The World Below Surface
Chapter 96

A jolt of shock ran through Shen Zhu as she lifted her head. "What did you say?!"

She had been oblivious to Yan Hao Yue's abnormal behaviour until Zeng Li Hong had pointed it out to her moments ago.

She had even... agreed to pick her up from the police station.

The thought made Shen Zhu shudder involuntarily.

She had just acquiesced to a ghost's demand, ah! This was a grave taboo!

How could she get out of this?

Zeng Li Hong was equally petrified. The voice that had come from Yan Hao Yue's phone was unmistakably that of a dead person. How could she not have heard it?

"Shen Zhu, you..." he began, his voice trembling.

Shen Zhu cut him off with a fierce glare, her eyes flashing with danger. "Don't tell anyone!" she hissed. "I'll deal with it myself!"

Zeng Li Hong nodded frantically. "Okay, okay, I won't say anything," he assured her.

He had a hunch that Shen Zhu was scheming to lure some unsuspecting people along with her. He had no intention of being one of them.

Shen Zhu pushed down the fear that threatened to overwhelm her and smiled thinly. "You better keep your word."

Only when Zeng Li Hong swore on his life did Shen Zhu trust him.

The two made their way into the house together.

Not everyone had ventured out. Some people had stayed indoors early in the morning. When they heard the news that Zeng Li Hong brought, they were all stunned.

They didn't entertain any other explanations; they simply assumed it was the work of ghosts. And when Zeng Li Hong recounted the horrifying scene, they grew even more fearful.

So many people had perished, yet they had not detected any pattern!

Lin Chu had also visited the scene.

After making some inquiries, she found out that there was only one entrance to the town. Hence, she decided to patrol the entrance from time to time, and if she ran into Lu Yan, she would warn him.

She believed that Lu Yan was threatening some sort of entity behind the scenes. If they got rid of him beforehand, this world might not produce another NPC like him again.

She felt no sorrow for the fallen taskers, only a cold detachment. She was willing to escort this group, hoping to replace some clues in the bloody cabin.

The cabin was a gruesome sight, even for the seasoned taskers who had witnessed countless horrors. The stench of death and decay filled the air, mingling with the metallic tang of blood.

"The weapon was probably an axe, or something similar. A swift and precise strike to the head, no hesitation," Tan Xu said, emerging from the crimson room which soaked the floor. He left behind a trail of bloody footprints as he walked. "I'm inclined to think this was done by a human, not a ghost."

"A human?!" Xi Men Yuan's brow furrowed. "Are you certain?"

Tan Xu nodded. "Yes, look at the blood spatter patterns. They're not easy to decipher, but they suggest the killer was skilled, or at least careful. They avoided the spray of arterial blood, so they wouldn't stain themselves too much. But this spot, here..." He pointed to a faint smear of blood on the wall, interrupted by a blank space. "The killer must have stood here when they delivered the blow."

Xi Men Yuan sensed the gravity of the situation, and he had brought several experienced taskers with him for this reason.

"Yet, Wang Shun De showed no signs of resistance, and his limbs were loosely bound. Was he unconscious when they killed him?"

"The other victim had a bruise on the back of his head, probably knocked out by a blunt object. He couldn't put up a fight. But what about Wang Shun De? Why didn't he dodge or scream? Could he have been drugged?"

"And look at this bed, hacked in half, the quilt shredded and tossed aside. The cuts don't match the ones on the bodies. The ones on the bed are jagged and uneven, as if the killer had lost control or vented their rage. The ones on the bodies are clean and sharp, as if the killer had a purpose."

The taskers who had gone to check the other room came back with their replaceings.

"The bed in the other room shows clear signs of two people sleeping on it. The indentations on the sheet correspond to the height of the deceased."

...

As they exchanged their observations, they gradually pieced together the truth.

Someone had arrived at the cabin, a mysterious stranger. The two taskers who had stayed behind had tried to kill him, ambushing him in the night. But they had failed, and paid with their lives.

"Who do you think this person is?" Xi Men Yuan asked in a low voice.

If they had really thought it was a ghost, they would have run away long ago. If it was an ordinary person, what kind of person would make them give up a room for him to rest, and then attempt to murder him in his sleep?

The answer was becoming clear.

"Be ready, Lu Yan is probably here already. We need to watch out for any strangers in town these days," Xi Men Yuan concluded.

With a practised look of horror on her face, Lin Chu melted into the throng of onlookers. She had harboured some suspicions of her own, but... could it really be Lu Yan?

A wave of whispers swept through the crowd, betraying their collective astonishment at the revelation.

It was Xi Men Yuan who had verified it. He swiftly issued orders to his subordinates, who wasted no time in spreading the word. Within minutes, every participant received a message on their phone, alerting them of Lu Yan's potential infiltration and advising them on how to deal with it: based on the evidence, the intruder was not here for any benevolent purpose. They should avoid any direct confrontation, pretend to be friendly, and discreetly call for backup as soon as possible.

After exhausting all the leads they could replace, they finally contacted the police. As a group of officers arrived to remove the corpse, Tan Xu spoke up, "Considering the nature of this mission, Lu Yan may not be our main problem."

Xi Men Yuan queried, "What makes you say that?"

"Assuming our conjecture is right, Lu Yan is still human, and he stands no chance against dozens of us. Then, the real trouble is either the missing person we can't identify or Lu Yan is already dead!"

The mission had two objectives: to eliminate Lu Yan and to locate the missing person. They had no clue about the latter, and the former had just shown up. What if they succeeded in killing Lu Yan, but still failed to replace the missing person? Would that mean the mission was incomplete, and they would be trapped here? And what if Lu Yan, after being killed, underwent some kind of transformation? That seemed very likely, given the circumstances.

Xi Men Yuan had evidently thought of this as well: "We can only caution everyone to act with prudence. Try to capture him alive, and wait until we discover the whereabouts of the missing residents before making any move."

Lin Chu caught every word of their conversation and stole a glance at Xi Men Yuan.

She had to admit that he was a handsome man, with his short hair tied in a neat bun, giving him an air of artistic grace. It also made people tend to underestimate him.

Xi Men Yuan and Tan Xu were a famous duo. Many people credited Tan Xu for their achievements, but Lin Chu always sensed that Xi Men Yuan was not that simple.

He radiated a more menacing aura than Tan Xu!

As they were heading back, Lin Chu received a text message.

It was from Shen Zhu, who wanted to invite her and a few others to the police station for a closer look.

Lin Chu watched the police car disappear and contemplated for a moment before accepting.

There were plenty of files at the police station, so they might be able to uncover some clues.

Trailing behind the crowd, Yu Huai Yao had his eyes fixed on Lin Chu. His attention did not go unnoticed by many, some of whom speculated that the guy had a crush on the gal, but only she knew that was far from the truth.

He was on a quest of his own, seeking some elusive clues.

“Where are you off to?” Yu Huai Yao hastened his steps to match hers, falling into step beside Lin Chu.

“Shen Zhu sent me a message, asking me to meet her at the police station.”

“Did you get one too?”

Lin Chu’s brow furrowed. She paused for a moment, tapping out messages to several others, then scanned the replies that popped up on her screen, a slight frown marring her features.

The people she contacted were all newcomers, like herself, and most of them confirmed that they had also received Shen Zhu’s invitation.

How odd, why would she want newbies?

It made no sense, for the police station was a important place to gather information, and surely she would prefer to consult the more experienced ones.

Something was not right.

As this thought crossed her mind, Lin Chu felt a pang of regret for agreeing to Shen Zhu.

**

Meanwhile, Shen Zhu checked her phone and saw a message from Lin Chu, informing her that Lu Yan might have shown up, which lifted her spirits a bit.

Maybe… this task would not be so hard after all?

She had made a promise to “Yan Hao Yue” that she would pick her up today, within a span of a dozen hours.

Yes, maybe in that time, she would replace Lu Yan.

With that hope, Shen Zhu pushed down the anxiety that gnawed at her heart and left in a hurry.

**

The town was neither big nor small, but it had its hidden corners. Lu Yan located a stream, rinsed off the blood that stained his axe, wrapped it with a strip of cloth, and slung it over his shoulder.

He made his way to a neighbourhood on the outskirts of the town, taking a different route.

He was short on time, and he had not done a thorough job of cleaning up. If those people were diligent enough, they might stumble upon some traces.

But it would be even better if they found nothing, for that would mean they posed little threat.

He chose an old-fashioned residential area, where the air was fresh and the elderly were plentiful. The whole neighbourhood was remarkably quiet, with barely a sound to be heard.

Lu Yan singled out a house that seemed vacant and picked the lock to get in.

He needed to rest, to recharge.

But… the tasks had become more and more chaotic lately, he used to have a vague sense of what they entailed, but lately there had been no feedback at all. He could not sleep peacefully, only setting a brief alarm for a few minutes, shutting his eyes to rest.

Just as he closed his eyes, a blood-red shadow was cast upon the glass window. It bore down on the man inside who had closed his eyes.

Lu Yan was wide awake.

No sooner had he shut his eyes than he felt a piercing stare on him!

His breath hitched.

What had he gotten himself into this time? Was there no way back?

The tricks that had worked before seemed useless now.

He feigned sleep, his eyes tightly shut, but he knew the gaze was still there, unrelenting.

The room turned frigid and all of a sudden, the window burst open with a violent gust of wind, crashing against the wall with a deafening bang.

Lu Yan did not flinch.

It was no use.

He could sense the source of the icy aura creeping towards him.

Nearer and nearer...

His breathing was calm, his heartbeat steady, but his skin, exposed outside his clothes, prickled with goosebumps from the cold.

The figure loomed over him.

He felt a surge of frost, a foul smell that could freeze his nostrils.

This was bad!

Lu Yan clenched his eyes, trying to stir his nerves, hoping to get up and run, but he was powerless as if he was trapped in a solid block of ice.

Anyone who witnessed this scene from outside the room would be stunned by the horror.

A rotting figure in red, pressing against a man, about to fuse with his flesh.

A frigid numbness seeped into his bones, paralysing his limbs and leaving him helpless. Something sinister was crawling over him, pressing down on his chest with an invisible weight. He could only flutter his eyelids, the only sign of life in his frozen body. He felt a surge of terror, a primal instinct to flee from the unknown threat. He gathered all his willpower and forced his eyes open, hoping to confront his assailant—

But there was nothing there.

Only an empty room, with a gaping window that let in the biting wind. The oppressive feeling and the eerie presence vanished as soon as he looked around. It was as if he had imagined the whole thing, a nightmare that faded with the dawn.

He still felt no urge to sleep, but he closed his eyes anyway, hoping to calm his racing heart...

No! It was back again.

What was stalking him?

He had no choice but to open his eyes once more, and the moment he did, the sensation of being watched evaporated instantly.

He clutched the jade pendant in his hand. He got up and opened the door, stepping out into the silent hallway. The building was deserted, not a soul in sight. He walked slowly down the corridor, and only when he reached the ground floor did he hear some voices.

Someone was having a birthday party in the courtyard.

Why would anyone celebrate a birthday so early in the morning?

Lu Yan glanced over the fence.

The birthday girl was a young woman, dressed in a pink dress and a tiara. Several tables were arranged in the square, laden with food and drinks. A few friends surrounded her, singing and clapping. She made a brief wish and blew out the candles, then smiled and invited everyone to help themselves. It was a strange scene, incongruous with the gloomy atmosphere.

A pair of friends exchanged mischievous looks, snickering to themselves. They waited until the birthday girl was distracted, then one of them shoved the girl's face into the thick layer of cream.

"Ah—"

Lu Yan, standing at the gate of the courtyard, heard the scream involuntarily.

The victim lifted her head, a bamboo skewer protruding from her eye, blood spilling out profusely.