They Called Me Trash? Now I'll Hack Their World-Chapter 164: What’s Wrong?

My breath came in ragged gasps, each one burning on the way down.

My legs were screaming. Muscles that had nothing left were somehow still moving.

I had had pushed myself to limit while training with Zen earlier.

That’s good. Now do it again.

I cut left at the fork in the path, then right again almost immediately, ducking low under a branch and scrambling up a short ridge, trying to break my trail, buy myself something.

But... then I heard it.

Shit.

The hounds were getting closer.

I could hear them clearly now, they’d found my scent again.

Damn it.

I scanned the area desperately with my debug vision, looking for anything useful. That’s when I caught it... a movement in the underbrush, maybe fifty feet ahead of me.

[ENTITY_DETECTED]

type: "forest_deer"

level: 3

status: "startled"

threat_level: NONE

It’s a deer. Probably frightened by all the noise, trying to decide whether to bolt or hide.

Only option left for me now.

I ran toward it, moving as quietly as I could despite my urgency.

Suddenly, the deer’s head snapped up as it sensed me approaching, its muscles tensing, ready to sprint at any moment.

But before it can move, I activated my debug vision and made a quick modification, then grabbed my outer shirt and threw it in one motion.

It landed across the deer’s back, draping over its shoulders and hindquarters like a blanket.

That was all it took.

The animal panicked at the sudden weight and smell, its flight instinct kicking into overdrive. It crashed through the underbrush at full speed, heading deeper into the forest, away from both me and the hunters.

And it was covered in my scent.

I immediately dove behind a fallen log and pressed myself flat against the muddy ground, holding perfectly still.

My heart was hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat as the hounds’ barking grew louder, closer and then slowly, mercifully, veered off to the left.

Following the deer.

I heard the hunters crashing through the underbrush behind their hounds, shouting to each other.

"He’s making for the deep forest—"

"Stay on him! Don’t let him get too far ahead!"

Their voices faded as they chased after the panicked deer wearing my shirt like some kind of bizarre prize.

I stayed hidden for another full minute, just listening, until the forest went quiet again, just the normal sounds returning, birds settling back into branches, small animals resuming their business.

They are gone.

I slowly pushed myself up from the mud, my entire body shaking with leftover adrenaline.

That was too close.

I waited another five minutes before finally moving, then circled wide around where I’d last heard the hunters, heading back toward Oakmere from a completely different direction than I’d left from.

The walk back gave me too much time to think.

Every snapped twig made me flinch. Every distant birdsong sounded, for just a moment, like a signal whistle.

I kept replaying the scene in my head, cataloguing every mistake I’d made, every second where things could have gone differently.

It didn’t help. It never did, but my mind did it anyway, chewing on the near miss like it needed to be certain it was truly over.

It wasn’t over. Not really. They’d figure out the deer eventually, and when they did, they’d come back to the village. That meant I had hours at most.

As I walked, I dismissed the glamour modification, feeling my appearance shift back to normal.

By the time I reached the village outskirts, the sun was starting to set, painting everything in orange and gold.

I slipped through the streets as inconspicuously as possible, which was difficult, given I was covered in mud, soaking wet, and missing my shirt. A few villagers gave me odd looks.

But I ignored them.

Eventually, I reached my room, pushed open the door, and closed it behind me with shaking hands. Then I just stood there for a moment, drawing slow deep breaths, waiting for my racing heart to settle.

Scarlet was still sitting in the corner where I’d left her, hugging her knees, her tail wrapped protectively around herself.

She looked up when I entered, and I met her gaze directly.

"We need to leave. Immediately."

She nodded, her expression hollow.

"Here." I pulled out the few things worth taking and set them near her.

"Pack these. Stay here, and don’t open the door for anyone except me." I grabbed a clean shirt from the pile and pulled it on, then reached for slightly better clothes.

"I need to talk to the Chief," I said, buttoning up. "I’ll be back soon."

She nodded again, and I left without another word.

Chief Zen’s house was quiet when I approached, no lights in most of the windows, no sounds of activity from inside.

I knocked twice and waited.

There was silence for a moment, then came the sound of footsteps, and the door swung open.

Zen stood there in casual evening clothes, a pipe in one hand, looking relaxed and comfortable.

Then he saw my face and his expression shifted.

"Oh, here you are!" He leaned against the doorframe, his tone taking on an exaggerated warmth.

"Looking for my granddaughter? She’s not here, went to help with—"

"No," I interrupted. "I’m here for you."

Zen’s eyebrows rose slowly. Then he took a small step back, pressing one hand to his chest in mock alarm.

"My, my! I’m flattered, truly, but I’m not that kind of man—"

My jaw clenched so hard I heard my teeth grind. A vein bulged at my forehead.

"I’m serious, you old man."

The playful act dropped instantly. Zen’s expression went neutral, his eyes sharpening into something more focused.

"Come inside," he said quietly, stepping aside.

I entered and he closed the door behind me, gesturing toward the sitting area. We both sat, and he set his pipe down on the table and looked at me directly, waiting.

"So," he said. "What’s wrong?"