Chen Xuanqiu was utterly unprepared for such a blatant disregard for any code of conduct. The assailant drew a gun and immediately began firing, a relentless ‘BIUBIUBIU’ barrage.
So startled was she that she forgot to even duck, simply staring foolishly as the shots rained down.
“Ah!”
Xiao Tong shrieked, instantly diving beneath the workbench.
Ni Shanshan, by sheer reflex, lunged towards Chen Xuanqiu. Yet, this instinctive act, while a testament to her kindness, was utterly futile. Even if the distance had been halved, she could never have outpaced a bullet.
‘Am I truly going to die like this?’
Chen Xuanqiu thought, a foolish daze clouding her mind. After experiencing soul transmigration, gender transformation, and demonic possession—such an array of bizarre events—she had always imagined her death would be grand, unprecedented, something truly legendary. Never had she conceived of such an anticlimactic, inexplicable end, and a profound sense of injustice welled within her.
Just then, several inky-black tentacles suddenly pierced through the ceiling above. They descended, aligning themselves in a formidable barrier directly in front of Chen Xuanqiu.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
The rapidly fired bullets, upon contact with the tentacles, seemed to plunge into a mire. They instantly lost all momentum, hovering suspended in the air.
Chen Xuanqiu could only stare blankly, her mind utterly incapable of processing the information her eyes relayed. Why were these three people trying to kill her? And why were these black tentacles, in turn, saving her?
By this point, Ni Shanshan had rushed forward, pulling Chen Xuanqiu down without a word, leaving no time for questions or even a glance.
Chen Xuanqiu crouched, yet her eyes remained fixed on the tentacles protruding from the ceiling. A nagging feeling persisted that she had seen them somewhere before.
“What’s going on?”
A man’s voice echoed from beyond the workbench.
Simultaneously, the tentacles whipped violently. The suspended bullets, like streaks of lightning, shot back towards their origin.
“Thwack… thwack…”
The distinct sounds of flesh being pierced reverberated through the air.
“Thump… thump…”
Then, Chen Xuanqiu heard three dull thuds as bodies hit the floor. Outside, an unsettling silence descended.
“Xiao Qiu, are you alright?”
Ni Shanshan anxiously scrutinized Chen Xuanqiu from head to toe.
“I’m fine.”
Having undergone considerable trials recently, Chen Xuanqiu’s courage had grown significantly. She cautiously rose to her feet, only to see three gunmen sprawled on the ground. Their bodies resembled punctured sandbags, continuously oozing blood.
Chen Xuanqiu exhaled a slight breath of relief. Yet, at that very moment, a tiny figure suddenly descended through the ceiling. It resembled a hairless suckling pig, its small body pale and continuously bleeding. The colossal tentacles she had seen earlier were formed from the dark mist swirling around it.
‘An Infant Spirit? Why would it save me?’
Chen Xuanqiu was utterly dumbfounded. Even in her wildest dreams, she had never imagined such a terrifying entity would become her lifeline.
“What in the world just happened?”
Ni Shanshan, upon seeing the three men lying dead, was equally perplexed.
In just a brief moment, the three gunmen ceased their convulsions. Three translucent souls could be seen drifting out of their bodies.
It was Chen Xuanqiu’s first time witnessing someone die before her, and also her first time seeing a soul depart a body. The sheer impact of these sights left her utterly bewildered, leaving her no capacity to explain anything to Ni Shanshan.
In Chen Xuanqiu’s line of sight, the Infant Spirit’s black tentacles shot out like lightning, then coiled around the three drifting souls.
“What is this thing? Help me!”
“Ah! Help! I don’t want to die!”
“It hurts! It’s strangling me!”
****
The three souls began to emit piercing screams. Under the crushing grip of the massive black tentacles, they were kneaded like dough, quickly transforming into small, spherical objects.
The Infant Spirit retracted its black tentacles, then, as if consuming candy, tossed the three soul-orbs into its mouth.
“Waaah… waaah… Mama…”
After devouring its “candy,” the Infant Spirit paid Chen Xuanqiu no mind. It then vanished, still crying, into the hallway.
“That’s strange. Weren’t they just shooting at you? How did they end up getting shot themselves?”
Ni Shanshan asked, her voice laced with lingering fear as she gazed at the three corpses on the floor.
‘The Infant Spirit. Why did it save me?’
Chen Xuanqiu didn’t reply, for at that moment, this single question consumed her thoughts.
“Tong Jie! Stop hiding, they’re all dead,”
Ni Shanshan turned her head and called out to Xiao Tong, who was still under the workbench.
“Waaah… waaah… it was terrifying… they had guns.”
Xiao Tong didn’t stand up; instead, she dissolved into tears.
“Oh, dear.”
Ni Shanshan was at a loss, left with no choice but to try and comfort her.
‘Why did these people want to kill me?’
Chen Xuanqiu’s emotions had somewhat calmed. She directed her gaze back to the three corpses, but no matter how much she pondered, no answers emerged. She couldn’t recall ever offending anyone.
‘Wait! How could I have forgotten about that?’
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Chen Xuanqiu. She remembered how Fu Yao had lost his keys some time ago, and when she touched his blood, she had seen glimpses of his past. Now, she realized, she could certainly try the same method.
Chen Xuanqiu gritted her teeth, then began walking towards the three bodies.
“It’s alright now, come out. I need to go tell the security guards; you stay with Xiao Qiu.”
Ni Shanshan was busy comforting her sobbing colleague, and thus paid no attention to Chen Xuanqiu’s peculiar actions.
Chen Xuanqiu knelt beside one of the corpses. It was a middle-aged man wearing sunglasses. Having been struck by multiple bullets, blindingly red blood seeped from beneath him, slowly spreading outwards like a breached dam.
Chen Xuanqiu knew she had to uncover the truth, or she would live the rest of her life in constant fear. Steeling herself, she gritted her teeth and extended her fair index finger into the vivid red blood.
The blood, having just left the body, was still warm and felt distinctly sticky to the touch.
At that very instant, the warm current within Chen Xuanqiu’s body surged to her fingertip, much like a kitten catching the scent of fish. It began to greedily absorb the blood.
The blood on the ground visibly diminished, drawn into Chen Xuanqiu’s fingertip. As she wished, she began to see the man’s past: first today, then yesterday, then the day before. It was like a film rewinding, and the more blood her finger absorbed, the further back in time she could see. The only drawback was that the visions were fragmented and incomplete.
****
The first truly useful scene unfolded two days prior. The three men before her were inquiring about Chen Xuanqiu’s identity from Li Auntie.
The second scene took place in an unfinished building, where the trio had tied up Haiford, extracting information about Chen Xuanqiu’s origins.
Following this was the third and most distant scene, occurring in the early hours of the day after Chen Xuanqiu’s escape.
Under the dim cloak of night, the Man in Sunglasses led a squad of over a dozen individuals, stealthily advancing along a suburban road in Dengtai City.
“Boss, our target should be that abandoned factory up ahead.”
Shan Zhu, corpulent and beside him, replied.
“Everyone, prepare yourselves,” the Man in Sunglasses commanded, his gaze fixed on the hazy factory in the distance. “Once inside, shoot anyone you see. Leave no survivors, especially not the ‘experimental subject.’ If she escapes, the organization will never forgive us.”
His subordinates nodded in unison, then swiftly drew their silenced pistols.
With that, the group swarmed into the abandoned factory’s basement, opening fire on sight.
After a brutal massacre, the Man in Sunglasses counted the bodies, only to discover no trace of the experimental subject.
“How is this possible? Where did she run off to?”
The Man in Sunglasses screamed, almost mad with frustration.
“Boss, don’t rush,” the short-haired youth beside him suggested. “This factory belongs to that boss, Hai. Why don’t we just go ask him?”
****
Chen Xuanqiu watched the Man in Sunglasses’ past unfold in a rapid, almost superficial, reverse sequence. Suddenly, the images in her mind vanished. She looked closely, realizing the blood on the ground had disappeared. Conversely, the warm current at her fingertip had significantly increased in volume.
Chen Xuanqiu felt no joy from this growth. She had just witnessed, firsthand, the brutal shooting of Wei Shoutai and his grandson.
“Good riddance! I never imagined it was you cold-blooded beasts who murdered Wei Shoutai and his grandson.”
Chen Xuanqiu stared at the three corpses and smiled, yet tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
“Xiao Qiu, what’s wrong?”
Ni Shanshan, hearing the commotion, rose from behind the workbench.
“It’s nothing.”
Chen Xuanqiu wiped away her tears, a look of profound relief spreading across her face. She smiled, knowing she had finally found a vital clue, and that her path to revenge was now clear.
“Aren’t you scared? Come over here quickly.”
Ni Shanshan, seeing Chen Xuanqiu still crouching beside the bodies, urged her with concern.
Not wanting to appear too unusual, Chen Xuanqiu obediently stood up.
“You stay here for now. I’m going to call security.”
Ni Shanshan instructed, then headed downstairs.
Chen Xuanqiu recalled the growth of the warm current at her fingertip. ‘Could blood help this thing grow?’ she wondered. To test her theory, she moved to the other two corpses and began “absorbing blood.” As she glimpsed their memories, the warm current within her body indeed expanded rapidly.
After absorbing most of the blood beneath the remaining two corpses, Chen Xuanqiu discovered that the warm current within her body had more than doubled in size, growing from four or five centimeters to over ten. Her only regret was that the scenes she witnessed were too fragmented. She found no further useful clues, such as the organization these three belonged to, the identity of their superior, or the ultimate reason for their attempt on her life.
Just then, a flurry of footsteps echoed from the corridor. Chen Xuanqiu quickly stood upright.