Monster

The lightless alley was exceptionally quiet. Stepping into it felt like being instantly severed from the original world; all the clamor and bustle vanished in a heartbeat.

The chilly air, combined with the peculiar foul odor of the alley, triggered an instinctive unease—as if falling into the gaping maw of a pitch-black giant beast. There was an urge to flee immediately.

An ordinary person would likely have quickened their pace to leave, but Su Mian did not. In fact, after walking a few steps, she stopped.

Her eyes, faintly glowing red, scanned the surroundings. The pitch-black environment failed to affect her; the power originating from the demonic part of her body not only granted her eyes the ability to see minute traces but also helped her essentially ignore the darkness.

Turning around, the girl could clearly see the tall, thin man standing five or six meters away.

The man, who had appeared there soundlessly, looked terrifying, but Su Mian wasn’t frightened. She merely frowned slightly and said, “You’ve been following me all day. From the morning to school, from school to my house, and now you’ve followed me all this way. What exactly do you want? Are you a stalker?”

The man did not respond.

His face was a blur in the darkness. He stood there silently, lacking even a hint of the warmth a human should possess, looking much like a zombie.

This unsettling situation made Su Mian increasingly vigilant.

Just as she had said, she had noticed someone following her since the morning. After taking a break between classes to consult her other self, she had received a definitive confirmation. However, the other party hadn’t followed closely, staying far behind, so she hadn’t known who it was. At first, she thought it might be that strange police officer or someone related to him, but now it looked nothing like that.

While Su Mian was debating whether to flee immediately or use some power to knock this man down first, the zombie-like man finally spoke.

“Your eyes… are… very… beautiful…”

His voice was exceptionally raspy, as if he hadn’t spoken for a very, very long time. It was halting and jerky; just listening to it was a form of torture.

Su Mian felt uncomfortable, not only because of the voice but also because of the eerie content.

“My eyes are beautiful?”

She didn’t deny it, but the man clearly wasn’t complimenting her. Immediately after, he continued: “Yes, so they will become my… new collection…”

“…”

Well then, not a stalker, but a psycho!

The lines, sounding like a psychopathic killer from a movie, left Su Mian speechless, and she instantly realized he meant her harm.

And indeed, he did.

THUD!!

Before his voice had even faded, the man lunged, his foot slamming into the ground as his body shot forward.

He crossed the five or six-meter safety gap in less than a second!

This explosive power, far beyond what a normal person should possess, stunned Su Mian for a moment. Furthermore, having no actual fighting experience, her brain failed to react in time.

Fortunately, the demonic power covering her eyes allowed her to catch the man’s instantaneous movement. Her seemingly petite body actually harbored strength far exceeding that of an ordinary human. At the final moment, the girl reacted, stepping back and narrowly dodging the man’s reaching hand.

Up close, she could see that the hand looked completely different from a human’s. The skin was shriveled, clinging tightly to the bone; it was pale and colorless, appearing devoid of flesh, and the black fingernails were exceptionally sharp.

Su Mian dodged the claw, but her jacket was torn in several places. She felt very fortunate that she wasn’t in her previous “Big Thunder” (large-chested) form; otherwise, with that one swipe, she might have lost several ounces of flesh!

Steadying herself, Su Mian grew angry.

“You said you wanted my eyes, but your first move was for my chest? Do your eyes grow on your chest?”

In her anger, the girl lashed out with a kick toward the man’s abdomen. However, this heavy, powerful kick failed to knock him down or even make him retreat.

The man merely swayed slightly before stabilizing. His body was hard as stone. He seized the opportunity to grab Su Mian’s calf and yanked hard, making her stumble. While she was off-balance, he swung a roundhouse kick!

BANG!

With her leg trapped and nowhere to hide, Su Mian was kicked directly through the air, slamming into the nearby wall.

She let out a muffled groan. Her back and head throbbed with pain from the impact, and her waist felt a tearing sensation. Her vision blurred momentarily, but before she could react, the zombie-like figure took two strides and swung his foot in another kick.

Left with no choice, Su Mian endured the pain and dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the kick at the last possible second.

It was lucky she dodged; in the next second, the man’s foot shattered the wall behind her, plowing a deep furrow into the stone!

Stones flew and hit her, finally confirming to Su Mian that this guy definitely wasn’t a normal human. But was he a Fiend? A Demon? Or something else?

Obviously, there was no time to think about that now.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed off the ground and stood up, backing away to create distance. For the first time, she felt that being a “straight-A student” all her life had its downsides. Because she had never been in a real fight, she was full of openings and had no idea how to strike. As a result, she had been beaten into this pathetic state in just a few moves.

When I get back, I’m definitely signing up for a training class!

Wait, are there even classes that teach you how to fight for real?

Su Mian didn’t know. She only knew she couldn’t hold back anymore, or she might actually be beaten to death by this thing. This guy’s killing intent was the real deal.

Finally, the girl made up her mind.

You forced me!

In an instant, her pupils began to turn crimson. Her short black hair, no longer restrained by the fallen baseball cap, began to turn silver-white from the roots.

But at that very moment…

“BANG!!”

A gunshot rang out. It not only stopped Su Mian from awakening her other self but also caused the man rushing toward her to freeze as a spray of blood erupted from the center of his forehead!

The man in front of her fell heavily due to the momentum. Su Mian was stunned; her eyes and hair instantly reverted to normal. She subconsciously looked toward the source of the shot.

At the entrance of the alley, not too far behind her, a young man in black clothes stood there, expressionlessly lowering a handgun that was still smoking.

Seeing Su Mian look at him, he didn’t ask questions or say much, simply stating coldly: “This guy is dangerous. He’s not someone you can handle. Get outside.”

The girl looked at the youth at the alley entrance with surprise. Looking at that familiar yet strange face, she truly hadn’t expected to run into him again!

But Su Mian certainly couldn’t greet Jiang Xun. She knew his identity was a police officer, which meant he was likely an “esper” from an official organization. She didn’t want to have contact with the authorities yet, and she definitely didn’t want to expose her secret. Despite her many questions about tonight’s absurd situation, she decided to leave first.

However, just as Su Mian was hesitating whether it was truly safe to walk past Officer Jiang, she realized something was wrong with what he just said.

Wait… wasn’t that man just shot in the head?

She subconsciously turned back to look, just in time to see the man who had been shot squarely between the eyes slowly crawling back up. He appeared completely fine—well, aside from having a bloody hole in his head.

“…”

What kind of monster is this?