Ingrid led them on a tour around the forest's outer edge. They saw several creatures similar to those in the game; some attacked them, while others ignored them unless they were provoked.

Ingrid panted for air, her hands on her knees as she huffed. She was always the unlucky one in this group—Zane and Viktor would easily get away without breaking a sweat, leaving her to endure the relentless chase from the beast.

Viktor jumped down from a tree, rubbing his stomach, which groaned with hunger after all the exercise of escaping beasts.

Let's roast some meat; I'm starving," Viktor said to Zane in a suggestive tone.

"Is there any edible beasts we can hunt?" Zane asked the panting Ingrid, showing he agreed with Viktor's words.

Ingrid finally steadied her racing heart and looked at them with a surprised glint in her eyes.

She thought they would return to eat a well-cooked meal when they were hungry and didn't expect them to request to hunt and roast their own food. They were pretty different from normal men—who was she kidding? The beating she received from them was enough proof they weren't normal.

"Hm. There are two-horned rabbits, but they are hard to catch, and they are in the middle area of the forest," Ingrid responded as she dusted the dried leaves and dust off her clothes.

"Lead us there. I don't think these beasts are in the game, or I haven't gotten to that part yet?" Zane muttered thoughtfully, trying to recall the game's monster details.

"Oh, that. It's in progress. My team and I haven't caught that beast yet, so we don't know its weaknesses or strengths, and we can't add it to the game yet," Ingrid explained, walking through a grove surrounded by spiky trees.

Viktor nodded, and an idea suddenly crossed his mind. "So if we capture some beasts that you need, how will you pay us... shares? Or something equivalent for the exchange?" Viktor's sudden words made Ingrid stop in her tracks. She quickly looked at Viktor with a doubtful expression, thinking she must have heard him wrong.

But Viktor repeated his words confidently, sure that he and Zane could easily capture the beasts Ingrid needed for the game.

"Ha, it's impossible for you both to catch the beasts I need. Even if you can beat me easily, it's completely different from facing those monsters." Ingrid laughed dryly, her tone filled with nothing but doubt and amusement at how they overestimated their strength.

Zane and Viktor weren't upset by her mocking tone; instead, a calculating glint appeared in Viktor's eyes.

"Let's make a bet. If we successfully catch the rabbit, you'll give us shares in your game company as payment. Are you in or out?" Viktor was confident enough not even to add the clause if they failed to capture the beasts.

Ingrid's heart fluttered nervously at his expression, but remembering how difficult it was for her and her team to even get close to the beasts, a wave of calmness settled over her, and a confident smile spread across her face.

"And if you lose, your wife will invest in my game without returns," Ingrid announced calmly, puzzled by the pitying gaze Zane gave her.

Her heart couldn't help but tense, sensing something was very wrong with his expression, but Viktor had accepted the deal before she could second-guess her decision.

"Alright, let's put it on paper; we'll both sign." Viktor quickly drew up a document, his fingers flying as he wrote down the deal they had struck.

He pressed his fingerprint and signed, then sent a copy to Ingrid and Zane. They both signed, but Ingrid had a nagging feeling that she had been scammed. Still, the thought of the beast's formidable ability gave her some relief.

"Alright, let's go," Ingrid said as they kept moving forward.

They passed through the spiky trees, their feet crunching on the dried leaves. Viktor hummed a popular tune under his breath, too happy about getting free money without stress—shares from this game were worth much more; his hum grew louder at the thought while Zane shook his head as he glanced over at the unfortunate Ingrid.

Though he felt pity for her, that wouldn't stop him from taking the money; after all, more money never hurt anyone.

As they got closer to the boundary, Zane started to sense stronger beasts—slightly more powerful than those in the outer area. A wooden sign hung from a tree, with the words "Middle Area" written in bold.

"We're here; we just need to go a bit further, and we'll reach their nest," Ingrid muttered as she passed the signs and stepped into the lusher part of the forest ahead. The trees here were thinner but taller, allowing sunlight to pour through the sparse leaves.

They finally reached a clearing filled with wide holes in the ground — Zane and Viktor were puzzled about why no beasts were in sight, but in the next second, a white figure flashed out of a hole and jumped into another.

"They live underground, as you can see, and they move fast—like vampires. Don't touch their horns with bare hands, or you'll get electrocuted," Ingrid warned with a grin that showed she couldn't wait to watch the show, and she leaned against a tree to get the best view of their failure.

Zane looked at her with a dry expression before stepping closer to one of the holes. Viktor trailed behind, trying to figure out how to get the rabbits out of the burrows.

"Should we light fires around their burrows to flush them out with smoke? I'll grab dried leaves and get a fire going." Viktor answered himself, thinking it practical, and rushed to gather leaves before Zane could respond.

Ingrid watched Viktor's action with a knowing smile. They had tried this trick before, only to be beaten and zapped by the angry rabbits.

Her behind still hurts just thinking about it—she rubbed her hand together with strange laughter spilling from her lips. She looked insane to Zane, and he looked away, unwilling to look at her any longer than necessary.

He walked over to the burrows and looked through, only seeing darkness. He pressed his ear closer and couldn't hear anything. He repeated this for the other holes — in some, he caught glimpses of a white or gray figure, while in others, he only heard squeaking sounds.

"Here, I gathered plenty for all these burrows." Viktor returned empty-handed, but with a wave of his hand, a pile of dried leaves suddenly appeared as if by magic to the stunned Ingrid.

She rubbed her eyes, but the pile of leaves and twigs remained unchanged. Questions hovered on the tip of her tongue, but she kept her mouth shut, feeling like she might be silenced if she spoke.

She watched them quietly as they placed the plants close to the holes, aiming to smoke the rabbits out.

Minutes went by, and a loud squeaking noise came from beneath them; the ground shook as countless two-horned rabbits hopped out of the only untouched hole.

Zane gripped his sword, and as the rabbits rushed toward them with their horns crackling in the air, he swung the blunt edge of his sword quickly and knocked down some rabbits closest to him.

Viktor dodged, using Pain as a rope to wrap around their hind legs and then slamming them against the ground with enough force to knock them unconscious.

Ingrid watched with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.