Free Web Novel3:36 AM.
By the latter half of the night, the bustling streets near the Hua City Workers' Stadium had long since quieted down, but those who loved the night were still not finished with their revelry.
In a corner of the street stood a building made of tessellated polyhedra. Beside its futuristic, five-sided entrance, on a gray frosted wall, metallic lettering was etched: “The Undergroundworld.”
This was Hua City’s only nightclub that stayed open until the early hours of the morning, and it was precisely the “Underground World” Bai Kai had mentioned.
The distorted glass corridor was paved with gradient blue floor lights, resembling a tunnel leading to another dimension. Behind the half-closed soundproof curtains, a dazzling light flickered, and the mixed scent of tobacco, alcohol, and perfume wafted out.
Bai Kai, dressed in a flamboyant white slim-fit suit and a cherry-colored shirt, sat in a booth in the center of the nightclub, listening to the strong rhythmic electronic music. He watched the young men and women swaying freely on the dance floor under the psychedelic lights, his deep eyes sharp like a hawk waiting to hunt.
Suddenly, his phone rang. He took it out and glanced at it, a look of delight appearing on his face when he saw it was Lu Yibei calling. He quickly got up and walked to a slightly quieter corner to answer the call.
“Hello? Xiao Bei? Why are you calling me at this hour? I’m at the Underground World having fun! Want to come join the party?”
Xiao Bei is already an adult! Coming here to see the world is definitely better than hugging a bronze lump to sleep every day! Bai Kai thought. That thing was given to her to guard the house and ward off evil, not for strange activities!
If it accidentally exploded, it would be a huge problem!
“Party your sister, I’m about to ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) die! Outside my door, no, outside my window, there’s a monster, I...”
Lu Yibei’s anxious voice came from the other end of the phone, and the smile on Bai Kai’s face instantly froze.
“Hello? Hello! Xiao Bei, you said monster? How can there be a monster? Didn’t I give you a mingwang statue?”
“...”
There was no response from the other end of the phone, and Bai Kai’s expression gradually became serious.
“Damn it!”
“Xiao Bei, listen to me, no matter what happens, you must stay with the great sun mingwang statue I gave you! Trust me, it’s very useful!”
Not knowing if Lu Yibei was still by the phone, Bai Kai shouted another sentence into his phone, then turned his head to look at the center of the dance floor.
Amidst the reveling crowd, there was a blonde woman with a graceful figure, exquisite deep-set eyes, and a somewhat exotic appearance. She stood there, swaying her waist and hips, as if emitting a strange magical power that made those around her pale in comparison, attracting countless gazes.
Bai Kai watched the woman, his eyes slightly narrowed, and muttered fiercely to himself, “You’d better not cause any trouble tonight, otherwise, when I get back, you’ll be in for it!”
As if she heard Bai Kai’s muttering, the woman turned her head, glanced in his direction, twitched the corners of her mouth, and showed an awkward and stiff smile.
“Hmph!” Bai Kai snorted coldly, withdrew his gaze, casually tossed the wine glass in his hand into the nearby trash can, and quickly walked out of the nightclub.
Leaving the nightclub and walking on the deserted street, Bai Kai’s steps quickened. Complex silver-white patterns appeared on his cheeks and arms, his white suit fluttered and rustled in the strong wind, and his polished pointed leather shoes scraped sparks from the ground.
The next moment, accompanied by a hum like a long sword being drawn from its scabbard, an ancient swordsman's phantom, enveloping his entire body, flashed past. Bai Kai's figure accelerated sharply, leaving a trail of white afterimages on the street.
At the street corner.
The traffic police, who had been waiting half the night to check for drunk driving, were starting to doze off when the speed gun suddenly blared an alarm, startling both of them awake. They quickly rushed to the instrument, pulled up the footage, and played it back frame by frame. Then, both of them froze.
“W-what the hell was that just now!?”
Looking at the frozen image of the person running in an exaggerated posture, the other traffic policeman whispered, “It looks like a... a dashing gigolo?”
“...”
A man dressed like a gigolo, sprinting through the midnight streets at over 73.2 km/h?
This should, perhaps, probably be the legendary Weird tale, right?
For a moment, the two looked at each other, feeling a chill down their spines.
On this cold autumn rain night, they not only had to brave the wind and rain, working overtime to protect the people's safe travel, but also endure the fright of “Weird tale.”
Night duty was truly not easy!
...
Huacheng Folk Culture Research Administration.
Inside the quiet Office V, Jiang Li, illuminated by a bright desk lamp, meticulously flipped through the case files.
Outside the window, a breeze blew in, carrying a fresh, damp scent. The dark green wind chimes on the windowsill swayed gently with the wind, yet made no sound.
“Ding-a-ling—!”
The wind stopped, but the wind chimes continued to sway, emitting a soft sound.
The fishbone-shaped clapper struck the bell, first a faint sound echoing in the wind, like a fine needle dropping on smooth porcelain, a delicate, crisp sound, followed by a cascade of tinkling and clinking. The sound was clear and pleasant, yet for some reason, it gave one a feeling of tension and trepidation.
Hearing the wind chimes, Jiang Li suddenly turned her head, looking at the clapper violently striking the bell, and slightly narrowed her eyes.
Did it take the bait? That was fast.
The Spell that A Hua secretly left on that boy had worked, triggering the wind chimes. This meant that Mr. Rabbit's spiritual energy fluctuations had appeared near him!
Thinking this, Jiang Li quickly picked up the satellite phone on the table and called Little Maid.
However...
Tens of seconds later, Jiang Li looked at the unanswered call on her phone, her expression gradually turning serious, her clear eyes shifting several times. Then she sighed softly, picked up the cane leaning against the desk, left the office, and walked out of the Night Watch’s main door.
She had to go herself. Jiang Li thought.
Although she didn't know why A Hua, who was placed to monitor Lu Yibei, and the special operations team had lost contact, she was the one who released the bait, and within her capabilities, she would never allow the bait to be harmed!
On the bluestone path, washed by rain, Jiang Li hobbled forward, leaning on her cane. Each step seemed difficult, yet her speed was not slow at all.
Soon, her slender silhouette seemed to melt into the misty rain of the ancient street, then slowly dissolved and disappeared.
...
Friendly Reminder: The Website is about to be revamped, which may cause loss of reading progress. Please save your “book shelf” and “reading record” in time (screenshot recommended). We apologize for any inconvenience caused!
The window lock was pried open by something, and a soft “click” echoed in the dimly lit apartment.
A cool breeze, carrying a few strands of rain, poured in through the open window, pulling at the gray-white curtains, making them sway. Faintly, one could see a humanoid black shadow with a rabbit’s head behind the curtains, struggling to squeeze its body into the open crack of the window. freёweɓnovel.com
In her panic, Lu Yibei’s phone dropped to the ground with a “clatter,” rolled away, and fell into an unseen corner under the bed. The call had not been disconnected, and Shui Ge’s anxious voice intermittently came through the earpiece.
“...stay with the great sun mingwang statue... very useful...”
Immediately after, the phone screen flickered twice, then went dark.
mingwang statue? Lu Yibei was stunned. At a time like this, why did Shui Ge still believe in such an intelligence tax scam? That was a Taobao best-seller! Could something like that really save her life?!
Although she was frantically complaining internally, Lu Yibei still pounced onto the bed and hugged her beloved Mingwang brother tightly!
It was definitely not a case of saying one thing but doing another!
Sincerity makes it work, sincerity makes it work!
“Tap, tap!”
The sound of feet landing from a height echoed in the living room, followed by a strange laugh.
“Ah ha, I’m in!”
Hearing the strange laugh, Lu Yibei’s head buzzed, and she instantly stopped thinking. Subconsciously, she hugged the mingwang statue tightly, her knuckles turning white from excessive force. An electric tingle instantly spread from her scalp to her toes.
Her eyes suddenly burned with pain, her vision blurred in waves, and black lines, difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion, twisted and danced chaotically before her eyes.
The next moment, she seemed to enter a strange state. The darkness began to dissipate, and everything she saw appeared in inverse colors: red turned emerald green, blue turned orange-yellow, yellow became indigo-purple. All colors were sometimes distinct, sometimes overlapping, with grayish mist drifting in the gaps.
Immediately after, her vision suddenly brightened, penetrating the four walls of the house, and she saw countless bizarre shadows.
Eyeball-like beads huddled motionless in a corner of the ceiling, a few hairball-like clumps, as if sewn from wigs, trembled under the sofa, a tattered white Sleeping Dress was curled up behind the bathroom mirror, seeping large water stains, and...
A tall figure in a black cloak, soaked with rain, slowly advanced, dragging a bloody crowbar in his hand.
“Thud—thud—!”
Strange footsteps echoed in the living room, from far to near, along with the intermittent, teeth-grinding sound of a sharp object scraping the floor.
Wet footprints stretched from beneath the windowsill all the way to the stairwell. Mr. Rabbit paused for a few seconds, then immediately went upstairs, seemingly with some hesitation, or perhaps deliberately controlling his steps to avoid making noise.
“Thump—thump—!”
Watching Mr. Rabbit get closer and closer to upstairs, Lu Yibei let out a questioning sound.
“Huh? How come...”
She looked at Mr. Rabbit’s head, her gaze penetrating the lifelike rabbit mask, and saw an ordinary man’s face.
Wait!
A random passerby wearing a rabbit mask?!
This doesn't seem quite like the Mr. Rabbit I saw in my dream, does it?!
Could it be...
Could it be that he isn't the Mr. Rabbit from the dream?
Lu Yibei frowned, leaning her head forward, wanting to reconfirm the scene she had just seen, but her eyes suddenly stung at that moment.
The image before her eyes flickered like a bad signal, “sizzling” twice, then returned to normal, plunging into darkness.
Lu Yibei, “...”
If it wasn't a Weird tale, perhaps there would still be room to resist!
But, is what I see real?
If I judge wrong, wouldn't a rash attack be a waste?
“Thump—thump-thump—!”
Lu Yibei struggled briefly internally. Mr. Rabbit downstairs was still coming up, his footsteps intermittently reaching her, making her feel as if he could appear at the stairwell at any moment.
Perhaps she could no longer bear the slow, suffocating approach, or perhaps the thought that “the person downstairs might not be Mr. Rabbit” and the surging adrenaline gave Lu Yibei some courage.
In the darkness, a fierce glint suddenly flashed in her severely bloodshot eyes. She turned, grabbed the mingwang statue, and hoisted it onto her shoulder, standing up with a huff.
When pushed to a dead end, who isn’t a “reckless warrior”?
Even a cornered person will bite a rabbit!
Today, I will either beat you to death, or be beaten to death by you!
Hearing Lu Yibei’s footsteps and slightly excited panting from upstairs, Mr. Rabbit downstairs suddenly quickened his pace, taking large strides upwards, crossing several steps at once, and appearing at the stairwell in the blink of an eye.
...
The rain had started again at some point, and a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating Lu Yibei’s figure.
Her dark brown hair was disheveled, her bloodless face showed no expression, her eyes were so red they seemed to drip blood, and she carried a strangely shaped, oversized “bronze hammer” on her shoulder...
Seeing such a figure abruptly emerge in the darkness, Mr. Rabbit was clearly stunned, his footsteps halting.
Then...
He subconsciously took half a step back.
In the sky outside the window, the electric light streaking through the gaps in the dark clouds gradually receded, then vanished.
Darkness once again swallowed the young man’s figure.
Before Mr. Rabbit could adapt to the darkness before him, a “whoosh” of wind suddenly roared in his ears. Something whistled through the darkness, and in the second before he lost consciousness from a heavy blow to the head, he saw the great sun mingwang statue’s glaring eyes and solemn, dignified face...
(Only managed to write one update by now, looks like I won’t be able to do a double update today after all. Definitely tomorrow, definitely tomorrow!)
