Chapter 143: Sharp Fangs

There is nothing particularly unusual about the haunted house; it is just a normal amusement venue.

It takes barely any time to walk through, yet why did such a place require visitors to register their ID cards before entering?

As I came out, I glanced over at the ticket booth and found that the girl I had clashed with earlier was gone, replaced by a young man.

Yin Cheng was in no mood for sightseeing. Emerging from the haunted house, he scanned the surrounding crowd anxiously.

It was as if he expected Xiaoxiao to step out from the throng at any second and embrace him.

"Hey, I'm going to make a call. You look around here, and if you find the person who took your photo earlier, let me know."

Without waiting for a response, I ignored Yin Cheng, found a quiet corner, took out my phone, sent a photo to Wang Zihao, and called him.

The call connected almost immediately. "Hao Ge, did you get the picture? Help me look into it, and see specifically if there's any connection to the Cicada Society."

Wang Zihao agreed readily. Just as I hung up and turned around, I ran straight into Yin Cheng's tense, anxious face.

"What are you doing?"

"Jiang Huai... I—I saw the person who took the photo of me and Xiaoxiao! Could he be the one who took her?"

Without answering, I looked in the direction he was pointing.

All I saw was a man in his forties with a buzz cut, wearing oversized shorts, deeply tanned from the sun, with an old-fashioned Polaroid camera hanging around his neck.

He was currently taking a picture for a couple who had come to visit the attraction.

"Alright... good... sir, step in a little closer, yes, right there... perfect!"

The photo printed out quickly. After handing it to the couple and collecting his payment, he walked away in a satisfying direction with a content expression.

Even when others called out to him for a photo along the way, he acted as though he hadn't heard them.

"Stop staring. Let's follow him and see. This old fellow moves pretty fast, snapping two pictures back-to-back."

After a brief thought, I added, "If I'm not mistaken, he's probably taking those photos to hand over to someone specific."

"Why would he do that?!"

I told Yin Cheng that it was because the person who had abducted his partner now had a new target, and they were about to make a move on one of the individuals in the couple we had just seen.

Hearing this, Yin Cheng looked around frantically, picked up a sturdy wooden stick from the ground, and prepared to charge forward. I quickly grabbed him to hold him back.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm going to demand Xiaoxiao back from him!"

"You're out of your mind!" I shot Yin Cheng an exasperated, sideways glance. "Look, Brother Cheng, you're older than me, so why are you so utterly lacking in maturity and composure? If you run up to him demanding people now, do you think he won't think you're a lunatic?"

Before Yin Cheng could reply, I snatched the wooden stick from his hand and strode after the middle-aged man.

After taking a couple of steps, I noticed Yin Cheng hadn't followed. With a silent sigh of frustration, I turned back and waved at him. "Hurry up and catch up."

Yin Cheng didn't utter a single word as he trailed behind me. We followed the middle-aged man all the way to a single-story brick house situated at the very edge of the village.

Though we hadn't gone inside, a cacophony of loud noises spilled out from within.

There were the sounds of people playing cards and drinking, punctuated by the occasional shrill laughter of women.

After pondering for a moment, I turned around and instructed Yin Cheng not to wander off blindly, telling him to head back if anything felt amiss.

As for me, I intended to go inside and investigate. With that, I unclipped the body-worn recorder from my backpack and pinned it to my chest.

I flipped the switch, confirming it was operational. Just as I was about to move, Yin Cheng asked me who on earth I was and why I possessed a law enforcement recorder. I merely offered a faint smile and kept my silence.

"You can wait for me here. The moment you feel something is wrong, head back, understand?"

Yin Cheng demonstrated with his actions that I didn't need to worry about him.

The moment my voice trailed off, he turned on his heel and walked back in the direction of the guesthouse.

This fellow certainly knew how to take a hint.

Spitting out a mouthful of dust, I adjusted the straps of my double-shoulder backpack, pulled out a telescopic baton, twirled it in my hand, and strode toward the compound.

Outside the house was a small courtyard enclosed by a low wall barely taller than myself, making it effortless for me to vault over.

However, the moment my feet touched the ground, I landed squarely in front of the very same middle-aged man who had been taking photographs earlier.

He was relieving himself!

A person dropping out of the sky startled him so badly that his bladder instantly constricted.

As he snapped back to his senses and opened his mouth to yell, I lunged forward, clamped a hand over his mouth, and slammed him hard against the wall.

"If you dare make a sound, I'll smash your skull open!"

Any oblivious bystander witnessing this scene would undoubtedly have assumed I was the ruthless criminal.

I tapped lightly against his head with the tip of my baton, and he nodded obediently.

Pressing my lips together, I asked, "Where is Lin Feng?"

He shook his head.

With a roll of my eyes, I tried another question: "How many people have you abducted?"

He shook his head again. I fired off three or four more questions in succession, but the fellow didn't nod once.

"Forget it, I won't bother asking you then!"

Using the butt end of the telescopic baton, I struck him squarely on the crown of his head. The middle-aged man's eyes rolled back, his legs went limp, and he collapsed straight to the ground.

Taking a deep breath, I turned my gaze toward the house. Judging by the noise echoing from within, there had to be at least seven or eight people inside.

Just as I prepared to step forward, my phone rang—it was Wang Zihao.

"Jiang Huai... did you... did you send the wrong picture?"

How could I have sent the wrong picture? Was there a problem?

"What did you find out?"

Through the phone, I could hear Wang Zihao swallowing nervously. "The woman in the photo you sent me... she went missing a year ago, and her body was found by the river half a month ago. I remember her family coming in to file a report three days ago, saying her corpse had been stolen..."

Hearing those words, I froze completely. Before I could utter a sound, I felt a sensation as though something was gently blowing a breath against the nape of my neck, raising goosebumps all over my scalp.

"Jiang Huai? Jiang Huai?" Nn
No matter how urgently Wang Zihao shouted through the phone, I could not respond.

I stood rooted to the spot, slowly lowering the phone while regulating my breathing.

At that exact moment, a pair of hands slowly reached around from behind me and wrapped tightly around my chest.

My eyes widened in shock. Seizing the fleeting window of opportunity, I spun around and swung the baton downward without a moment's hesitation.

Thud!

With a dull, heavy impact, the baton struck the middle-aged man squarely on the head. I had put my full strength into the blow, bending the metal of the baton itself!

Yet the middle-aged man, who had suddenly regained consciousness, acted as though nothing had happened at all. He simply grinned back at me with a chilling smile!

Leaping backward, I stared at him in utter bewilderment and blurted out, "You... you're not human..."

The middle-aged man chuckled grimly, casually brushing the dust off his head. "Have you ever seen a non-human creature needing to use the restroom?"

That, admittedly, was true.

"Though, I suppose I truly am no longer human anymore. Right now, I am a Corpse Fiend!"

With a horrific shriek, he leaped violently into the air and lunged straight at me.

His speed was far too fast; there was no time left for me to dodge to the side.

I could only brace myself as he tackled me to the ground. The creature straddled my chest, feeling as heavy as a thousand-ton boulder, crushing the breath right out of my lungs!

He threw his jaws wide, let out a piercing howl, and I watched in horror as two razor-sharp fangs protruded grotesquely from his mouth!

"Today is your dying day!"