The underground parking garage was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. From the monster's throat came a gurgling sound, like a cat purring in its sleep. Lè Yáng clutched his chest, leaning against a stone slab not far from a pillar.
Though winded from the impact, he dared not take a deep breath. He was sure the monster was severely nearsighted, its vision definitely poor. Otherwise, why wouldn't it have seen Fatty Chuan right at its feet?
And this monster was extremely sensitive to and hated light. The two times it came for him was because the light from his phone's flashlight attracted it. The surroundings were so quiet that all he could hear was the monster moving through the gravel.
It moved very slowly, constantly searching, fumbling, and inching its way toward the small truck used for hauling fish. Lin Jing and the others hiding behind the truck heard the approaching sounds and tears of fright streamed down their faces involuntarily. Trembling, they covered their mouths with their hands, daring not to make a sound.
"Clang." The monster's head hit the small truck. It gripped the vehicle with both hands and leaped onto the hood.
Those hiding behind scrambled under the truck in terror. Only the older Zhang Lan reacted a bit slower. In addition, it was completely dark, and she couldn't see anything.
As she tried to run, she stumbled and tripped over a stone. "Ouch!" Zhang Lan lay on the ground.
Just as she was trying to get up, the monster, which had jumped off the hood, pinned her down again. The monster's feet pressed on her waist, one hand gripping her shoulder, the other holding her head. With a twist, "Crack."
A crisp sound, and Zhang Lan's head was wrenched around. Without a scream, she went limp. The monster lowered its head and bit into Zhang Lan's throat.
With a rip, it tore off a large piece of flesh. Blood gushed out. The monster's inner jaw extended.
It pierced Zhang Lan's windpipe and began to suck greedily. At this moment, only Lin Jing and Hé Yuè, who had crawled under the truck, knew what was happening. Everyone else knew someone had been caught, but they didn't know who.
Lè Yáng picked up a nearby stone and threw it towards a distant corner, hoping to distract the monster. "Bang." In the darkness, the stone unfortunately hit a load-bearing pillar not far from him.
The monster, interrupted while feeding, retracted its jaw. It shoved the small truck aside and quickly crawled over. The truck was pushed aside, revealing Lin Jing, Hé Yuè, and Lǐ Yòuzé under it.
The three of them got up and scrambled their way toward the car where Secretary Shěn was hiding. "Clink, snap." The crisp sound of a Zippo lighter.
A small flame lit up behind a load-bearing pillar not far from the fish-hauling truck. In the pitch-black underground garage, it was extremely conspicuous. Mázi, that reckless fool, for some reason lit a lighter.
Slowly, his walnut-shaped head emerged from behind the pillar. Fatty Chuan and Lè Yáng saw the monster just a few meters away from them. Both gasped, their bodies went numb, and they dared not make a sound.
Just as Lè Yáng had guessed, the monster ignored them. The moment the lighter was struck, it leaped up and pounced on Mázi. The monster first collided with the load-bearing pillar, then quickly got up and lunged at Mázi behind it.
From behind the pillar came thudding sounds. After a scream, came the gurgling sound of blood being sucked. "Mázi!"
Fatty Chuan, too stunned to react, heard his companion's scream and realized Mázi was finished. With a shout, he grabbed a large stone with rebar attached near him and charged forward. Lè Yáng couldn't hold him back; Fatty Chuan had already rushed to the pillar.
Hearing the noise behind it, the monster retracted its jaw and turned. Fatty Chuan's raised stone accurately smashed onto its head. Black and white matter splattered all over Fatty Chuan.
A piece of rebar from the stone deeply penetrated the monster's pale head. Its only eyeball, which had only white, was smashed out. Half of its skull cracked open, and black liquid spurted out.
Fatty Chuan was stunned by the sight. The fallen monster, however, extended a long tongue. It licked the black liquid flowing down its face and stood up again.
Mázi's Zippo lighter, dropped during the struggle, did not go out. It ignited the cotton jacket he was wearing. Cotton fibers ignite very easily, and the fire quickly engulfed Mázi's body.
This monster detested light. With the fire, it stopped paying attention to the stunned Fatty Chuan. It turned and desperately attacked the burning corpse of Mázi.
Lè Yáng, regaining his senses, pulled Fatty Chuan along. Using the firelight as illumination, they ran towards Secretary Shěn and Lin Jing. Secretary Shěn, with tears streaming down his face, was murmuring Zhang Lan's name.
He must have already known that his wife had just died. "The monster's eyesight must be extremely poor; it's only sensitive to light. We can't just wait here to die," "We need to find a way to lure it away.
Quickly, go detonate the Wrangler," "If we can blow open that pool, we can escape and get away from this thing," Lè Yáng supported his severely painful lower back and said with a pained expression. Fatty Chuan took out his Zippo lighter. And Hé Yuè's phone, which he had stolen earlier.
"I'll turn on the phone; the music will attract the thing. Everyone run towards the Wrangler together," "The phone's light will also distract it. It's only about 20 meters away.
Everyone, keep going!" "Fatty Chuan, you take the lighter and directly ignite the cloth strip in the Wrangler's fuel tank." "Trust me, it will notice the light and won't bother with you."
Lè Yáng took the phone, apparently intending to lure the monster away himself. At this moment, the monster had already extinguished the flames, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of burnt flesh. "Ready."
Lè Yáng turned on his phone. "Sunshine Rainbow Little White Horse, di di di di da." A self-set startup melody played.
"Run!" he commanded. Secretary Shěn, Lǐ Yòuzé, Lin Jing, Hé Yuè, and Fatty Chuan filed out.
They sprinted towards the Wrangler in the corner. Hearing the sound, the monster quickly crawled over. Reaching the truck, it leaped again and landed on the roof.
Lè Yáng turned on his phone's flashlight and threw it towards a heavily collapsed area behind them, filled with exposed, intertwined rebar. Turning, he ran along the side of the truck, chasing after the others. The monster's single remaining white eye stared at the phone's light, tracing an arc in the air.
It leaped and lunged at the phone in mid-air. "Thump, thump." As the phone fell into the pile of gravel and rebar, the monster also landed on the rebar.
Several broken rebar pieces stood upright, piercing the monster's body and trapping it. It roared incessantly, black liquid oozing out with its struggles. The monster, unwilling to be restrained, struggled desperately, reaching for the phone.
However, its trapped body couldn't reach it. Its limbs flailed wildly. It felt no pain, nor did it care that its body was being torn apart by the rebar.
Lè Yáng was only a few steps away from catching up to the last person, Fatty Chuan. Just then, he caught sight of a figure by the load-bearing pillar, leaning there, trembling. Wasn't that Fāng Yǔ, who hadn't appeared until now!