Chapter 2
Crash!
The instant I shouted, the entire window shattered and showered the floor with glass.
Crows shot down like arrows and embedded themselves in the floorboards.
We sprinted madly for the door. We had to get out of the room right now.
The barrage followed close behind us. A moment too slow, and we’d be riddled with holes!
No wonder those two idiots had run. Even Optimus Prime would’ve sprung an oil leak if he’d stood in front of this shit…
We scrambled to the door and shoved it open.
The moment it opened, the whole building looked pitch-black. No, that wasn’t quite right.
It was a very particular gray, like moonlight falling on a place with no other light at all.
But the corridor had no windows!
It was dead silent, and the sound-activated lights wouldn’t work. I hammered on the neighboring door. No answer.
I leaned against the wall. My hand shook as I lit a cigarette. What the fuck was going on?
The entire city had emptied out. It felt as if only the four of us remained.
And these fucking crazed crows!
Shencheng had plenty of crows, but I’d never heard of anything this bizarre.
Something strange had clearly set its sights on us.
But why the hell us?
Wasn’t the supernatural supposed to leave idiots alone?
Why had it gone after three at once? Never trust the bullshit people post online!
After all, some people online even said I was a woman!
That Li Yu had climbed through the window to rescue his little wife!
That Li-Dong was the best ship, a domineering CEO doting on his wife.
Bullshit. One sentence, and they’d turned me into a eunuch?
I might agree, but the opening in the front of my roomy boxer shorts certainly wouldn’t!
To the people doing this, I had just one thing to say:
“Looking my eyes!”
“Why?”
“Tell me why?”
“Keep making shit up, and tomorrow I’ll tell Invincible Darling you’re the Snake Demon!”
“You haven’t got a Li Yu to save you. What now, huh?”
I looked around. With no better ideas, I turned to Bashful Boy.
He was staring at the crows mashed into bloody heaps on the floor, their beaks still embedded in it.
I waved a hand.
“What are you looking at?”
For once, he was serious.
“Don’t you think the crows are the only thing here we can learn anything from?”
“We have to know where they came from to get out.”
I was stunned. When his brain wasn’t being jammed, the kid could actually think.
I rushed forward to grab a few crow carcasses.
But the moment I stepped within range, the crow rain started again.
It was as if a machine gun in the sky had taken aim at me. Show my head, get shot!
I ducked back and saw Bashful Boy fiddling with a dead crow.
I frowned.
“Where’d you get that?”
He answered calmly, “Picked it up while we were running.”
I…
“Then why the fuck didn’t you say so?”
He tilted his head.
“You didn’t ask.”
I…
I swallowed my temper. My performer. My responsibility.
No point arguing with an idiot!
Suddenly, Bashful Boy dropped the crow.
It hit the floor and burst into flames.
The eerie green fire made my scalp crawl.
All the crows on the floor turned into those flames. A mass of ghostly fire drifted toward us.
I reached for Bashful Boy, ready to run.
My hand found nothing. I turned and saw he was already far down the corridor.
I chased him, swearing.
“You little shit, you left me behind again!”
“Bastard!”
He even doubled back and reached for my crotch.
I blocked him with one hand, breaking into a cold sweat.
“Who the fuck taught you that?”
He made a face.
“Bleh! My Gourd Bro taught me. Fatal strike!”
“In parentheses: doesn’t work on Li Yu!”
My face darkened. All I could picture was those two grabbing at each other. What an image…
Though honestly, I wished it did work on Li Yu. If it did, I wouldn’t have to keep ducking and hiding!
We ran and ran. The fire door was right in front of us, yet we couldn’t reach it.
I grabbed for Bashful Boy. He tried to dodge and jumped straight up.
I caught his trousers instead.
One hard tug pulled them down.
He immediately twisted around and clamped his legs together.
“You creep! Don’t pull my trousers!”
I gritted my teeth and hauled them back up. Too hard. He yelped and collapsed.
Yes, I did it on purpose. I was sick of him!
I stopped. If we couldn’t get out ahead, I’d see what was behind us.
More and more ghostly flames gathered there. Slowly, they formed a gigantic shadow…