鲁道夫破窗而入，三名狼人紧随其后，毫不费力地从他身上跳了过去，切断了他的逃生路线。狼人盯着他，注意到他的手按在地上的碎玻璃上。鲁道夫并不害怕玻璃碎片；相反，他在落地时感觉到了不对劲——声音不对劲。他脚下的地面是凹陷的。
地窖！
在狼人扑上来之前，鲁道夫终于找到了地窖的把手。他猛地打开地窖，迅速钻了进去。无论是在外面还是在公开的战斗中，他都知道自己无法对抗狼人的敏捷和力量。他唯一的优势是在狭小的空间里，在那里他可以充分利用他的左轮手枪。
地下室的门瞬间被狼人一爪击碎，狼人的爪子比鲁道夫想象的还要强壮，在最后一秒，他成功掉进了地下室。今晚他经历了一系列跌倒，先是从二楼跌落，又从地面跌落到地下室。
黑暗中，鲁道夫将左轮手枪里的子弹取出，用快速装弹器凭感觉重新装弹。空弹壳落地的清脆声音在狭小的空间里回荡。地下室不大，走五步就到了尽头。他靠在冰冷潮湿的墙上，大口喘着粗气。
狼人还没进来。鲁道夫猜他们肯定在犹豫。他有炼金术子弹，狼人也怕死。
月光从地窖入口射进来，随着时间流逝，他的眼睛渐渐适应了黑暗。
突然，一股冰冷的东西抵住了他的喉咙！
昏暗的灯光下，一把匕首抵在他的脖子上。他刚才太专注于入口了，甚至没有注意到身边有人！
“等等，等等！好冷！刀刃太冷了！”鲁道夫说话时能感觉到刀刃在他喉咙处移动。“外面有狼人！你知道狼人是什么吗？又大又可怕，而且能咬掉人的头！”
余光中，他看见拿着匕首的是一名长发凌乱的少女，在听到“狼人”两个字的瞬间，匕首离他的喉咙至少有三毫米远。
鲁道夫知道他已经触动了正确的心弦——只有共同的危险才能化解这场奇怪而突然的冲突。
“狼人是可怕的野兽。它们一咬人，就能咬碎人的头骨。它们一爪子，就能把骨头打碎。狼人都是——”
鲁道夫话音未落，突然愣住了。他想收回自己的话。
他身边的女孩正在换衣服。
她的头发变成了一头白色的鬃毛。她的五官变得像狼鼻子一样修长。她曾经纤细的四肢变得粗壮，变成了锋利而致命的强大附肢。
与鲁道夫以前遇到的狼人不同，她的皮毛是白色的。
一只白狼？
The dagger clattered to the ground, but the cellar was so narrow that Rudolph could feel the heat of her breath on his face.
“I might’ve been too hasty with my words. I apologize. Not all werewolves are bad. Look at you—you’re different. Your fur is—”
The more he tried to explain, the more awkward it became. There was a werewolf hiding in the cellar with him? Just his luck.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
At that moment, another werewolf leaped into the cellar.
The white wolf turned away from Rudolph, completely ignoring him.
Then came a bloodcurdling howl—sharp, ear-splitting.
In an instant, the two werewolves lunged at each other.
The white werewolf was still small, about the size of an ordinary wolf. She was merely a wolf thrall, not yet a full-fledged first-tier werewolf. Just as Rudolph was merely a sorcerer’s apprentice, not a first-tier sorcerer. Her strength was weak in comparison.
Her opponent was a true first-tier werewolf, clearly larger in stature. A battle between a wolf thrall and a first-tier werewolf had an obvious outcome.
Rudolph could judge the situation with ease: The enemy of his enemy was his friend. If the white wolf was fighting the werewolf, then helping her meant helping himself.
But the battle was fierce, and the cellar was too cramped. He couldn’t find an opportunity to intervene.
The difference in strength was too great.
The first-tier werewolf slammed the white wolf against the wall with a powerful swipe and sank its fangs into her throat. Blood spurted out, making an eerie gurgling sound.
Yet, even as she bled, the white wolf clawed at her foe, refusing to let go.
That was when Rudolph fired.
A single alchemical bullet pierced the first-tier werewolf’s skull.
The wound sizzled, glowing red-hot as the bullet’s magic burned through flesh and bone.
The werewolf howled in agony, finally releasing its grip on the white wolf’s throat.
But instead of retreating, the white wolf snapped forward like a rabid beast, sinking her fangs into the first-tier werewolf’s neck.
And then, something strange happened.
She was drinking his blood.
As the fresh blood flowed down her throat, her body began to change.
Her frame expanded, her bones grew, her muscles swelled—she was transforming.
The white wolf was evolving into a first-tier werewolf.
That was how werewolves ascended—brutal and straightforward.
Kill a stronger werewolf, drink its blood, and rise in rank.
The first-tier werewolf gurgled weakly before finally falling silent.
By then, the white wolf had already grown to a towering size.
Rudolph watched as the wound on her throat healed at an unnatural speed—one of the werewolves’ signature abilities.
Her body trembled, either from exhaustion or from the transformation.
She staggered to the back of the cellar, as if the wall gave her a sense of security, then slowly collapsed at Rudolph’s feet.
And right before his eyes, her body shrank, her fur receding as she shifted back into human form.
她是一个年轻的女孩，大概十六七岁——比鲁道夫小一两岁。
电影欺骗了他。
当怪物变回人类时，他们并没有神奇地恢复衣服。
太好了。这对他来说算什么考验？
但还没等他继续想下去，另一个狼人就跳进了地窖。
这让他从恍惚中清醒过来。
鲁道夫意识到他需要迅速处理这个威胁——否则，如果女孩就那样躺在那里感冒了怎么办？
他举起了枪——然后另一个狼人跳了进来。
该死，他们的时间把握得实在太差了。
鲁道夫只看了狼人一眼，就明白这是克劳德准备的祭品，这个狼人就足以让镇上的红衣祭司满意了，这位警长还真是厉害，在这种危急的情况下，还能有先见之明，搞到祭品。
看到鲁道夫，克劳德警长松了口气，“鲁道夫，没想到你又活了下来，听我说，你还有很多事情要做。”他用手按着自己沾满鲜血的肩膀，“我被狼人咬了……我中了狼人毒素。”
鲁道夫愣了一下，然后脸色一变，痛苦地拔出了枪。他没想到，自己最后一颗子弹竟然要用在这种场合。“警长！我明白了！为了防止你变成狼人，肆意破坏，为了莱曼镇，我给你一枪！这样，你的名声就不会因为变成怪物而受到玷污！”
“你这个小混蛋！”克劳德警长咒骂了一声，然后厉声说道，“使徒是不会因为被狼人咬伤而变成狼人的！只有普通人才会这样！你真的需要用一些正确的知识来填补你那空洞的脑袋。现在就把该死的枪放下！”
鲁道夫吓了一跳——他真的要把一颗净化子弹射进警长的脑袋里了。他对世界的理解还太浅薄，差点犯下大错。
“实在抱歉，警长！我发誓，我会回去好好学习使徒的知识的。”
“你最好！我求求你——去学点东西吧！”克劳德警长仍然心有余悸。他一路杀出狼人大军，却差点死在这个居然用自己高尚正义的理由说服自己的白痴手里。
“鲁道夫，我坚持不了多久了，狼毒会让我昏迷一段时间，从现在开始，你必须严格按照我的指示去做！”