Chapter 21

Seeing the existence of the Monster with his own eyes was far more shocking than seeing it on video.

Ray had thought that someone like Ning Qiuyan-though he played music, had tattoos, went to bars, and dared to do anything-was just a little rebellious because fate had treated him unfairly. Deep down, he was still a hothouse flower, and would definitely be terrified by such a scene.

For this reason, he had even spoken to the others, hoping they would be a bit more tolerant of Ning Qiuyan’s reaction.

But Ning Qiuyan simply stood there, his face pale, and only asked, “Where did you catch it?”

Except for that pair of sharp fangs, the Monster looked no different from an ordinary human.

But the roar that came from its throat was extremely piercing-just like what Ning Qiuyan had seen in the video-definitely not a sound a human could make.

A person next to Ray said, “My dad runs a lumberyard and keeps some chickens and ducks there. This thing sneaked in and killed a lot of chickens.”

There was indeed a lumberyard a dozen kilometers from here.

The man sounded a little impatient and spoke quickly: “We thought it was a wild animal that hadn’t gone into hibernation, so we set a trap.”

Ning Qiuyan looked at the trap on the Monster’s leg and understood what had happened.

His gaze shifted up to the Monster’s face. There was no expression in its eyes, and Ning Qiuyan couldn’t help but ask, “Can it speak?”

The man sneered, “You’re overthinking it. It’s a real beast, only knows how to bite, not even as smart as a dog.”

As he spoke, the man rummaged around the cabinet and told another person to fetch the oil lamp. Together, they walked toward the bed.

Ray pulled Ning Qiuyan back, signaling him to move away, then said, “Don’t feel sorry for it. They say someone at the lumberyard went missing last month and still hasn’t been found. Most likely this thing bit him to death and ate him.”

The pitch-black room felt very cramped.

The floor and walls exuded an indescribable damp, moldy smell.

The oil lamp’s light flickered with their movements, and Ning Qiuyan saw the glint of a knife in one man’s hand.

Before Ning Qiuyan could react to Ray’s words, the knife slashed across the Monster’s right cheek, causing the Monster to let out a shrill, agonized scream.

Blood splattered on the wall. The wound split from the corner of its mouth to behind its ear, flesh torn open, exposing a row of white teeth in the Monster’s mouth.

The iron chain on the bed clanged as it struggled, the screams harsh and grating.

Ning Qiuyan felt a wave of nausea engulf him.

He bent over, retching, and saw that man continue to cut open the Monster’s gums with the knife, while another hurriedly brought over a container. Drip, drip, drip-quite a bit of transparent liquid fell from a certain spot in the gums.

“Too little,” someone cursed. “Is this the first time you’re collecting it today?”

“It’s the first time,” someone else said.

“Did you feed it?”

“We did…”

“Why is there less and less of it!”

Ning Qiuyan vomited until tears filled his eyes, blurring his vision.

Ray was speaking to him, but he saw, through the people, an astonishing sight-the Monster, after being released, had the wound on its face closing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

From behind its ear to the corner of its mouth, like a special effect from a movie, flesh and blood vessels completely healed in just a few seconds.

In the end, there was only some blood left on the face that had not yet dried, and not a trace of injury could be seen.

The Monster was still howling hoarsely.

Ning Qiuyan, tears in his eyes, stood frozen as if someone had pressed pause.

This scene not only overturned his understanding of the world, but also his understanding of life itself.

The event that Su Jianzhou had said defied scientific explanation was happening right in front of him, vividly and undeniably.

He remembered the wound on his palm that had disappeared.

He remembered the laborer on Du Island whose waist had been pierced through, yet whose serious injury didn’t require a hospital.

He also remembered what Guan Ziming had said to him at the farm: “On Du Island, wounds heal very quickly. No matter what kind of injury, as long as they don’t want you to die, you’ll recover.”
Ray walked over to join the others in looking at the recent haul.

Ning Qiuyan stood alone. The Monster seemed to sense something, turning its head to look at him. Its eyes, which held no trace of humanity, began to change.

A faint ring of deep red appeared around the center of its pupils.

Those eyes overlapped with another pair.

They were an exceptionally beautiful pair of eyes – the pronounced brow bone of their owner made the shape very deep-set, and the corners of the eyes lifted ever so slightly, giving off a cold nobility that was both aloof and inviolable.

A few seconds later, the deep red in the Monster’s eyes gradually spread until it filled the entire eyeball. The black faded completely, replaced by a pair of devilish, blood-red eyes.

“I want to leave,” Ning Qiuyan suddenly said.

Everyone turned to look at him.

Without giving it another thought, he turned and strode toward the exit.

“Wait!” Ray caught up to him. “What’s wrong?”

“I want to go back,” he said. “I don’t want to watch anymore.”

Ray said, “Well, you’ll have to wait for me. How are you going to get back if I don’t drive?”

Ning Qiuyan couldn’t argue with that, so he waited while Ray went back to say goodbye to the others. Fortunately, Ray came back quickly, probably thinking he really was frightened this time. He didn’t insist on buying anything, nor did he say much more.

They left the site, got in the car, and the door closed with a heavy thud.

Ray started the engine. “Are you alright?”

Ning Qiuyan didn’t reply.

Ray made a pointless joke: “You don’t think it’s synthetic anymore, do you?”

Perhaps because it wasn’t his first time, Ray found the earlier scene easy to handle. To them, the Monster was not only a creature for certain industrial uses, but also a bloodthirsty devil. So, they naturally regarded the Monster with curiosity and treated it cruelly-God knows how many ways they had devised to torment it.

When the heavy SUV was halfway through reversing, a sudden shout came from the site.

Both of them started, rolled down the window, and looked out.

The site was silent for a second or two, then screams erupted. Someone rushed out of the enclosure, covered in blood, and after only a couple of steps collapsed motionless to the ground.

Others also burst out of the enclosure, shouting, “Run!!”

Two or three people frantically dashed toward the parking area, leaving a trail of blood all along the way.

“Something’s happened!” The man who had been holding the knife earlier rushed to the car beside theirs, babbling, “That thing escaped, it killed Lao San, go!”

Ray floored the accelerator, and the car kicked up mud on the road.

Suddenly, chaos broke out. Ning Qiuyan was thrown forward by inertia as the SUV sped off.

“Ray!” Ning Qiuyan could see people running behind them in the rearview mirror. “There are people behind us!”

Ray’s face changed dramatically, but he didn’t care about those behind. “Forget it! They all have cars!”

Bang-

A tremendous crash-a car behind them slammed into a tree.

The vehicle bounced into the air, then crashed down, its front end completely mangled, white vapor billowing out.

Blood and wrecked cars.

The people and vehicles behind them grew smaller and smaller.

Ray never eased up on the gas. Without looking back, they left that patch of forest far behind.

*

Ray drove in circles for a long time. By the time they returned to the city, it was already dark.

On the way, they bought some food at a gas station. They stopped on a hillside near the coastline. Ray made several phone calls, but no one answered. Ning Qiuyan guessed he was trying to confirm how many people had died today.

Finally, someone answered Ray’s call. They confirmed that only one person had died, another was seriously injured, and the Monster had escaped.

Ray, with Ning Qiuyan, didn’t dare return to the city right away, and didn’t know where else to go.

In the end, Ray took out the tent frame from the car and made some marks on the ground. He told Ning Qiuyan, “If anyone asks, just say we camped here today. Don’t say anything else.”
Before they parted, Ray warned Ning Qiuyan again: “Don’t call the police, or we’re finished.”

Ray’s tone made Ning Qiuyan feel like he really was a criminal suspect, even though everything that had happened today meant he was no longer such a clean slate.

He had already quietly memorized the route in his mind, thinking about how he would report to the police.

Maybe Ray saw through his intentions, so not only did he lead him around in circles, he also didn’t return his phone-Ning Qiuyan only remembered this when he was almost home.

After running around all day and going through so much, Ning Qiuyan was utterly exhausted.

He dragged himself upstairs, opened the door, and as soon as he entered, he slid down onto the floor, unable to stop sobbing.

Su Jianzhou had said that life would definitely get better.

He used to believe that too.

But it hadn’t.

Not only had life not improved, it had taken a turn for the worse.

“Little Puppy, so disobedient.”

Suddenly, a voice rang out in the living room, followed by the lights turning on-Lu Qianque was sitting on his sofa, one leg crossed leisurely, turning on the lamp.

He had been sitting in the darkness earlier, silent and unnoticed.

Ning Qiuyan’s scalp tingled; he didn’t know whether he should run. The thought that this person might also be one of those beings sent chills down his spine.

“You tricked people and then came home to cry in secret.” Lu Qianque’s lips curled up. “Sir doesn’t like you like this.”

Sir?

Ning Qiuyan thought of Guan Heng, and couldn’t help but feel his hair stand on end.

All this time, he’d been dealing with these others, and he was deeply entangled, unable to erase them from his mind even now. It made him feel powerless and on the verge of collapse.

He stood up, his backpack falling to the floor.

He looked a mess now-hair disheveled, eyes red, dirt on his clothes, moss on his shoes. He really did look like he’d rolled around in a mud pit.

Lu Qianque seemed unaffected, asking, “What did you see today?”

Ning Qiuyan jerked his head up, staring intently at Lu Qianque, his whole body on guard, like a wary little animal with heightened self-protection.

How much did Lu Qianque know?

Did he know everything Ning Qiuyan had gone through today?

“Figured it out yet?” Lu Qianque smiled. “So curious, daring to go anywhere-what should we do with you?”

Just then, the phone on the table rang. Lu Qianque reached out elegantly, picked it up, and answered, “Sir.”

Ning Qiuyan became even more alert, staring at the phone, knowing it was Guan Heng calling.

Lu Qianque listened to the voice on the other end, glanced at Ning Qiuyan, and said, “Little Rascal is completely unharmed.”

A few seconds later, Lu Qianque added, “Yes, he just got back from outside. I guess he had quite an eventful day-you’ll be interested to hear about it.”

Hearing Lu Qianque’s words, Ning Qiuyan slowly relaxed his tense body. Suddenly, he remembered a fact: from the day he signed the agreement, he had been completely under their control.

No matter what they were, he couldn’t escape their grasp.

Ning Qiuyan stared at his dirty shoes.

Then, he kicked them off carelessly, tossing them haphazardly at the door, and walked toward the long sofa in his socks, letting himself collapse onto it in defeat.

It couldn’t get any worse anyway.

He thought.

A hand patted his shoulder. He turned to see Lu Qianque handing him the phone: “Sir wants you to answer.”

Ning Qiuyan took it mechanically, not knowing what to say.

“Ning Qiuyan,” Guan Heng’s voice came from the other end, “why was your phone off?”

Guan Heng’s tone was as gentle as ever, and Ning Qiuyan was confused. For a moment, he even wondered if he had gotten it all wrong.

“…”

Guan Heng said calmly, “I think you need a little punishment.”