"Who are they?"
"In the factory, there are many of these kinds of monsters!" Zhao Yi seemed to have remembered something, terror surfacing in his eyes.
"I... I originally wanted to go to the factory to cause a ruckus. Seeing the iron gate wasn't closed, I walked in... As a result, I saw a large centipede lying on top of the machines, probably tens of meters long! Its whole body was black, like a shadow."
Hearing this, Chen Ling's heart sank.
No wonder he patrolled the entire district block and didn't find any abnormalities. Turns out that thing was hiding in the Factory District... He had just returned from there yesterday, so subconsciously he didn't go looking there. Looking at it this way, that thing should have appeared after he left.
"And then?"
"I was terrified." Zhao Yi gulped. "My mind went completely blank at the time, and I turned and ran. Then a bunch of small centipedes that hatched from things like eggs came out and chased me. I didn't dare to look back, I could only run desperately.
At that time, the first person I thought of was you, so I ran towards you. But when I was almost at the district block, I felt my body getting heavier and heavier, and my mind getting less and less clear... I looked back and found my shadow had turned into a centipede.
And after that, I can't remember clearly."
Centipedes that can manipulate the human body through shadows, huh... Moreover, according to Zhao Yi's description, the number of these things didn't seem small. That large centipede in the factory should have been hatching in the workshop for at least a day.
Chen Ling grabbed the Walkie-talkie without hesitation and pressed the button:
"This is Chen Ling. A large Calamity has been discovered at the Steel Mill, and it has bred a large number of Sub-Entities. They are suspected to have already begun attacking the district blocks."
Once this sentence was spoken, the Walkie-talkie channel fell into a dead silence. After a brief second, Han Meng's voice rang out calmly:
"Received."
No questioning, no interrogating, no surprise or panic. After Han Meng's voice fell, a loud ringing sound resounded in the sky above District Three!
Clang— Clang— Clang!!
The Calamity Bell, rang.
...
This bell ringing awakened countless people from their sleep in shock.
"Three rings of the Calamity Bell?!" A middle-aged woman sat up in bed in shock, her face turning ghastly pale from fright. "Does our District Three have a Calamity again?"
"Keep your voice down!"
Boss Xu covered her mouth with a handful, looking vigilantly out the window. The dark sky coupled with the surging mist made it impossible to see anything at all. It was as if invisible hands had isolated all the houses.
The woman widened her eyes, her gaze looking out the window full of terror... The dark sky, the deep Dense Fog, the residual ringing of the bell. These unknowns evoked the fear of the crowd hiding in their rooms. They knew there was something in that fog, but they didn't know if the other party would appear, nor did they know when they would appear.
As if feeling the woman trembling, Boss Xu lowered his voice and spoke comfortingly:
"It's fine... What are you afraid of? The Calamity Bell rang last time, and wasn't our family perfectly fine? As long as we obediently stay at home, nothing will happen..."
Seeing the woman was still afraid, Boss Xu hesitated for a moment and added another sentence,
"Besides, that monster... uh, Enforcer Chen Ling, doesn't he live right on Frost Street? If they really fight, what Calamity can be fiercer than him?"
The woman blinked, seemingly feeling Boss Xu's words made sense. Under these circumstances, knowing there was an Enforcer not far from them undoubtedly provided a tremendous sense of security... although sometimes, this Enforcer was the source of their fear.
Thump thump thump—
A sudden knocking sound on the door rang out.
This knocking sound instantly made both their nerves tense up. They fiercely looked towards the direction of the main door, holding their breath at the same time...
Late at night like this, with heavy fog permeating the air, coupled with the Calamity Bell having just rung... Who would run to their home to knock on the door?
Under these circumstances, they naturally wouldn't rashly open their mouths to ask. Like children knowing their parents went out and they were guarding the house alone, it was even more impossible for them to be stupid enough to get out of bed and open the door to see who was knocking. They just stared blankly at that door, the room in a dead silence.
Thump thump thump—
The knocking sound rang out again, the rhythm completely identical to the previous time, unhurried, elegant, and patient.
The woman gulped, her heart about to jump out. She naturally realized things were wrong and looked terrified at Boss Xu beside her... Boss Xu gritted his teeth. Waiting until the knocking sound rang for the third time, he carefully got out of bed, took out a Kitchen Knife from the Kitchen, and stared fixedly behind the door.
If that thing behind the door dared to break in, he at least had a weapon to fight with...
Bang—
A shattering sound rang out from outside the door, scaring Boss Xu so much that the Kitchen Knife in his hand almost fell to the ground.
That wasn't their home's door. Judging by the sound, it seemed to come from next door, as if the main door had been violently smashed open by something. Immediately following was a series of terrified and miserable screams!
Boss Xu recognized it. Those were the miserable screams of Old Li's family next door. Through the wall, he could even clearly hear the sound of human bodies being smacked onto the ground and flesh and blood being torn apart. Children were wailing, women were screaming.
A moment later, terrified shouts came from the families opposite, as well as the streets further away. In this Dense Fog where one couldn't see their own fingers stretched out, a chaotic and bloody riot had already begun.
The hand Boss Xu used to hold the Kitchen Knife trembled uncontrollably. Right at this moment, a calm voice rang out from the street.
"Everyone, maintain silence."
Hearing this voice, Boss Xu was stunned, then looked fiercely in a direction through the window. In the misty gray fog, a figure wearing a black windbreaker slowly walked over.
He raised his gun, pulled the trigger at the sky, and a buzzing sound resounded through Frost Street!
The next moment, Boss Xu heard the tearing sounds next door abruptly stop, as if the monster's attention had been attracted. Only the suppressed sobbing of the woman could be faintly heard from the corner of the wall.
"Weren't you looking for someone?" Chen Ling stood in the fog and spoke slowly. "How about you come ask me?"
Once this sentence was spoken, a black shadow suddenly walked past Boss Xu's window, as if it had just walked out from next door... It was also at this moment that he finally saw the full appearance of that thing clearly.
That was a centipede walking upright. Its entire body was pitch-black like a shadow. Standing up, it was about two meters tall, numerous fine legs turning on both sides of its body, a dark red hole at the position of its mouth continuously contracting.
Although it only walked past for an instant, it also directly scared Boss Xu silly. He plopped down on the ground, his lips trembling uncontrollably...
What kind of monster was that??
The same doubt also appeared in the minds of all the residents of Frost Street. Hiding behind dark windows, they held their breath, nervously watching those several centipede monsters approaching in the center of the street. In the center of their encirclement, the black windbreaker stood tall and straight.
With a gun in one hand and a Dagger in the other, Chen Ling slowly swept his gaze over the surroundings... As those monsters gradually approached in the Dense Fog, Chen Ling also finally saw their appearance clearly.
Chen Ling was stunned.
He rubbed his eyes and fixed his gaze on these black shadows... His expression was somewhat strange.
"These things... look like they smell pretty good?" Chen Ling muttered to himself.
In his field of vision, one by one, plucked broiler chickens with tender texture were slowly walking towards him... Like perfect ingredients about to be put into the pot, just one look made one's index finger twitch with appetite.