Fox Town, the factory.
It was already late at night. The workers left one after another, dragging their exhausted bodies, ready to return to their homes and rest.
Some wore excited expressions, driving straight toward the center of town.
The tourism industry had revived the town, and among the tourists who came here, there was no shortage of young, beautiful, lonely women.
To spend a romantic and passionate night with them, with no responsibility toward each other—it was incredibly tempting.
Not to mention, they had just been paid two days ago.
For one reason or another, the factory quickly emptied out, leaving only a scattered few safety inspectors still checking whether the machinery was operating properly.
After finishing their final inspection, the safety inspectors changed clothes in small groups, also preparing to clock off.
Among themselves, they talked about work, wages, and topics that every man understood.
“Today was as exhausting as ever…”
“Those sons of bitches—they’ll do anything to meet the order deadline. Safety regulations mean about as much to them as a pile of dog crap.”
“Hey, you’ve never seen what a construction site looks like.”
“Let’s go grab a proper drink after we’re done.”
“Which bar has the hottest girls? Show us the ropes, why don’t you.”
“Already got it all planned. I’ve set up a mixer with several girls today—every one of them curvy as hell.”
“Nice one, Mike. Knew you had it in you.”
“Still, I think I forgot to close the boiler valve. Any of you willing to go do it for me?”
“Jeffrey…”
The safety inspectors all said in unison, while the white young man who had been about to take off his hat hesitated, unsure whether he should refuse.
“Don’t hesitate, Jeffrey. Do me a small favor, and I’ll cover your drinks later.”
The safety inspector who had earlier bragged about taking everyone to pick up girls, seeing the white young man seemed about to refuse, immediately came over and hooked an arm around the latter’s neck, making big promises.
“A short delay won’t cause any problems. We’ll save a good girl for you—how about that?”
“Just agree, Jeffrey. We’ll text you when we get there—don’t worry about not finding the place!”
“Yeah.”
“O-Okay…”
Under the verbal onslaught, the white young man ultimately couldn’t hold his ground and agreed.
He put his hat back on, picked up the flashlight from the table, left the changing room, and headed toward the boiler room.
In the dim factory, the flashlight’s beam could only illuminate a small area.
Jeffrey had never noticed before that a path he had walked more than once during the day could become so eerie and terrifying at night.
His heartbeat grew louder and louder in this space. With every beat, his eardrums seemed to swell along with it.
It made Jeffrey extremely uncomfortable.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept past from behind!
With his nerves stretched to the limit, Jeffrey immediately spun around. The flashlight’s beam caught a figure flashing past.
“Who’s there!”
He had meant to shout at the other person to bolster his own courage, but unexpectedly, the moment the words left his mouth, his voice cracked—like a duck about to breathe its last.
Jeffrey’s question received no answer, but from the dark space, a mocking laugh suddenly rang out.
Heh heh heh…
A woman’s voice echoed in Jeffrey’s ears, but it only made him more terrified.
The figure he had seen just moments ago had clearly been a man.
Why was it a woman’s voice now?!
“Are you looking for me?”
The woman’s voice came abruptly from ahead.
Jeffrey whipped his head around and saw that in the direction he had been heading, a woman was now standing there—he didn’t know when she had appeared.
She had red-brown curly hair, deathly pale skin, a graceful figure, and beneath long legs wrapped in jeans, a pair of bare feet.
In such cold weather, she wasn’t even wearing shoes. Wasn’t she afraid of the cold?
The completely unreasonable outfit brought an unparalleled sense of wrongness and panic.
Run!
Jeffrey didn’t know why, but by the time he realized it, he was already sprinting among the many boilers.
Cold air rushed into his lungs, stabbing like needles, but he didn’t dare stop for even a moment.
The more he recalled what he had seen earlier, the more terrified he became.
A pleasant voice, a gorgeous face, a graceful figure—from any angle, the woman was a rare beauty.
If he had encountered her at school or outside, he might even have mustered the courage to approach her and offer his first-ever attempt at a pickup line.
But not here.
That was not a human—it was an extremely dangerous killer!
“Though you’re quite timid, I can tell you’re smart…”
The woman’s voice followed him like a shadow.
Jeffrey stumbled, nearly tripping outright.
She’s caught up!
Jeffrey paid no mind to anything else, squeezing every last ounce of strength from his body as he ran upward.
Besides the woman, there were other beings.
He could sense them moving swiftly through the shadows, following him at a leisurely pace.
Like a cat letting a mouse run, watching its struggles with amusement.
As the mouse, Jeffrey couldn’t help but feel despair welling up inside him, yet he could only grit his teeth and try to grasp that almost nonexistent hope of survival.
“Victoria, you still can’t change your habit of playing with your food.”
A deep male voice sounded in the darkness.
“Hunting alone is just too boring. Besides, don’t you think this prey is smarter than the others?”
The woman’s laughter was pleasant, yet it sent chills down the listener’s spine.
“People come and go in this town. If one goes missing, no one will even notice.”
“Thanks to the booming tourism, we can feast to our heart’s content.”
They walked unhurriedly, yet their speed was no different from an ordinary person running.
“How about a bet—whether he’ll dare jump from the building later? I bet he won’t.”
“What if he actually jumps? A half-dead prey tastes worse.”
“I’ll catch him. You know I’m fast.”
“James, what about you?”
“Same as Victoria.”
As the three conversed, Jeffrey had already reached the top floor of the chemical plant.
To the left stretched an endless mountain forest; to the right was a large river separated by a small hill.
Even shouting for help at the top of his lungs wouldn’t draw anyone’s attention.
But he clearly remembered that there was a pine tree near the factory building.
He could jump onto its branches and escape.
That was why he had come to the rooftop.
However, when he turned his head, he saw three figures who seemed to have been waiting there for quite some time.
Two men and one woman. The white man was shirtless; the black man wore only a jacket.
They stood there at ease, seemingly not worried at all that Jeffrey might escape.
Just as the latter put one foot on the railing, the woman who had appeared earlier blinked and was suddenly at his side, kicking him over!
“Well, it seems our little mouse does have some courage after all.”
With one foot pressing down on Jeffrey’s chest, Victoria said this—and amid her casual talk and laughter, she broke Jeffrey’s ribs!
“Now then… time to eat…”
The black man seemed to be in a good mood from winning the bet, but just as they were about to step forward—
From the sky, whistling sounds of something cutting through the air came one after another.
The three looked up simultaneously and saw a figure descending from the sky like a meteor, crashing heavily onto the hillside!
“Boom!”
The earth-shattering commotion shook the entire chemical plant and kicked up dust like an explosion.
But that wasn’t the end.
The figure, whose true face couldn’t be seen clearly, seemed to be standing on something, sliding all the way down from the mountaintop, shattering countless boulders along the way.
Debris flew everywhere, piercing through the large trees on both sides and leaving them unrecognizably wrecked!
Finally, the figure came to a stop right below the chemical plant.
Victoria and the other two exchanged glances, seeing the gravity in each other’s eyes.
They no longer had the leisurely, effortless gait they had shown when dealing with Jeffrey. In an instant, they reached the edge of the tall building and leaned over the railing to look down.
The rolling dust gradually dispersed.
And there, a black-haired young man was standing on a shapeless lump of black flesh.
Judging from its outline, one could vaguely make out that it seemed to be some kind of humanoid creature.
