STG 06
Chapter 6: The Masked Fiend
Outside the Old District.
The man who had just deployed the Forbidden Zone sat by a signboard, glancing back at the half of the old district frozen like a canvas. He shook his head helplessly, pulled out his phone from his pocket, and started playing a match-three puzzle game.
“Hey, buddy, why are you sitting here playing on your phone in the middle of the night? Aren’t you afraid of freezing your butt off?”
Before long, a passerby crossed the street and walked over, amused by the sight.
The man looked up at him, then went back to his game. “Nothing better to do. Just killing time.”
The passerby chuckled, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and offered it to the man.
The man waved his hand and said seriously, “On duty. No smoking.”
“Hey, you’re squatting on the roadside playing games—that counts as being on duty?” The passerby laughed.
“Yep.”
“Alright then.” The passerby shrugged and stood up, heading toward the street behind the man.
“Where are you going?” the man suddenly asked.
“Home.”
“You can’t go back. At least not now.”
The passerby raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“This road is closed for now. You can go back once it’s open.” The man pointed at the signboard behind him.
The passerby followed his finger and saw the inexplicable sign planted right in the middle of the road. Just as he was about to say something, the words “Road Closed Ahead” flickered with a faint glimmer of light.
Instantly, the passerby’s gaze turned vacant.
A few seconds later, he stiffly turned around and mechanically retraced his steps, his eyes filled with confusion…
The man didn’t seem surprised at all. Just as he was about to resume his game, another man’s voice suddenly crackled through his earpiece.
“Zhao Kongcheng!!”
The moment the voice rang out, the man bolted upright from the ground. All traces of leisure and drowsiness vanished from his face, replaced by absolute seriousness.
“Here! Captain, what’s the situation?”
“We’ve got a problem. One of the Masked Fiends has evolved into a Masked Fiend King. It took advantage of our encirclement to severely injure Hong Ying and escaped the Forbidden Zone through the sewers.”
“A Masked Fiend King?” Zhao Kongcheng’s expression changed. “Which direction did it go? I’ll intercept it!”
“No, Kongcheng. You’re not suited for combat—you can’t take on a Masked Fiend King. I’ll pursue it myself.”
Zhao Kongcheng froze. “Then what should I—”
“After the Masked Fiend King escaped, two more Masked Fiends fled into the sewers. The others are busy cleaning up the remaining fiends and can’t break away.”
“Which direction?”
“Southeast.”
“Got it.”
A sharp glint flashed in Zhao Kongcheng’s eyes as he sprinted to the other end of the street, jumped into a black van, and slammed the accelerator. The vehicle roared to life and sped away.
On the passenger seat lay a neatly folded black-and-red cloak…
And a sheathed straight blade!
.
.
.
“Alright, I’m turning here. I’ll head off first.”
Wang Shao stopped and turned to the four people behind him.
Just then, Li Yifei seemed to remember something and spoke up. “Wang Shao, if I remember right, isn’t your place near the old district?”
“Yeah, why?”
“…Nothing. Just be careful on your way back.”
Wang Shao’s lips twitched, and he rolled his eyes. “If you’ve got something to say, say it. Don’t leave me hanging—it’s unsettling.”
Li Yifei hesitated for a moment. “I heard the old district’s been a bit… unsettled lately. There’s a serial killer on the loose!”
“A serial killer? Seriously?!” Jiang Qian looked skeptical.
“Of course it’s true!” Li Yifei glanced around and lowered his voice. “You might not know this, but over the past few days, over a dozen people have died in the old district.”
“A dozen people? No way. If it were that big, the news would’ve covered it,” Wang Shao retorted.
“Tch, of course it’s possible. Let me tell you, this whole thing is weird. Someone higher up is suppressing the news. If my dad didn’t work at the police station, I wouldn’t know either.”
“Weird? How?”
“Apparently…” Li Yifei paused, then dropped his voice even lower.
“Apparently, the victims’ faces were all skinned off, leaving nothing but bloody, mangled flesh and bulging eyeballs. The method was insanely brutal!”
A chilly night breeze swept past. The moment those words were spoken, the group felt a cold shiver shoot up from their feet to the tops of their heads!
“Li Yifei! Are you insane? Why bring this up in the middle of the night?!” Jiang Qian’s face paled as she instinctively scanned the deserted street, furious.
They were already close to the old district, a remote part of Cangnan City. With night classes ending around 10 p.m., the streets were empty, making Li Yifei’s story all the more spine-chilling.
Even Wang Shao and Liu Yuan, both grown men, felt a twinge of fear. Wang Shao glanced at the narrow alley he was about to take and suddenly felt uneasy…
If Li Yifei’s words had merely unsettled them, Lin Qiye’s next remark sent their scalps tingling!
After a moment of thought, Lin Qiye murmured, “Are you sure… it was done by a human?”
“Qiye, you—” Jiang Qian trembled!
Wang Shao and Liu Yuan’s lips twitched as they stared at Lin Qiye with strange expressions.
Damn, Lin Qiye, with your honest face—who knew you’d be the darkest one here?
Li Yifei looked at Lin Qiye in surprise. “You think so too?”
“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Jiang Qian couldn’t take it anymore. She pinched Li Yifei’s arm hard, making him yelp in pain.
“No ghost stories in the middle of the night!! I still have to get home!”
Li Yifei clutched his arm, grimacing in pain, and muttered under his breath, “It’s not a ghost story…”
Wang Shao shrugged. “I’m not sticking around for this nonsense. I don’t believe in any of this supernatural crap. Later.”
With that, Wang Shao’s figure gradually disappeared into the narrow alley.
Jiang Qian shot Li Yifei another glare and took a few steps forward before suddenly stopping.
She sniffed the air, her brows furrowing slightly as confusion flashed in her eyes.
She turned back. “Do you guys smell something rotten?”
“Rotten?”
“Yeah, like something decaying.”
“I don’t smell anything. Liu Yuan, you?”
“Me neither—ugh!!”
Before Liu Yuan and Li Yifei could finish, their expressions suddenly twisted. They clapped their hands over their noses and frantically looked around.
Just as Lin Qiye was about to speak, an unbearably foul stench assaulted his nostrils. It was as if someone had tossed a piece of meat rotting for over a week into a cesspool, mixed it with a dozen spoiled eggs, and forced him to inhale it. The stench alone made his stomach churn violently.
It was the most revolting smell Lin Qiye had ever encountered in his life.
As for Jiang Qian, whose nose was the most sensitive, she immediately doubled over and vomited.
“Dammit, what the hell is that stench?!” Li Yifei yelled, pinching his nose.
“No idea,” Lin Qiye said, frowning. After a pause, he pointed toward the alley Wang Shao had taken.
“But judging by the direction, it seems to be coming from there.”
The next second, a bloodcurdling scream pierced the silence of the night, echoing through the air…
Support me on :
Post Comment