Who Was Mrs. Caster, Really?

The two of them weren't as quick on their feet as the others. In the blink of an eye, the other three had vanished, leaving the pair facing the monster in a three-way standoff.

Their hearts pounded furiously, as if they were about to burst out of their chests.

Bailey pressed himself against the wall. Right in front of him was the two-meter-tall creature, like a demon of flesh and blood. Its mouth gaped open, shreds of meat still hanging from its teeth, and a foul, bloody stench hit him in the face.

Its amber eyes were no longer covered by eyelids. Exposed to the air, they were shot through with blood-red veins.

Bailey was forced to stare into its eyes, afraid it would pounce if he looked away.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sofina crouching silently to one side. She didn't dare move, and she had no intention of saving him either.

Knowing he could only rely on himself, Bailey felt around in his pocket with the hand hidden behind his back. When he'd fallen in the woods earlier, he had secretly picked up a stone and tucked it away, just in case something happened.

Of course, it was Song Nan he'd originally been guarding against. He hadn't expected this situation, but he was still very glad he'd prepared that precaution.

There was still some distance between him and the monster. For some reason, the monster hadn't moved during this time either, only sniffing at something in the air.

Bailey's mind raced. Could it be that the monster couldn't see and could only track its prey by sound and smell?

His thoughts racing, he quietly gripped the stone and counted silently. When the monster turned its head toward Sofina, he immediately threw the stone at her.

When the monster really did pounce toward her, Bailey turned and ran for the front door.

Sofina's scream rang out behind him as Bailey fled for his life. Once outside, he immediately turned to shut the door, paying no heed to the others still inside, afraid only that the monster would follow him.

But before he could close the door, a tremendous force came from inside.

He was sent flying and landed in the weeds, a bloody taste rising from his chest.

The monster was standing in the doorway. It hadn't been fooled by what he'd just done and had chased after him instead.

"No, don't come over here! Help me! Come out and save me, all of you!"

Bailey scrambled to his feet, terror having swallowed his reason.

He didn't understand why the monster hadn't gone after Sofina and kept chasing him instead.

Could the monster actually be intelligent enough to know he'd been trying to trick it?

Bailey couldn't spare another thought for it. The door behind the monster suddenly slammed shut, and just before it closed, Sofina's face appeared there.

Bailey had originally intended to lock them inside with the monster, but now he was the only one left outside with it.

"No, no, I can't die, I can't die here..."

Bailey was in a sorry state, wounds covering his body.

He immediately turned and ran, using all his strength in an attempt to get out of the monster's sight.

When the sounds of chaos outside gradually faded into the distance, Sofina collapsed to the floor, her whole body limp. She leaned against the door, gasping for breath.

It suddenly fell quiet all around. The other three also poked their heads out of their hiding places and relaxed only when they saw the monster was gone.

Song Nan noticed that Bailey was missing. His brows furrowed at first, then relaxed.

With that monster after him, Bailey surely wouldn't survive. Though it was a pity he hadn't died at Song Nan's hands, he had still gotten the death he deserved.

Seeing Sofina leaning against the door, Phil raised an eyebrow and said mockingly, "That's just like you. No one is more ruthless than you in a crisis."

Hearing that, Sofina turned and glared at him. "What? If it weren't for me, we'd all be done for. Would you rather go outside and let that monster kill you along with him?"

"He just tried to get the monster to attack me so he could shut the door and leave us to die. A lowlife like that deserves what he got!"

Phil listened to Sofina's defense, then impatiently ignored her.

Song Nan finally spoke up, cutting off Sofina's complaints. "You should have seen it too. After that monster came out, it attacked me and Phil at first, but after that it only chased Bailey. Even when it heard a noise where Sofina was, it didn't change targets. Why was that?"

Although the monster had run outside, they might encounter it again at any time. They had to find its attack pattern and weakness first if they were to have a chance of escaping.

With the conversation back on the matter at hand, Sofina shut her mouth and used the door behind her to get to her feet.

Annie had been sheltered behind Phil just now, and her hair was only a little disheveled.

She thought for a moment and said, "Maybe it was the smell of blood?"

"The smell of blood?" Song Nan pondered.

"Yes. The monster probably attacked you at first because it heard you making noise. Then it smelled Bailey because he'd been scratched when he fell in the forest, so it kept chasing him."

Annie's explanation made sense. She had worked out the monster's behavior pattern in such a short time that Song Nan couldn't help wondering about her original identity.

But now wasn't the time to investigate that. Since the monster was no longer in the cellar, they decided to go down and see what was inside after all.

This time, both Song Nan and Phil would go down, while Annie and Sofina waited outside to assist them.

The two climbed down the ladder one after the other. Song Nan was carrying the kerosene lamp again, the one that had just been flung aside.

The kerosene lamp really was well made. Despite being dropped so many times, it hadn't leaked any oil.

The dim light illuminated the underground space around them.

Contrary to what they had thought, it didn't look as if vegetables were stored here. It was more like an abandoned laboratory, with bottles and jars scattered across the surrounding tables and incomprehensible symbols written on some sheets of paper.

Most chilling of all, however, was a bed covered in scraps of flesh and severed limbs. It stood behind bars like those of a prison, with the barred door open and dark red stains left on the floor.

Song Nan and Phil guessed that the monster had been kept in there and had only run out when it heard them open the cellar door.

What on earth was this place? Why was there a laboratory like this on a farm?

Phil casually rummaged through the things on the table, looking for a notebook containing experiment records or something similar.

In the end, he did find a folder that looked like a medical record. It held many sheets of paper, and the writing on some had been blurred by blood, making it illegible.

Seeing that he'd actually found something, Song Nan leaned over to look.

The name on the medical record was—

Cassandra Cast!

Mrs. Caster???

A chill shot straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

Even Phil felt a chill run through his body.

He and Song Nan exchanged a glance, the same thought occurring to both of them.

Who, exactly, was Mrs. Caster?