bullet from his pocket, the single round feeling heavy in his hand. He’d never po use it, but now he was grateful he had crafted a gun to match it. With a quiet, practiced motion, he pulled the slide bad pced the bullet directly into the chamber. Not a reended way of loading a pistol, but he scarcely had a better option now.

  A rustling sound came from high above, breaking the tense silence.

  He looked up, finding the squirrel watg him from the branches, arm pulled back, poised with a rge nut, however not aimed at him, instead aimed at the Wiiger. Jin Shu’s heart raced, shaking his head and g hands together, silently begging it for mercy.

  But the squirrel only cocked its head, as if amused. With a defiant squeak, it lobbed the nut toward the tiger.

  Jin Shu’s heart dropped. The nut arced through the air, striking the tiger’s eye with a soft bop.

  The tiger whipped its head around, gaze bzing as it caught Jin Shu’s st.

  Desperation gripped him as he cursed the little demon of a squirrel. If I survive this, I'm going to find you, you little shit, and when I do, I'm going to enjoy my first taste of roasted squirrel.

  The pistol was his st ce. Raising it, he aimed at the tiger’s left eye, praying that the single bullet would be enough.

  The trigger pressed—click, hammer struck—bang!

  The bullet tore from the barrel with maddening glee. After years of waiting, it could finally fulfill its purpose: Kill! Transform! Repair!

  Squelch.

  The bullet found purchase in the beast's eye. It should have pierced through to the brain, but this beast was strohan anything in his inal world, its body fortified by the pulsing energy of Qi.

  The bullet struggled, its purpose slipping away as it fought against the thick defenses. Iia spent, its mission inplete, it finally came to rest—menting its failure.

  But all was not lost. The bullet held a final gift—transformation.

  The tiger staggered, blood mixed with alieal welling from its eye. But it was still alive—enraged and vengeful.

  Roar!

  The beast’s howl of agony reverberated through the forest, the vibration rattling Jin Shu to his core.

  No time to think. He turned and sprinted, branches and rocks barring his escape. They tore at his skin and tripped his feet, muscles screaming for rest. But he wouldn't—no, couldn't—stop.

  He hadn’t anticipated a creature like this—a beast armed not only with wings but with the wrath of something truly wild.

  He could feel its breath on his back, hot and rancid, ahe scraping of its cws tearing into the forest floor.

  Only two things kept him alive. The tiger couldn’t use its wings in the cramped forest, and its injured eye—alien alloy spreading ihrough the creature’s flesh—slowed it down with each step.

  Jin Shu’s mind raced. A boulder—there! He spotted it t ahead, easily twice the tiger’s size. Desperation tightened his breath as a rough pn took form. He whispered a hurried prayer to any higher power that may govern this world.

  Keeping the boulder on his left—the tiger’s injured side—he leapt at the st moment, rolling behind it just as—

  Crash!

  The impact sent spiderweb cracks through the stone.

  Run. His mind screamed it, but his body balked, every muscle straining for rest. He staggered up, heart pounding in his ears as he fought to keep moving. The tiger’s pace was faltering, but its rage was undiminished.

  There—salvation, a dark gap split the mountain wall. Ten seds. He needed just ten seds.

  One.

  He spotted the crack, a shadowy tear in the rock.

  Two.

  Scrambling to his feet, he forced his ag legs to carry him forward.

  Three. Four. Five.

  He broke through the underbrush, hissing as an errant branch sliced a deep gash in his cheek.

  Six.

  The tiger snapped from its daze, the remaining eye bzing with fury as it locked onto him.

  Seven.

  Halfway there—and the beast was closing fast.

  Eight.

  Freed from the forest, the tiger spread its wings. A single powerful fp doubled its speed, propelling it forward.

  Nine.

  Ssh! “Ah!” Cws raked across Jin Shu’s back, blood spilling in hot streaks as paihrough him.

  Ten!

  Propelled by the tiger’s strike, he careened forward and rolled into the crack, colpsing in a crumpled, bloody heap. The tiger roared, g frantically at the rocks, its paws scraping against the stone as it straio reach him. When that failed, it thrust a cw through the narrow opening, desperate to catch him.

  Jin Shu’s vision blurred, his strength fading fast from blood loss. His body trembled as the tiger’s cws raked over his leg, snagging on his pant leg.

  With a vicious tug, he was yanked back toward the beast’s gaping maw. He could barely summon the will tle, to fight, as the tiger’s jaws cmped onto his shoulder.

  How did it e to this? The thought slipped away as darkook him.