Time slipped away, with each passing second bringing the sun closer to the horizon, marking the approach of dusk.
Beads of sweat trickled down Gao Cheng’s forehead as he clutched the steering wheel with one hand, his other hand delving into his pocket. Just as he was about to retrieve something, his hand paused midway, revealing the edge of the pink handkerchief before tucking it back in, while stealing a glance at Fang Chen.
The car ahead came to a stop, and Gao Cheng followed suit. After pulling over, he stepped out of the car, with Fang Chen lightly trailing behind. Right then, Gao Cheng felt an inexplicable wave of anxiety wash over him, prompting him to turn and steal another glance at Fang Chen before looking away again.
“It’s getting dark,” Wang Huiwen said in a somewhat numb manner. How many times had darkness fallen? They had lost count; all they knew was they had to drive, to escape, to flee to another city—no one wished to stay any longer in the deserted city haunted by man-eating monsters.
They discussed, but ultimately reached no conclusion. Fang Chen stood silently to the side the entire time. Because of the previous incident, Zhang Rui had no desire to speak with Fang Chen, and neither did Wang Huiwen. Gao Cheng, too, cast several glances at Fang Chen but remained silent.
In the end, they still opted to head to the hotel before nightfall. While en route this time, Zhang Rui and Gao Cheng were on a call with each other. Fang Chen listened with a bowed head as he heard Wang Huiwen remark over the phone, “Come to think of it, we haven’t encountered those things in the past two nights.” Naturally, she was referring to those Malevolences.
“Really? I slept through both nights, so I didn’t know a thing,” Gao Cheng said, glancing at Fang Chen once again. He felt that there must be something Fang Chen knew that they didn’t.
In spite of that, Fang Chen said nothing.
Then again, of course, they hadn’t encountered those Malevolences—”someone” was protecting them from the shadows after all. This was something Fang Chen was well aware of. Just as he leaned back against the car seat, he snapped his eyes open upon a realization—on the night they were at the hotel, Nie Shi and Qiao Ran appeared simultaneously… So, who was watching over Zhang Rui and Wang Huiwen at that time?
The car suddenly came to a halt, catching Fang Chen off guard as he lurched forward, feeling something drop from his chest and plummet down the cliffside. It wasn’t until he fell back onto the seat that he steadied himself again.
“…Are you alright?” Gao Cheng asked.
“What?” Fang Chen’s eyes widened considerably, a hint of panic reflected in his slightly lighter-toned pupils; his expression appeared much more vivid than before. “I’m fine.” He looked ahead, watching as the couple had already got out of the car and entered a hotel with a sign that read “New Night.”
Beside him, Gao Cheng let out a sound of surprise and muttered, “Huh, what a coincidence. This place has the same name as a bar I’ve been to.”
Fang Chen raised his head. The murky sky, accompanied by the dimly lit signboard with its dusty small round hanging lamps, devoid of any shred of light, appeared as if it hadn’t been visited by anyone in ages—perhaps already closed down and out of business for good. Yet, the door stood ajar, silently welcoming and beckoning them inside.
No one thought anything strange about it, not even Fang Chen.
The couple had already vanished inside. Gao Cheng took a step forward and entered too, followed by Fang Chen. Before the door closed, Fang Chen paused for a few seconds to peer outside. Through the transparent glass door, the empty street echoed with the rustling of dense green leaves on both sides, stirred by the wind.
As the door closed, silence enveloped everything—only the swaying trees remained visible, their rustling unheard.
Fang Chen stole one last glance before turning and joining the others.
The couple consciously chose a room for themselves, while Gao Cheng and Fang Chen took another. The hotel was quite dilapidated, emitting a musty odour upon opening the door. However, the curtains were new and stylish, coloured in burgundy, providing ample shade from the sunlight.
Gao Cheng deliberately approached and pulled them, feeling the texture with his hands, then joked, “Don’t tell me this is a lover’s suite?” He turned around and glanced at Fang Chen, who stood at the door lost in thought, his gaze distant, his lips pale and somewhat wan.
Gao Cheng shuddered and couldn’t help but called out again, “Fang Chen?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Fang Chen snapped back to reality. “Hmm?”
Gao Cheng tugged at the curtains. “A lover’s suite?”
Fang Chen glanced into the room and scanned around, “Two beds.”
“Oh, right.” Gao Cheng chuckled dryly, still eyeing at Fang Chen’s direction with unease.
“What’s up?” Fang Chen noticed.
Gao Cheng gulped, moving behind Fang Chen to close the door.
There were only the two of them in the dimly lit room.
Gao Cheng rubbed his hands, speaking out after much hesitation, “There’s no one else here, Fang Chen. So, tell me honestly, is Nie Shi… dead?”
A trace of helplessness flashed in Fang Chen’s eyes as he lightly took a small step back. He genuinely detested hearing that word— “dead”.
How did Nie Shi die?
Fang Chen looked down at his own hands, his fingers slightly curled. “…Mm, he’s dead,” he uttered, his eyes fixed on the ground without blinking.
Gao Cheng was rendered speechless, and Fang Chen dropped another bombshell.
“Qiao Ran is dead too.”
Gao Cheng’s eyes widened.
What Fang Chen said wasn’t wrong; Nie Shi and Qiao Ran had indeed died long ago, and here they remained, watching over the sinners who would then meet their end by the hand of their own sins.
Gao Cheng felt around the bed, found a spot, and sat down, his unease growing even stronger. “Did you witness it?”
Festered skin, detached flesh, exposed skeletal hands…
They were rotting.
If these were the things Gao Cheng was referring to, then yes, Fang Chen had indeed seen them all.
As a result, he hesitated momentarily before nodding.
Gao Cheng’s expression twisted. “Was it the doing of those things?” Did those Malevolences kill them?
No. It was obvious Fang Chen didn’t know how to lie. He nodded but shook his head afterwards, finally offering a vague deflection, “They… feast on humans.”
It was eating humans.
After uttering those words, Fang Chen’s mind flashed with blurry images—light and shadows intertwining in the stairwell, the elevator incessantly chiming, and a withered and frail “person.”
That was the beginning of everything.
On the first night in the residential building, he pushed open the door and witnessed the Malevolence feeding on someone.
It was feeding on… who?
Fang Chen’s mind went blank momentarily, followed by a sudden jolt through his entire body.
It was his neighbour.
It was the same neighbour who greeted him that morning!
Nie Shi came into the picture later, seamlessly woven into their memories afterwards!
His neighbour was eaten by the Malevolence. Those pools of flesh blood splattered on the floor and the sound of chewing—all of them were real.
Fang Chen’s pupils dilated gradually. He felt a throbbing pain in his eyes, unable to move a muscle, frozen in place.
Unlike Fang Chen, Gao Cheng, however, wouldn’t delve further into the matter. Upon hearing Fang Chen’s account, he naturally assumed that both Nie Shi and Qiao Ran had fallen prey to the Malevolences. He fell silent, choosing not to inquire further.
He probably understood why Fang Chen had been acting so sluggishly now. Anyone witnessing such a horrifying scene would be paralysed with fear, even after narrowly escaping death.
Night descended again, and as expected, Gao Cheng fell into another deep slumber. Sitting down and then rising, Fang Chen glanced at Gao Cheng, who lay sprawled awkwardly on the bed. After looking for a while, he retrieved the dagger fastened on his waist, turned, and headed towards the door.
The surroundings were silent. Fang Chen gently closed the door, approached the adjacent room, pressed his ear against the door only to hear nothing coming from the neighbouring couple’s room.
Moonlight streamed in through the windows, casting its glow upon the ends of his hair and half of his face. There was movement from around the corner, catching Fang Chen’s attention. As he glanced up, he met the gaze of the Malevolence poking its head out for a look.
The proximity between them left Fang Chen unable to react in time. The Malevolence made the first move, lunging towards him and knocking him down to the floor.
Fang Chen’s back slammed against the ground, pain shooting through him, prompting him to shut his eyes. His hands moved subconsciously to protect his face while he thrust his dagger outwards. His leg rose instinctively to deliver a strong kick, causing the Malevolence to directly topple over, emitting a strange whimper, accompanied by the sound of bones cracking. The entire sequence unfolded rapidly, and Fang Chen didn’t have the time to think. His mind remained blank as he flipped over and stood up on his feet, seeing the Malevolence also struggling to rise with its back to him.
His mind was empty; without any thought, he plunged the dagger into it.
This wasn’t his first time killing a Malevolence.
Faint and fragmented silver light spilt onto Fang Chen’s hair, dyeing it a slightly deeper chestnut hue. Emotions surged to their peak, leaving him numb to thought; his somewhat light eyes were hollow, untouched by any emotional stirrings.
Yet, his hands were trembling. He couldn’t even muster enough strength to even pull out the dagger lodged within the Malevolence. Discomfort and revulsion churned in his stomach.
This time, his thrust struck true, plunging into the Malevolence‘s chest with precision, reducing it to ashes and ensnaring himself within in the process. As the dagger fell and clattered to the floor, Fang Chen followed, dropping to his knees.
Time slipped away unbeknownst to him—mere seconds, perhaps. Fang Chen moved his arm, and a drop of blood fell, then another, followed by a third…
He couldn’t pinpoint when a long, thin gash had appeared on his arm. Fresh blood trickled down slowly. What was initially numb gradually grew more painful as he became aware of it.
He didn’t manage to evade its attack.
What would happen if he was scratched by a Malevolence?
Fang Chen slowly got up and lifted his head, letting his arm hang down as blood flowed to his wrist, streaming down the back of his hand and dripping off his fingertips. He turned his head and cast a glance down the dark hallway, where a gaping maw, akin to the abyss, seemed to devour everything. A red speck materialized at the hallway’s end, then vanished in the blink of an eye. Before Fang Chen could investigate further, the door behind him suddenly creaked open.
He spun around sharply, catching sight of Gao Cheng, who had previously dozed off, stumbling towards him. His clothes were dishevelled, exposing half of his protruding belly. Scratching his head and then his thigh, with bleary eyes, he mumbled, “Restroom, where’s the restroom…”
“What’s up with you?” Fang Chen reached out to stop Gao Cheng, only to sense there was something behind him. A chill crept up his heels, prompting him to whirl around, yet all that greeted him was the emptiness of the dark hallway.
Gao Cheng shook off his hand and wandered to the far end of the hallway, disappearing into the unknown depths. A corner of the pink handkerchief protruded from his pocket, swaying with his movements.
Fang Chen remained rooted in place, hesitating briefly before picking up the dagger from the floor and following behind Gao Cheng. Despite the continued trickle of blood from his arm, each drop forming a winding path, Fang Chen appeared numb to the sensation.
From Yunz:
Loving all of your speculations 
Though, I’m gonna zip my mouth and not spoil anything, and just let the story unfold itself and reveal everything to you.
Also, in case some of you aren’t in CG discord and missed the announcement, starting from this week, updates will change to once a week~ I’ve been quite busy with work these past few weeks and haven’t been able to translate much, so my stockpile is dwindling So, at least with 1x/week, you guys will still be fed, albeit with one less chapter per week.
Please bear with me as I try my best to keep up with the translation There may be a few occasions where I’ll post 2 chapters if I manage to complete extra work~ Hopefully, we’ll return to the usual release rate soon, so until then, I seek your understanding Thank you~
take your time yunz! thanks for the chapter!! <33
Thanks for your understanding~ ❤️ (*つ▽`)っ