On the streets of Linjiao Town, Gu Lian pulled Yi Yi along as they walked slowly. The two human-shaped anomalies each held a skewer of grilled meat.
Almost perfectly in sync, they each took a huge bite.
She said she was taking Yi Yi out to get an ID card, but the card was already on her. Still, the proper procedures had to be followed, so this excuse to take Yi Yi out for some good food was very nice.
Over the past two days, she hadn’t eaten anything decent. She’d spent all her time scouting the area, setting traps, and planning escape routes.
The night before last, she’d only managed to tear open a pack of War-ready Food and eat something during the rare moments between actions.
Although the compressed biscuits and dried pork were tasty, dry rations were still dry rations. No matter how filling they were, they couldn’t compare to a proper meal.
But the effort had paid off. Now Yi Yi’s legal identity was secured. Only Yao Yao’s and her own remained.
Yao Yao’s ID wasn’t urgent, and to avoid leaving any evidence, her own legal identity had to be done last.
At 2 PM (there was an 8-hour time difference between Mountain Kingdom and Shenzhou), the street stalls had reopened. Gu Lian grabbed some grilled skewers to satisfy her craving. She had to admit, the aroma of the meat and cumin was really strong. The taste was excellent.
“Hey, Yi Yi, why are you staring at me?”
Gu Lian turned her head to look at Yi Yi, who was staring at her face. She bit off the last piece of meat from her skewer and tossed the bamboo stick into a passing trash can. “I know I’m handsome, but you don’t have to stare like that, do you?”
“So full of yourself.”
“What did you say?”
Gu Lian squinted her eyes, her five fingers forming a fist the size of a sandbag, pressing it against Yi Yi’s forehead. This brat really needed a good scolding. Sure enough, Yao Yao spoiled Yi Yi too much. Look at the bad habits she’d developed!
“Ah, Lian Jie, you misheard.”
Yi Yi bit down on the meat from her skewer in one go, puffing out her cheeks as she chewed, trying to blunder her way through with cuteness.
“…”
Gu Lian’s eyelid twitched. After a moment’s hesitation, she moved her fist away. Arguing with a child of Yi Yi’s mentality—around six years old—was a bit too cringe.
“By the way, why do I call Xiong Yeye ‘Grandpa,’ but you call him ‘Lao Daye’?”
“Did I? You must have misheard.”
Gu Lian glossed over the question vaguely. Yi Yi pouted, her face full of dissatisfaction.
“When we get back, tell him I took you to the police station.”
Gu Lian felt they’d walked enough. It was almost 3 PM now. Getting the ID done and playing around on the way would take about that long.
If they didn’t go back now, that Lao Daye… no, Xiong Daye would probably start imagining all sorts of unnecessary things.
“???”
Hearing Gu Lian’s words, Yi Yi couldn’t quite understand. She drooped her head, her gaze blank, as if to say: ‘I may not have seen much of the world, but is lying like this really okay?’
“Your legal identity has been taken care of. But every type of ID has to go through the process, so I can’t give it to you right now.”
Gu Lian smiled. IDs had a 15-day processing period. If she brought it back directly, it might cause unnecessary trouble.
Play the part fully to ensure nothing goes wrong.
She ordered a few more hand-grab pancakes outside. The walk back was quite enjoyable.
When Gu Lian returned to Xiong Daye’s house with Yi Yi, Xiong Daye was wearing an apron and cooking in the kitchen. Yi Yi’s eyes lit up immediately. She ran into the kitchen to watch, her eyes sparkling.
Gu Lian watched Xiong Daye, who looked like a househusband. He was even showing off his cooking skills. Yi Yi seemed to have opened some new world door, watching him with great enthusiasm.
Just as Gu Lian sat down, her wrist suddenly twitched slightly.
“…”
Expressionless, Gu Lian leaned back on the sofa, facing away from the kitchen. She gently rolled up her sleeve. The watch strapped to her wrist was vibrating. Seeing who was calling made her frown. Her good mood vanished instantly.
On the watch’s screen, it showed that the Masked Man had just called.
That old schemer calling her meant he was undoubtedly assigning a second mission.
Thinking about his disgusting methods gave Gu Lian a headache. She wanted to avoid him as much as possible right now.
If it weren’t for Yao Yao’s identity documents still requiring his help, she would definitely steer clear of him.
Turning her head to look at Xiong Daye, who was teaching Yi Yi how to plate the food, Gu Lian stood up from the sofa, grabbed her backpack, slung it over her shoulder, and walked outside.
Creak—the wooden door opened. Xiong Daye turned his gaze, poking his head out of the kitchen toward the door. “Going out again? Not staying for dinner?”
“Xiong Daye, I’m just stepping out. I’ll be back soon.”
Gu Lian raised a hand in a wave, signaling it wouldn’t take long. You two eat first.
…
4:37 PM.
The sun blazed high. The scorching weather kept most pedestrians off the streets, but there were still children playing with a ball in the road, braving the heat. Mischievous kids didn’t care how hot it was.
At the center of Linjiao Town stood a building constructed entirely from rectangular steel plates. From inside came cheerful sounds of splashing water. One or two smiling families walked out of the building, chatting happily. The plaque at the entrance read—Linjiao Swimming Base.
This was the only swimming base in Linjiao Town, and it was also the place where Gu Lian would start working tomorrow afternoon.
Directly beneath the pool where people were playing, the ground had long been hollowed out. Twisted, misshapen tunnels dripped with white slime.
Strands like cobwebs stretched across the walls, and terrifyingly, the walls seemed to writhe as if alive. The entrance’s fleshy opening contracted and expanded, mimicking the breath of a living creature.
Creak—creak—
Dozens of eyes crowded together on the ceiling, emitting a faint, murky light. Threadlike flesh tendrils hung down, smooth like nerve tissue laced with blood vessels. They were attention-grabbing yet nauseating. The stench of rot challenged every human biological limit.
Pat, pat, pat—
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the tunnel. A woman in a school swimsuit ran for her life in terror. If there were a holographic map, she’d see that the corridor was circular, connecting end to end with no real exit or entrance.
“Hehehehe—”
An eerie, sinister laugh reverberated through the tunnel. The woman ran desperately. As she rushed past a fleshy opening that was breathing like a mouth, her foot slipped on the slimy white mucus, and she crashed heavily to the ground.
As she tried to get up, the swimsuit she was wearing began to writhe. Tentacles sprouted from the back of the suit, piercing through the hand she’d placed on the ground.
“Ah, help… mmph—”
Just as she started to scream for help, dozens of tendrils emerged from her clothing, wrapping tightly around her mouth. The rest coiled around her limbs, forcing them together against her body.
Slap—slap—
“Hee hee hee—”
The fleshy corridor echoed with strange sounds like those from the underworld. They came from far to near. The licking sound of flesh tendrils rubbing against the wall was intermittent.
“Mmph…”
Tears and snot streamed down her face. The woman struggled violently in despair. When the licking sound stopped, a pair of green-skinned feet stepped into her view.
Footprints slick with mucus stretched from the other end of the tunnel all the way to beneath the eyeballs. The woman could only roll over, but what she saw plunged her heart into an ice cellar.
Before her was a humanoid monster without clothes. Its slightly bloated body had a layer of translucent slime. It had no hair, and from the figure, she could barely tell it was female.
But most terrifying was that the monster’s face was a hollow void. Dozens of tentacles as thick as a wrist extended from the cavity.
The tentacles coiled around the motionless woman. The interlocking tendrils began to unfold, raising her effortlessly into the air like arms. Then the tentacles started retracting into the cavity.
That pitch-black hole seemed like a black hole that could devour everything. In the woman’s terrified gaze, the tentacles wrapped around her body, pulling her in at an almost impossible angle.
First her legs, then her torso. When only her head remained, the woman sank into utter despair.
Gulp—
The humanoid monster’s throat swelled several sizes. A swallowing motion followed. The bulging throat rolled once, and the lump slid down into its stomach. Its belly became grotesquely distended.
The swollen abdomen, like that of a pregnant woman, even writhed. Muffled sobbing came from within.
“Delicious~ Hehehehe~”
A childish, rustling laugh echoed from the hollow cavity on the monster’s face. The newly extended tentacles writhed appropriately.
The eyes on the ceiling shifted their gaze toward the sound, as if stimulated. They narrowed into slits—mocking, amused, pleased.
PS: My brain cells are a bit lacking, so could I get a like to grow a few more? Ah bah ah bah ah bah—
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.