As crimson hues descended, the streets grew busier. Perhaps in honor of the "meat feast" sign, this time, there were noticeably more people drawn into the Inner World. What's even more terrifying is that most people hadn't yet realized what was happening.
In the Southern District, a young woman was taking a bath at home when suddenly, a red, unidentified liquid gushed from the drain. Her expression shifted slightly, thinking it was sewage backup, she felt nauseated, quickly wrapped herself in a towel.
She reached for a hairdryer, intending to dry her hair. However, a message that popped up on her phone screen caught her attention. It was from her brother:
- Tingting! Are you asleep?!
- Find a place to hide now!!
- Signal is very weak, wait for me to come get you!! [12:03]
According to the phone display, it was now 12:10. The woman named Tingting furrowed her brows. Fang Ting had been attending university in another district, but due to the severity of the contamination disease abroad, she had to return home early.
The Fang family had moved to G City next to X City years ago. Since their house in X City was hard to sell, it remained.
She came to X City because she had an internship at the local TV station. Her family had advised against it, but Fang Ting didn't want to miss such a great opportunity. After all, X City was the provincial capital.
Fang Ting turned on the bathroom sink tap to wash her face, but the instant crimson liquid poured out, she immediately shut off the water valve. The liquid was slightly viscous, and both its scent and appearance resembled... blood.
Feeling anxious, Fang Ting grabbed her phone, intending to call her brother, but the phone showed no signal. Fang Ting took a deep breath and read all the messages on WeChat. Only her brother's messages were sent after midnight.
Her brother was a special operations staff stationed in G City.
Suddenly, the bathroom light flickered, followed by a damp, fishy smell, reminiscent of rotting fish. Fang Ting, feeling panicked, quickly changed into a bathrobe and rushed into the bedroom, locking the door behind her, wrapping herself in a blanket and huddling in the corner.
Yet, the foul smell lingered at her nose. Meanwhile, screams echoed from the street below. Summoning courage, she looked out the window.
On the street, variously shaped monsters with a black glow chased humans excitedly. Those caught were smashed in the head, blood gushing out like a split watermelon.
These Butchers twisted the heads off meat pigs, inserted straws from their pockets into the skulls, happily sucking brain matter.
Under the shroud of the crimson blood moon, everything seemed surreal, like a nightmare from which one could not wake.
Unable to hold back, Fang Ting vomited, covering her mouth.
Was she going crazy, or was the world sick?
Fang Ting dared not turn on the lights, trembling in the corner, repeatedly dialing her brother's number.
But soon, her movements froze.
Underneath the bed, a serpentine shadow slowly emerged.
It spat out a long tongue, emitting a hissing sound, holding a small axe.
This was an advanced Pollutant living in Fang Ting's house, originally a sea snake.
Now, it was time for it to come out and hunt.
Because of the black light, Fang Ting couldn't see the Butcher's face clearly, but the strong smell of blood emanating from him still terrified her.
"Brother, help!" Her phone fell to the ground as Fang Ting collapsed, trying to open the door, but the shadow behind her drew closer.
The Butcher stood in front of Fang Ting, the moonlight outside casting a long, menacing shadow. It grinned, raising its butcher knife high!
Lu Yan's arrow flew at that moment.
The white feathers scattered a beautiful silver-white sparkle, like the tail of the Milky Way.
The arrowhead pierced through the Butcher's forehead, penetrating the entire skull from the brow.
Black-red blood gushed out, the axe fell to the ground, leaving a deep pit.
Fang Ting covered her mouth, watching in horror as the monster fell in front of her. The Butcher with a serpent tail still had an excited smile on its face, its eyes bulging round, but it had forever lost its breath.
Moments later, Lu Yan climbed in through the window.
Fang Ting's house was on the 11th floor. He clawed holes in the wall with sharp claws and climbed in.
Lu Yan pulled the long arrow from the Butcher's forehead and returned it to his quiver.
He cut open the Butcher's serpent tail, took out the gallbladder, and placed it in his portable medical kit that he had prepared in advance.
Some things on Pollutants could be used as medicine, with excellent effects. They shouldn't be wasted.
Fang Ting looked up, her face stained with the blood sprayed by the Butcher, her expression dazed.
From her perspective, Lu Yan's entire body was shrouded in a black robe, emitting the same black light as those Butchers, making his face indiscernible, revealing only a portion of his chin covered in scales.
Strangely, there was a small black doll hanging from his pocket.
Lu Yan handed her the axe without a word.
He could sense a white dot approaching here.
According to the rules of the Inner World, Butchers could sense the location of Harbingers.
Whoever was coming, Lu Yan didn't want to meet them now. After all, his current appearance emitting black light wasn't easy to explain. It would be a loss to fight now.
Lu Yan flipped out of the window, rushing to the next outpost. His figure was as swift as a ghost.
Only one high-level Butcher had died on his hunting list so far.
...
...
Bai Qiushi chewed his gum, a soothing vanilla flavor that he quite enjoyed.
A few minutes ago, he was still asleep in the staff dormitory at the headquarters of the Prevention and Control Center.
As he dozed off, he sensed a change in the atmosphere around him.
Opening his eyes, Bai Qiushi found himself lying on a grassy field, with a blood-red moon overhead. Under the halo of this moon, the entire sky was shrouded in a hazy shade of crimson.
Having worked for decades, Bai Qiushi thought he had seen quite a lot. But being forcibly pulled into another dimension was a first for him.
His code name was Cold Cicada, and true to his name, he indeed had semi-transparent wings resembling those of a cicada.
At this moment, his wings trembled slightly as he flew into the air.
Looking around, he saw dozens of pollutants emitting a black light, their features indiscernible, all converging towards him.
Meanwhile, his skin emitted a faint white halo, shining conspicuously in the darkness like a streetlamp.
Although the slaughterhouse spanned hundreds of kilometers, there were only a dozen or so Harbingers.
At least, within Bai Qiushi's line of sight, he was the only one emitting a white light.
"Tsk, such a hassle," Bai Qiushi muttered, holding a delicate small knife in his hand, a weapon crafted for him by the headquarters, called Cicada Wing.
As thin as a cicada's wing, deadly when it draws blood.
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