Free Web Novel12:25 AM, Qixinggang Lower Lane, Mountain City.
Holding an umbrella, Lin Kele stood at the fork in the road in the rain. Ahead were two paths leading in different directions, yet they looked almost identical. She slightly parted her lips, wanting to speak but hesitating.
It was her first time realizing that even locals could get lost in Mountain City.
The Shancheng Si Ye Hui had a total of fifteen operatives, plenty of manpower to assign two on night duty each night, responsible for different areas. Seven Star Ridge was not Lin Kele's primary patrol area.
She had only been there once before, following other Shancheng Si Ye Hui operatives to reinforce a Ban (seal), so she wasn't familiar with the terrain.
"Oh, no. Which way did Li Jie and the others go?" fгeewebnovёl.com
It was quiet all around; no one answered Lin Kele's question.
Most of the old houses on both sides were uninhabited, dark inside. The glass in the windows had long since shattered. By the dim yellow light of the streetlamp, looking through the gaps, one could vaguely see the strange outlines of broken furniture and trash.
Along with the damp wind came a stale smell that even the rain couldn't mask.
At this moment, Lin Kele found herself alone in such an environment, and her mood uncontrollably became complicated.
She particularly wished someone could show her the way, but at the same time, the dilapidated and decaying scenery around her made her feel that it was best not to have any strangers appear beside her.
In a ghostly place like Seven Star Ridge, who knew if the person giving directions was a human or a Strange Tale?
Although, from the Spiritual Energy fluctuation level alone, she was a genuine B-Level Psychic, considered a backbone force within the Night Watch.
However, due to the special nature of her Spirit Mark Power, her combat effectiveness was truly not great; she wasn't even a match for some C-level Psychic whose Powers excelled in combat.
And Seven Star Ridge was a place where A-Level urban legend had appeared before.
Sometimes, one would hear people mock those who had excellent academic results but couldn't apply their knowledge in practice as "high scorers, low performers." From a certain perspective, Lin Kele was a "high scorer, low performer" among Psychic.
She had no practical combat experience, only excelling in reconnaissance and escape.
If she hadn't followed Jiang Li and seen her getting involved with an unknown Strange Tale, worrying that calling other operatives would lead to Jiang Li's review failing, Lin Kele would never have come to Seven Star Ridge alone.
"What do I do now? I should have known better than to follow Wan Jie here."
Lin Kele muttered with a somewhat aggrieved expression. She regretted that, in a flash of inspiration, she had quietly followed Jiang Hao out.
The worst part was, she had lost them.
If she hadn't followed, she should be eating hotpot and singing with Mai Mai and the others right now, instead of standing in the rain at a crossroads where urban legend could appear at any moment.
This situation reminded Lin Kele of an experience from her childhood: secretly following her parents when they went out for a late-night snack, only to get lost at an unfamiliar intersection.
It was during that incident that she was abducted by an illegal Spiritual Energy organization and became a Psychic as an experimental subject.
She was even a failed experimental subject, with almost no frontal combat capability, and was nearly destroyed by that illegal Spiritual Energy organization.
"But why did Hao Jie suddenly come to Seven Star Ridge? And she even went to the trouble of disguising herself."
"And who was that Strange Tale acting with Li Jie? She actually lied to me for that Strange Tale, and I'm her reviewer!"
"Most importantly, will there really be clues to the case here?"
Lin Kele reined in her thoughts, carefully examined the two paths ahead, chose one, and bravely stepped forward.
Ultimately, driven by intense curiosity, she chose to follow her intuition, just as she did when encountering difficulties in the past.
As she walked along the roads, which crisscrossed like a fishing net, old houses stacked one upon another lined the steep and winding narrow streets. Occasionally, a distant flicker of light formed a strange pattern, as if attempting to replicate the evil constellations of the distant starry sky on the ground.
Something menacing and unsettling was brewing in a place invisible to the naked eye.
It was like a newly formed cancer cell, hidden in the most secret corner of the body, quietly growing.
Lin Kele hadn't walked long in her chosen direction before the rain gradually intensified.
Raindrops pattered on the umbrella and the water-logged road, making crackling sounds, as if countless shadowy beings were reveling in the dark, their movements masked by the sound of the falling rain.
Then, as if experiencing a hallucination, Lin Kele actually heard a faint sound of footsteps.
It didn't sound like human footsteps, but ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ rather some kind of four-legged beast running wildly.
Listening closely, she could even hear the sound of sharp claws scraping against the hard ground, mixed with the sound of water, as it ran closer.
Suddenly, like a taut nerve in her brain being plucked by invisible fingertips, a keen intuition told Lin Kele that danger was approaching.
A chill, like a cold crawling insect, slithered up her spine. Her body stiffened, she stopped in her tracks, and spun around abruptly, calling out somewhat hysterically.
"Who?! Who's there?!"
The alley behind her was empty. Rain fell on the accumulated water, rippling outwards.
On one side of the alley, a window covered in shadows was half-open, swaying back and forth in the gentle breeze, emitting a creaking, whimpering sound, as if someone stood behind the window, peering from afar.
"No one? Did I mishear?"
"But even if I misheard, my intuition shouldn't be wrong!"
"Bang—!"
As Lin Kele was thinking, a strong gust of wind blew, and the half-open window, as if pushed by invisible hands hidden in the wind, slammed shut with a dull thud.
The moment the window closed, Lin Kele's reflection appeared on the window, and at the same time, a woman in a white dress, who had appeared behind her at some unknown point, also became visible.
That distorted, deformed face, covered in grotesque growths and pale in color, was almost pressed against her own from behind.
"Ah—!"
A scream echoed through the rainy alley—
When old buildings were designed, there were always strange and unreasonable aspects in odd places.
For example, stairs of varying heights increasing the chance of falling; or buildings being too wide or too narrow, making the layouts strange; and entering a hallway, there's a large, not-very-useful common activity area.
And the unreasonable aspect of the terraced building where Hanye Studio was located was the five-meter-long, meaningless corridor in the hallway.
Stepping into the terraced building, the light quickly dimmed, and the debris of paper scraps and broken glass underfoot crunched softly.
An nauseating smell of decaying food permeated the air, seemingly emanating from unhandled takeout in a corner that had been left for a long time.
"Hmm?"
As if sensing something, Lu Yibei, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped, turned to look back, and saw a corner of the old city shrouded in hazy rain and mist, and Jiang Li's indifferent face in the shadows.
Friendly reminder: The Website is about to be revamped, which may result in loss of reading progress. Please save your "book shelf" and "reading record" promptly (screenshot recommended). We apologize for any inconvenience caused!
"What's wrong?"
Lu Yibei frowned, "Did you hear that? It sounds like a scream."
Jiang Li tilted her head, looked at Lu Yibei, and sighed silently, "If you're really scared, you can let me go first."
"I really heard a scream!" Lu Yibei emphasized.
"Is that so?" Jiang Li looked thoughtfully behind her and said seriously, "Then I'll be responsible for guarding our rear."
"Okay." Lu Yibei nodded and continued forward.
According to the plan they discussed on the way, upon reaching their destination, they would first pretend to be buyers interested in purchasing paintings, entering the studio through normal means.
Although generally speaking, a person with high innate spiritual perception and potential for Spiritual Energy, who has witnessed a high-level Strange Tale, would likely have turned into a pile of dry bones after nearly a week if left unprotected, but what if?
What if they broke in, only to find the painter perfectly unharmed inside his home? The situation would become very awkward.
In fact, most of the time, Night Watch members are quite friendly.
Using the light emitted by the Alchemy Dirty Bomb for illumination, they continued down the hallway, and within a few steps, they saw the door to Hanye Studio.
The studio's main door was on the left, while the door on the right had been removed and replaced with a wall.
Arriving at the left door, which bore the Hanye Studio sign, Lu Yibei raised her hand and knocked.
"Dong dong dong—!"
"Is anyone home?"
She knocked several times, but there was no response.
"Dong dong dong—!"
"Teacher, could you open the door? We saw your paintings online and came here admiring your work, hoping to purchase some masterpieces from you."
Lu Yibei knocked a few more times, waited a moment, and seeing that the door still didn't open, she turned to Jiang Li and whispered, "Looks like no one's here. Should we activate PLAN B?"
PLAN B referred to breaking down the door.
Using force was also one of the ways Night Watch members solved problems.
"Hmm." Jiang Hao hesitated, then nodded, "If we're going to break the door, let me do it, okay? After all, we don't know what the situation is like inside right now."
As she spoke, she silently activated her Spirit Mark Power, allowing her Spirit Mark to enter its first-stage liberation state. Black armor instantly covered her body.
"With this armor, if there's any sudden situation, I can at least offer some resistance."
Assuming the painter had been hunted by the Strange Tale he witnessed, then a Strange Tale was very likely hidden within his studio. There was a possibility of being attacked by the Strange Tale the moment they broke in.
"If that's the case, then it's even more reason for me to break the door!" As Lu Yibei spoke, she summoned Lingtai Pure Karma, allowing the heavy armor to envelop her body.
The originally slender and agile girl instantly transformed into an "iron barrel." In comparison, Jiang Li, clad in her Xiezhi armor, appeared particularly delicate.
"Actually, I also got a set of armor recently. Its ability to handle sudden situations might even be a little stronger than yours."
"It can not only resist a bit, but in most cases, it can completely resist—"
As she spoke, she tapped her breastplate, showing Jiang Hao her "absolute defense."
Her gauntlets clanged against the heavy breastplate.
Jiang Hao,
She judged through her Spirit Mark Power that Lu Yibei's words were true, meaning Lu Yibei's armor was indeed tougher than her Xiezhi armor.
Looking at Lu Yibei again, she inexplicably felt like inviting her boyfriend to see her new car, only for him to show up in a heavily armored tank.
"So, this is why you, contrary to your usual self, took the lead and walked ahead?"
"Just how afraid of death does one have to be to carry such heavy armor around?"
"However, if she encounters a situation like the golden plain outside Dream Come True Entertainment City again, with this armor, she probably won't be so heavily injured, right?"
Thinking this, Jiang Li felt that Lu Yibei's fear of death didn't seem to be a bad thing.
Because, from a certain perspective, she feared Lu Yibei's death more than Lu Yibei herself did.
"You know, what if that painter actually heard us knocking just now but didn't have time to open the door, and then he comes over now, will he be scared by our outfits?" Lu Yibei said as she retrieved the Xuanying Luofu from the God Kingdom Prototype passage that opened on her chest.
Thinking about it carefully, at midnight, two strange individuals in armor, holding unknown glowing objects, looking like terrorists, knocking on the door—most people would indeed not dare to open it.
But not opening the door also seemed wrong; terrorists would violently break down the door if things didn't go their way.
Lu Yibei felt she could imagine that somewhat abnormal painter crouching by the door, peeking through the peephole, trembling as he watched the two of them.
"Regardless, let's go in first," Jiang Li said. "If he's really inside, I'll explain to him."
"Alright." Lu Yibei responded, raising the Xuanying Luofu in her hand and channeling Spiritual Energy into it. With a soft hum, a bloody glow enveloped the umbrella ribs, outlining the shape of a long sword.
She aimed the sharp edge of the light-forged blade at the door lock, preparing to destroy it—
"Click!"
"Creak—!"
With a series of sounds, the door to Hanye Studio opened without warning.
"Sorry, we just—" Lu Yibei's words trailed off midway.
There was no one behind the door. As far as the eye could see, there was only the foyer illuminated by the light of the Alchemy Dirty Bomb.
In the air, a sweet, metallic smell mixed with decay permeated.
A dark red color stretched from the foyer into the darkness, looking like the trails left by a heavy object stained with blood being dragged.
More than one trail!
Looking closely, the drag marks varied in shade, intersecting but not completely overlapping, not seeming to have been left at the same time.
And mixed among those drag marks were a few scattered, distorted dark red handprints and tiny bits of flesh, as if reminding the two at the door that these were the trails left by dragging a corpse.
Using the light from the Alchemy Dirty Bomb, they fumbled for the light switch in the foyer and turned on the lights. Continuing to follow the dark red trails, they looked ahead and saw a chaotic main hall.
A vase shattered in half on the floor, a television with a caved-in screen, a sofa with a large hole, its pale "innards" pulled out and scattered everywhere.
Beside a collapsed easel, various colors of paint spilled on the off-white floor intertwined with the dark red drag marks, like a painting filled with both grandeur and horror.
Coming back to her senses, Lu Yibei looked back and gave Jiang Hao a meaningful glance.
【"Things are a bit bad! It seems another group of 'terrorists' has already been here before us."】
【"Hmm, should we go in and take a look? Following those dark red drag marks."】 Jiang Li responded with her eyes.
