“Little Light, compare the subtle changes in the field of view and make a mark.”
“Little Light, received.”
Su Hao turned back to check once more.
“Comparison successful.”
In his field of vision, Little Light marked several locations with red circles, some large and some small, extending from a distance to the nearest tree.
Su Hao scanned the tree’s location with the corner of his eye and immediately spotted a strange being. It hung from a small tree branch like a bat, its hands crossed over its chest, partly hidden by leaves and swaying gently with the branch’s movement.
If it weren’t for Little Light’s detailed comparison, Su Hao would never have noticed the hidden figure in the tree.
Although he only glanced at it, with Little Light’s help, Su Hao could clearly see the creature’s appearance.
It appeared humanoid but was quite different from the Zhu Huo Ren. It had a large amount of black fur on its pointed ears, making them look oversized. A small fleshy lump protruded from the tip of its nose, and two sharp fangs extended from its upper jaw, resting on its lower lip. Its folded hands had a thin membrane that connected all the way down to its knees, resembling a human-shaped bat.
“What is this thing?” Su Hao muttered as he walked, avoiding the hiding spot and moving in another direction.
There were no other people around, and the strange being seemed patient, waiting for complete darkness to fall.
Su Hao speculated that the eerie nights in Siling City were undoubtedly related to this strange being, but he couldn’t understand why this creature had targeted him. Did it prefer to prey on defenseless children like him?
Su Hao found a corner and sat down, leaning against the wall, curling up as if asleep. However, he kept his eyes half-closed, observing the strange being’s every move, with his short spear ready to deliver a fatal blow.
The creature liked to hang upside down high in the air like an ornament, blending into the darkness and making it almost impossible to spot.
Half an hour later, as the sky turned completely dark, the creature moved. It released its grip on the branch and began a free fall. It then spread thin wings and glided silently toward Su Hao. Throughout the glide, there was no sound.
When the creature was within three meters, Su Hao suddenly opened his eyes. He catapulted himself into the air.
In the dark night, they locked eyes for a moment.
The two figures crossed paths.
“Swish!”
“Crack!”
“Boom!”
The red glow on Su Hao dimmed, and the short spear disappeared from his hand, reappearing in the creature’s neck, piercing it straight through and snapping the spine.
At the moment the spear pierced its spine, the creature lost consciousness, but its body continued to twitch uncontrollably. After a while, it finally stopped moving.
During the brief encounter earlier, Su Hao used his ‘Barrier’ to block the creature’s claw attack and thrust the short spear into its throat, delivering a lethal blow.
His elite blood energy could only be used to draw a single rune. Still, that one rune was more than enough.
Su Hao cautiously approached the creature, carefully observing its bizarre body structure. While it might look like a strange being, it had already transcended the human category, resembling more of a bat-like creature.
He didn’t know if there were other creatures lurking in the darkness, so he had to leave this place as soon as possible.
Su Hao removed his short spear from the creature’s body and wiped away the bloodstains. As he was about to leave, he stopped and reached for a bundle on the creature’s body, casually shaking it.
“Dingling~”
To his surprise, it made the sound of coins clinking. When he opened the bundle, he found it filled with Zhu coins, at least two hundred of them.
Su Hao had a question mark in his mind. Did this creature also use money?
Regardless, this money was now his.
“Hurry and leave!” Su Hao turned to the corner of the wall, collected his belongings, and silently departed along the wall.
However, before he had gone too far, he heard faint footsteps behind him. In this eerily quiet night, the footsteps seemed unnaturally clear.
Su Hao instinctively turned to look back, widening his pupils to observe what was happening behind him in the dark.
Emerging silently from various corners were many individuals who appeared normal but wore face masks, concealing their identities. Only their eyes and mouths were visible, indicating they had come prepared.
They slowly approached the bat-like creature.
Then, something horrifying happened.
These people began to crouch down, opening their mouths to reveal sharp teeth. They fiercely bit into the creature’s body, tearing off bloody chunks of flesh without bothering to chew. They swallowed them whole, eager for another bite.
Seven or eight people gathered around the creature’s corpse, each devouring a part.
“…,” Su Hao watched from a distance, horrified.
“This world is abnormal!”
Su Hao felt a chill down his spine. He had been around for who knows how long, and he thought he had seen it all. However, he had never witnessed anything like this. The outwardly elegant and refined Zhu Huo Ren had turned so bloody and savage at night?
Moreover, the sound of footsteps approaching from the distance indicated that more people were on their way.
It wouldn’t take long before this strange creature’s body was devoured to nothing but bones.
Then, Su Hao remembered the large barrel filled with bones, which he saw almost every morning, being pushed out of the city by someone on a cart!
Su Hao suddenly realized what was happening. It all made sense now.
But new questions arose. Why did the Zhu Huo Ren consume this strange creature? Was it a necessary life activity, or was there more to it?
Curiosity burned inside Su Hao, but his rational mind warned him that it was dangerous here, and he needed to leave as soon as possible.
Once he reached the Master level, he would definitely dig out the secrets hidden in Siling City’s dark nights!
Su Hao no longer paid attention to the gruesome scene behind him and quickly left. After making sure there was no one around, he slipped into his hiding place.
Seal the entrance!
Now he was safe!
With a calm mind, Su Hao began to contemplate what he had seen and heard during his time in Siling City over the past month.
During the day, everything appeared relatively normal. The city had the structure of an old society, occupying a vast area. Still, there were no distinctive landmarks such as a lord’s mansion or other prominent administrative buildings.
What stood out the most about this city compared to the previous world was the absence of city walls.
In an old society, a city without walls?
This fact had Su Hao pondering many things. The most plausible explanation was that there weren’t any significant threats outside the city that could menace this loosely organized urban area.
In summary, the greatest threat to this city came from within, not from outside. If this assumption held, then the absence of city walls didn’t matter.
“No wars?” Su Hao was somewhat surprised by this. Cities without walls were common in modern society, but in ancient times, it was unusual.
In Siling City, what secrets were hidden, and what were they exposed to every night?
Once night fell, the entire city’s atmosphere changed. The scenes Su Hao witnessed tonight probably occurred every evening, with evidence being the large barrel full of bones that he saw every morning, pushed out of the city by someone.
Su Hao was determined to uncover these mysteries lurking in Siling City’s dark nights after advancing to the Master level.
No longer preoccupied with the bizarre scene behind him, Su Hao swiftly departed. After ensuring there was no one around, he entered his hiding spot.
Seal the entrance!
Now he was safe!
With a completely calm mind, Su Hao began to contemplate what he had seen and heard in Siling City over the past month.
He summarized it into three points: first, this area might be more chaotic, with strange creatures randomly attacking citizens; second, perhaps he drew attention because he spent money today; third, he fought off six kids today, attracting unwanted attention. However, the creature only attacked powerful individuals.
Of course, he couldn’t rule out the possibility of revenge, but the kids he fought with appeared to be homeless and wouldn’t have been able to hire a creature to seek revenge.
“Now is not the time to think about this; danger can strike at any moment. The top priority is to quickly replenish my elite blood energy and advance to the Master level,” Su Hao thought as he sat in his small space, clearing his mind and starting to refine and convert blood energy.
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