Ryan took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. His gaze swept around the room, but there was nothing he could use as a weapon.
He had taken two guns and plenty of grenades from the police armory, but they were in a room on the second floor, not with him.
Although this room has windows, they are sealed with iron bars and the only exit is the door.
After a moment, Ryan calmed down, and then suddenly walked over to the cloakroom.
Half of the rooms in the villa had cloakrooms, and he vaguely remembered there was a European-style wooden coat rack there. It was about his height, and he figured he could use it as a weapon in a pinch.
Ryan strode quickly into the cloakroom. When he saw the coat rack, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Having a weapon was definitely better than being unarmed.
He pulled off the clothes and scarves hanging on it and tried to lift the rack.
When he tried to lift it, Ryan almost couldn't get it off the ground. It was much heavier than he expected—probably around twenty to thirty pounds.
He realized that this was a luxury villa, and the furniture was undoubtedly top-notch.
With just a touch and a quick heft, Ryan knew it was made of solid wood. Although it was only as thick as an adult's fist, its weight was substantial.
After a moment of speechlessness, and with no other options, Ryan mustered all his strength to lift the coat rack and made his way back into the room.
By now, the scratching on the door was becoming more frequent and louder.
Ryan put the coat rack down and started thinking countermeasure.
No matter what was outside, if he could just get to the room on the second floor and took the guns and grenades, his chances of survival would increase significantly.
But the villa was enormous.
To get to the room on the second floor, he would have to cross the first-floor living room, climb two flights of stairs, and run down a corridor about eight meters long. The total distance was nearly thirty meters.
Judging by the scratching, whatever was outside likely had sharp claws. Given the game's penchant for creating realistic disasters—like the wind, rain, and that eerie fire—it was probably some kind of dangerous beast.
If it was a predator like a lion, wolf, tiger, or leopard, those thirty meters would be a deadly sprint.
After thinking and weighing it over and over again for a while, Ryan decided to take the risk and rush out.
This room had no food, just a bottle of water. If he stayed here, he would eventually run out of strength from hunger.
He had to make a move while he still had the energy. Only by doing so could he probably survive.
Ryan hesitated for only a moment before he knew that this was his only choice and he made a decision quickly.
He picked up the coat rack again and walked to the door.
He unlocked it, pulled the handle down, and quickly let go.
The moment he released the handle, a gray figure nearly a meter tall and two meters long lunged into the room.
Ryan's breath caught in his throat as he saw what it was—a gray wolf! The moment their eyes met, Ryan's heart pounded fiercely. The wolf's piercing, green eyes sent a chill down his spine, and his palms began to sweat.
The massive gray wolf didn't give Ryan any time to react. It lunged at him with incredible speed, aiming for his neck.
After the initial panic, Ryan became eerily calm in this life-or-death moment.
Almost reflexively, he swung the coat rack with all his might, aiming for the wolf's waist.
Although Ryan had never encountered a wolf before, he had heard that wolves had tough heads and sturdy bodies but relatively weak waists.
The wolf was already in mid-air, unable to dodge, and the coat rack, nearly two meters long, combined with Ryan's arm, struck the wolf's waist in mid-air.
Howl!
The gray wolf let out a howl of pain as it was slammed to the ground.
Its large body hit the floor with a thud, and it lay there, unable to get up for a moment.
Instead of pressing his advantage, Ryan swung the coat rack at the gray wolf and then sprinted towards the door.
As the wolf let out another howl, Ryan managed to get outside and slam the door shut behind him.
Ryan had no experience fighting wild animals, and he knew he couldn't hold the heavy coat rack for long. Without it, his chances of surviving against the wolf were slim to none.
So, he made the smartest choice: lock the wolf in the room and go get his weapons.
The wolf couldn't open the door, so as long as it was trapped inside, Ryan could safely retrieve his guns and grenades.
But as soon as Ryan stepped out into the hallway, his entire body went rigid. There, just outside the door, was another gray wolf, slightly smaller than the first one.
Ryan finally understood why the scratching had been so frequent and forceful—there were two wolves!
The second wolf bared its teeth, growling low in its throat, and leaped at Ryan with lightning speed.
The distance was too short for Ryan to react. He instinctively raised his left arm to block the attack.
"Ah!"
The gray wolf's teeth sank into Ryan's arm, tearing and pulling as if determined to rip it off.
The pain was excruciating, and Ryan let out a scream. The wolf's fangs were deeply embedded in his flesh, causing him intense agony.
In the midst of the searing pain, Ryan felt sheer terror, but more than that, a wave of uncontrollable rage surged through him.
In that instant, he lifted his left arm, the wolf still hanging on, its upper body suspended in the air.
Realizing this was a fight for his life, Ryan's eyes turned fierce. He clenched his right fist and began pounding the wolf's belly and waist with all his might.
The wolf, having taken a barrage of punches from Ryan, seemed to be in pain as well. It began to bite down even harder, determined to sever one of Ryan's arms despite the blows it was enduring.
As Ryan's arm throbbed with pain and blood seeped from the wound, his eyes turned bloodshot. He was driven mad with anger and desperation, hammering the wolf's midsection with relentless force.
The wolf's fierce gaze was locked on Ryan, and Ryan's eyes were equally wild. Neither was willing to back down.
It was a brutal battle of wills, with one determined to bite and the other to strike, until one of them could no longer hold on.