Late at night, when everything was silent—
Yu Zhou and Camearra were lying on the bed.
Earlier at dinner, his uncle and aunt had come over to join them, and Yu Zhou had given them some gifts.
They had talked a little about Camearra and himself, but not too much—just enough to satisfy curiosity.
Originally, Yu Zhou's mother had already tidied up a separate room for Camearra to stay in.
But in the middle of the night, Camearra came knocking on Yu Zhou's door.
And that's how the two of them ended up lying on the same bed.
It was just a single bed; one Yu Zhou had always slept on alone.
Now, with two people squeezed into it, it felt strangely cramped.
Even so, Camearra seemed to be enjoying the closeness, her face filled with quiet satisfaction.
Although Yu Zhou and Camearra had already confirmed their relationship, they hadn't gone beyond simple affection—no real intimacy yet.
This was their first time sleeping on the same bed at night.
Because of that, Yu Zhou felt like he had taken a strong stimulant—his body burning with restless energy that might cause trouble if not cooled down soon.
After holding it in for a while, he finally turned to Camearra's gentle, orchid-like breath and muttered,
"I'm… going to the bathroom."
With that, he hurriedly got off the bed and dashed toward the toilet.
To say he didn't want to do anything would be a lie—but the rooms in his house were close together, and sounds travelled easily.
He didn't dare make a single suspicious noise.
Inside the bathroom, Yu Zhou relieved himself, flushed, and sighed in satisfaction.
The sound of rushing water filled the small space—
But when he turned around, his soul nearly flew out of his body.
"Holy crap! Are you trying to scare me to death?!"
Standing behind him was the little girl in the red dress.
He hadn't expected her to appear anywhere outside that old abandoned house.
"She's coming soon."
The red-dressed girl hugged her red ball tightly, tilting her head as she spoke softly.
"Can we not do this? It's the middle of the night, and you're a little girl… I'm a grown man… and we're whispering in the bathroom! Don't you think this is way too weird?!"
Yu Zhou had completely run out of things to complain about.
If she had appeared while he was still peeing, he didn't even want to imagine how awkward that would've been.
"…I might have been a bit careless,"
the girl muttered, glancing at Yu Zhou's pyjamas—and the recently flushed toilet.
"Well, too late for that now."
Yu Zhou sighed and spread his hands.
"Since you're already here, I assume you've got something important to tell me?"
Whenever she appeared, it was never without reason.
Yu Zhou didn't believe she'd show up just to chat, especially at such a critical time.
"Yes."
The girl nodded, her expression unreadable.
"About the great crisis of this world—I can only tell you what I know."
"Go ahead."
Yu Zhou crossed his arms, waiting quietly for her next words.
"Countless darknesses are about to break through the world's barrier and descend upon this place."
Her voice was flat, but her words carried a chilling weight.
"Countless… darknesses?"
Yu Zhou caught the key phrase instantly.
Darkness—countless darknesses—breaking through the world's barrier.
He didn't know what exactly that barrier was, but that didn't matter anymore.
What mattered was that if these dark forces invaded, there was no way he could fight them all off alone.
Even with Camearra's help, the two of them wouldn't stand a chance against an endless tide of darkness.
And calling for help from other worlds… that method no longer worked here.
"Can you be more specific?"
Yu Zhou frowned deeply, desperate for clearer information.
"That's all I know."
The little girl shook her head.
"I can only sense that a vast number of dark beings are struggling to break through the barrier… to come to this world."
"This world… can only be saved by you."
"You've got to be kidding—!"
Before Yu Zhou could finish, the girl vanished before his eyes.
"Save the world? Why the hell would that be my job?"
Yu Zhou clenched his fists, breathing heavily.
"I'm… a selfish person, you know."
"But if I do nothing… this world will be swallowed by darkness without resistance."
He didn't really feel any sense of duty to save the world.
But his family, his friends—he couldn't just stand by and watch them vanish into the darkness.
So, whether he liked it or not, he'd have to fight to protect this world.
"I'll… do what I can."
He sighed, washed his hands, and returned to his room.
Camearra noticed the troubled look on his face the moment he came back.
Without asking anything, she simply lay beside him and wrapped her arms around him, letting her warmth speak for her.
The night passed silently.
The next morning, during breakfast, a breaking news report flashed on TV—
and everyone at the table froze in disbelief.
"According to reports, last night, on an overseas island, a gigantic unidentified creature appeared—resembling a pterosaur from the Jurassic period."
"The creature is approximately fifty-eight meters long and weighs around forty-six thousand tons."
"Eyewitnesses describe it as possessing extremely high flight speed."
"After invading the island's city area, it was ultimately destroyed by responding fighter jets. The exact number of casualties remains unknown."
Yu Zhou stared blankly at the television, his chopsticks suspended mid-air.
The few blurry photos displayed on-screen—taken by bystanders—were enough for him to recognize the creature's identity.
"Melba…"
He muttered the name under his breath, his appetite vanishing completely.
Had the darkness of this world already begun to surface?
He had thought there would still be some time left—
but it had come far sooner than expected.
Fortunately, the technology in this world was fairly advanced; their weapons could at least barely deal with such monsters.
The corpse of the slain Melba was, of course, taken away by that island nation for research.
After all, a creature like that appearing for the first time in history—
studying it would undoubtedly shock the entire world.
Camearra had also seen the news.
Melba—an ancient monster from thirty million years ago—was something she was well familiar with, so she wasn't particularly surprised.
Seeing Yu Zhou's grim expression, she quietly ate her meal without comment.
Yu Zhou's parents, on the other hand, were astonished.
"The world really is full of strange things!"
Yu Xiasheng said, chewing his food while staring at the TV.
"Yeah, but things like that only happen on TV, right?"
His mother joked, laughing it off.
Yu Zhou forced a thin smile, made small talk with them, then finished his meal and went back to his room—
with Camearra, of course, following closely behind.