"Who are 'they'?"
"Inside the factory, there were so many of those monsters!" Zhao Yi's eyes widened with fear as if remembering something.
"I... I wanted to make a scene at the factory. I saw the iron gate was open, so I walked in... And then I saw a huge centipede lying on top of a machine, probably tens of meters long! It was all black, like a shadow."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yifei's heart sank.
No wonder he had inspected the entire neighborhood and found nothing unusual. It turned out that the creature was hiding in the factory area... He had just returned from there yesterday, so he subconsciously didn't check there. It seemed that the creature appeared after he left.
"And then?"
"I was scared out of my wits," Zhao Yi swallowed hard. "My mind went blank, and I turned around and ran. Then a bunch of small centipedes hatched from egg-like things chased after me. I didn't dare look back, so I just ran for my life.
The first person I thought of was you, so I ran towards your place. But as I approached the neighborhood, I felt my body getting heavier and my mind becoming more confused... I looked back and saw that my shadow had turned into a centipede.
After that, I don't remember much."
Chen Yifei looked at the broken black corpse on the ground with a solemn expression.
Could it be a centipede that could control human bodies through shadows? And according to Zhao Yi's description, there seemed to be quite a few of these creatures. The giant centipede in the factory must have been incubating in the workshop for at least a day.
Without hesitation, Chen Yifei picked up the walkie-talkie and pressed the button:
"This is Chen Yifei. A large-scale disaster has been discovered at the steel factory, and it has spawned numerous offspring, suspected to have already started attacking the neighborhood."
As soon as these words left his mouth, the walkie-talkie channel fell silent. After a brief second, Han Meng's calm voice spoke up:
"Received."
No questions, no further inquiries, no surprise or panic. After Han Meng's words, the resounding bell echoed through the third district!
Ding - Ding - Ding!!
The Disaster Bell rang out.
...
The bell awakened countless people from their slumber.
"Three rings of the Disaster Bell?!" An middle-aged woman sat up in bed, her face turning pale with fear. "Is there another disaster in our third district?"
"Keep your voice down!"
Mr. Xu quickly covered her mouth and looked out the window cautiously. The dim sky and swirling fog obscured everything, making it seem like invisible hands had isolated all the houses.
The woman stared out the window with wide eyes, fear etched on her face... The dark sky, the deep fog, and the lingering bell echoed the unknown, evoking fear in everyone hiding inside their homes. They knew something was out there in the fog, but they didn't know if or when it would appear.
Sensing the woman's trembling, Mr. Xu lowered his voice and comforted her, "It's alright... What's there to be afraid of? The last time the Disaster Bell rang, we were fine, weren't we? Just stay at home, and everything will be fine..."
Seeing that the woman was still afraid, Mr. Xu hesitated for a moment before adding,
"Besides, that demon... uh, Officer Chen Yifei, lives on Cold Frost Street, doesn't he? If it comes to a fight, which disaster can be fiercer than him?"
The woman blinked, seeming to find Mr. Xu's words reasonable. In this situation, knowing that an officer was not far away undoubtedly gave her a great sense of security... Even though sometimes, this officer was the source of their fear.
Dong Dong Dong -
A sudden knock on the door echoed through the room.
The knock instantly tightened the nerves of both of them. They abruptly turned to look at the door and held their breath...
At such a late hour, with the fog swirling and the Disaster Bell having just rung... Who would come knocking on their door?
Under these circumstances, they wouldn't dare to rashly ask who it was. Like a child left alone at home knowing their parents were out, they wouldn't be foolish enough to get up and open the door to see who was knocking. They simply stared at the door, the silence in the room palpable.
Dong Dong Dong -
The knock sounded again, with the same rhythm as before, unhurried and patient.
The woman swallowed hard, her heart pounding, realizing something was wrong. She looked at Mr. Xu in terror... Mr. Xu gritted his teeth. When the knock sounded for the third time, he cautiously got out of bed, grabbed a kitchen knife from the kitchen, and stared intently at the door.
If whatever was behind the door dared to break in, he at least had a weapon to fight back with...
Bang -
A crashing sound came from outside the door, making Mr. Xu almost drop the kitchen knife in his hand.
It wasn't their door; the sound came from next door, as if something had forcibly broken down the neighbor's door. Immediately afterward, a series of terrified screams echoed through the air!
Mr. Xu recognized the screams - they belonged to his neighbors, the Li family. Through the wall, he could clearly hear the sound of bodies being slammed to the ground and flesh being torn apart. Children wailed, and women screamed.
Moments later, screams of terror echoed from the neighboring houses and farther down the street. In the thick fog where one couldn't see their hand in front of their face, a chaotic and bloody uprising had begun.
Mr. Xu's hand gripping the kitchen knife trembled uncontrollably. Just then, a calm voice rang out from the street.
"Everyone, remain silent."
Upon hearing this voice, Mr. Xu froze for a moment before peering out the window towards a certain direction. Through the gray mist, a figure cloaked in a black trench coat walked slowly towards them.
He raised his gun, pulled the trigger towards the sky, and a resounding boom echoed through Cold Frost Street!
The next instant, Mr. Xu heard the tearing sounds from next door abruptly cease, as if the monsters had been distracted. Only the muffled sobs of a woman could be faintly heard from the corner of the wall.
"Aren't you looking for someone?" Chen Yifei stood in the fog and spoke slowly. "Why don't you ask me?"
As soon as he said this, a dark shadow passed by Mr. Xu's window, as if just stepping out from next door... And that's when he finally caught a glimpse of the creature in full view.
It was a bipedal centipede, jet-black like a shadow, standing about two meters tall. Countless slender legs spun around its body, and a dark red hole at the mouth position contracted continuously.
Although it only passed by for a moment, it terrified Mr. Xu so much that he fell to the ground, his lips trembling uncontrollably...
What kind of monster was that?
The same confusion echoed in the minds of all the residents of Cold Frost Street. Hiding behind dark windows, they held their breath and nervously watched as several centipede monsters approached the center of the street. In the center of their encirclement, the figure in the black trench coat stood tall and unyielding.
Chen Yifei held a gun in one hand and a dagger in the other, slowly scanning his surroundings... As the monsters gradually approached through the fog, Chen Yifei finally got a clear look at their appearance.
Chen Yifei froze.
He rubbed his eyes and stared at the shadows... His expression was somewhat peculiar.
"These things... actually look kind of delicious?" Chen Yifei muttered to himself.
In his vision, plucked and tender meat chickens walked slowly towards him... Like perfect ingredients ready to be cooked, just one look made his mouth water.