Chapter Forty-Two: Entering the Game

Compared to monsters and demons, what is truly terrifying is the human heart. The ugliness of human nature matches the allure of the devil.

Lin Fan could only shrug helplessly at the young man, signaling for him to look back. The youth turned his head, only to find that the friends who had just helped the young girl had long since vanished without a trace. Squinting, he took a few steps closer to the girl, and only then did her outline gradually become clear.

“Oh my god! Help! It’s a monster! Damn it, wait for me!” Once he saw her true face, the young man scrambled away in a panic.

A moment ago, she had been a beauty to behold, but now there was nothing human about her. She revealed her true form: furry claws, upright pointed ears, steel-like whiskers bristling at the corners of her mouth, and a long tail floating in the air like a whip—a humanoid cat demon crouched low, gasping for breath, her wide eyes fixed fiercely on Lin Fan.

“A catwoman? Damn! I thought you were a vampire bat. Why aren’t you off catching mice—why eat me?” Lin Fan, unfazed by the bizarre, stepped forward, rubbing his eyes in disbelief at the feline transformation before him.

“I just wanted to try the taste of human flesh, is that not allowed? You’re not human either; no human could be this strong! Meddling in things that aren’t your business—today’s just my unlucky day. We’ll see—one day I’ll have my revenge!” With a swish of her tail, the catwoman leaped onto the car roof, sprang again onto the wall beside the street, and, scaling it rapidly, disappeared over the rooftops into the night.

Lin Fan stared at the direction she vanished, exclaiming in surprise, “Damn! She runs as fast as a rat!”

At that moment, Tang Hao’s small figure emerged from Lin Fan’s body, floating with arms crossed, not the least bit bothered by Lin Fan’s sarcasm.

“Don’t take it personally, I was just making a comparison.” Lin Fan smiled, glanced at Tang Hao, then mused, “By the way, Mouse, what do you know about the Night of Beasts?”

Tang Hao hadn’t expected such a question. He gave Lin Fan a deep look, hesitated, then said, “I don’t know much, but from what I’ve heard, it’s a carnival for the beast clan, only occurring once every many years. For humans, though, I suppose it’s a disaster.”

He paused, then added meaningfully, “You could ask that old bastard. He’s been dealing with those animals for years, involved in all sorts of shady business—he might know some of the secrets.”

Lin Fan sighed, gazing at the night sky, and said quietly, “If he wanted to talk, he would have said something already. There’s no one in this world you can truly trust. Sometimes, I wish I’d never woken up at all.”

Seeing Lin Fan’s mood, Tang Hao quickly changed the subject, “That beast hasn’t gone far. If you want to catch up, I can help you.”

Before Lin Fan could reply, a familiar voice rang out.

“Chase what? Aren’t you two excited enough by what we already have on our hands?” At that moment, Lin Hai appeared from nowhere, carrying a plastic bag, which he handed to Lin Fan. “Here, eat something to keep your strength up. Then come with me somewhere.”

Lin Fan took the bag, and Tang Hao craned his neck to look inside—fried chicken legs! Lin Fan’s eyes lit up; his stomach had been growling for ages. He grabbed a drumstick and tore into it, exclaiming, “Uncle, you know me best!”

Tang Hao stood by, swallowing hungrily, but Lin Fan was too engrossed to notice. When Tang Hao saw there was no share for him, he turned and shot a resentful glare at Lin Hai.

“What are you looking at? There’s none for you. Buy your own if you want some! Oh, I almost forgot—you’re a ghost now, lost the ability to convert food into energy. Everything tastes the same, even if you ate dirt, and you’d have to use your spiritual power to digest it. How tragic! Though honestly, I envy you—not a chance of getting fat, no matter how much you eat!” Lin Hai taunted, picking his teeth with a toothpick.

“Damn you!” Tang Hao manifested claws, ready to lunge at Lin Hai, but Lin Fan pulled him back just in time.

“Forget it! I’ll share half with you.” Only now did Lin Fan understand Tang Hao’s sadness.

“Old man, I’m above earthly desires! Hmph! It’s tasteless, doesn’t digest, you eat it.” Tang Hao lowered his head and slipped back into Lin Fan’s body.

Lin Fan felt a pang of sympathy and grumbled, “Uncle, can’t you watch your mouth? Be careful or you’ll turn to stone one day and never get a chance to spout off again!”

Lin Hai, dissatisfied at being cursed for Tang Hao’s sake, retorted, “Screw you! Like you’re any better! Eat up so we can get moving!”

Lin Fan shot back, “Yeah, right! There you go again, your mouth is poisonous! Did you just go pick up gear?”

Lin Hai replied, “Yeah, and I gave that guy Zheng a call too.”

“Oh, Uncle, I meant to ask you back at the bar—why bring so much gear if you’re not going to use it?” Lin Fan eyed Lin Hai’s bags, puzzled.

“Eat up, you’ll find out soon enough.” Lin Hai checked his gear, urging him on.

After a night of drinking, Lin Fan was famished; he polished off the chicken legs in a flash. Licking his fingers, he said, “We’ve wrapped things up and handed them over. If we’re not heading home, where are we going? Don’t forget, there’s a tigress waiting for us at home!”

Lin Hai’s face darkened as he sighed, “Sigh, I hope I’m just overthinking it. Otherwise, this case could spiral out of control.”

Seeing Lin Hai’s grave expression, Lin Fan held his tongue and followed him into a cab headed for the outskirts.

Inside the car, Lin Hai sat frowning, lost in thought. Lin Fan, in the back, leaned towards the window, enjoying the rare peace of the city at night. The two said nothing for the entire ride.

The roads were clear, and soon the cab dropped them at the entrance of a subway station on the northern outskirts.

Getting out, the two stood side by side in the middle of the road. With no one around, Lin Fan stared at the station’s locked entrance and asked, “Uncle, what are we doing here?”

“Investigating,” Lin Hai replied.

“I thought it was over. What’s left to investigate?” Lin Fan asked, confused.

Raising an eyebrow, Lin Hai said, “Who said it’s over? Didn’t you notice, back at the bar, that the perfume on those kidnapped girls couldn’t mask the musty smell on them? Their skin was pale, their spirits dull—clearly, they’d been locked up for ages somewhere damp and sunless…”

Lin Fan cut in, “You’re telling me that’s enough to prove they were kept in the subway? Bit of a stretch, isn’t it?”

“Not entirely,” Lin Hai mused. “That old bastard bragged earlier that, while digging tunnels to move goods, they stumbled on a secret cavern. Now it’s turned into a meeting place, practically a black market, doing booming business. Damn, what luck! Really, I should have thought of it sooner—how else could so many people disappear without a trace? Only this labyrinth of underground tunnels could make that possible.”

“He gave you the address?” Lin Fan asked curiously.

Lin Hai shook his head. “No, do you take that old scoundrel for a fool?”

Lin Fan was even more puzzled. “Then how do you know it’s here?”

Lin Hai smiled. “He’s not a fool, but they’re not that clever, either. Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass at its own burrow’? That’s why we’re at the subway station farthest from them. If I’m right, it should be down here.”

“You want to wipe out their whole underground network? Take out their den, cut off their business? That’s not like you. Didn’t you just tell me to mind my own business?” Lin Fan said, though inwardly he was thrilled.

“Mind my own business? I’m not that noble! There are still some missing, and I suspect they were abducted the same way. Every day, tens of thousands vanish from this world—some to disaster, some to fate, but some are swept into a monstrous conspiracy. Don’t you want to know where they’ve all gone?” Lin Hai’s tone was unusually serious.

“Of course I do—more than anyone…” Lin Fan murmured, then stepped forward. He found the subway exit’s glass doors locked from the inside. Rattling them, he said, “But first we need to get in.”

He took a couple of steps back, ready to break in, but Lin Hai stopped him.

“Hold it! What, do you want to announce our arrival to the whole world? Step aside and use your head for once—watch me use a little skill.”

Pushing Lin Fan aside, Lin Hai grabbed both door handles and shoved. “Crash!” The sharp sound of shattering glass rang out, piercing the quiet night.

It was like a thunderclap. Lights flickered on in the nearby apartment buildings.

“Are you crazy? Wandering the streets at this hour…”

“Who the hell is making that noise? My kid’s awake and has school tomorrow…”

“Pervert! Get lost…”

“Damn it, are you rebelling? Did my sleeping pills go to waste…”

And so on.

Brushing shards from his clothes, Lin Hai took off running.

Lin Fan, hands over his ears, dashed into the subway station after him, shouting as he ran, “Damn! Now the whole world knows we’re here. For the alliance—charge!”

They’d barely descended two flights of stairs when another locked glass door blocked their way. Without missing a beat, Lin Hai barreled ahead and kicked—“Crash!”—another sharp crack echoed deep into the subway’s depths.