Monster

Was I really that scary?

Inside the supermarket, Xu Yao's slight retreat dealt Chen Feng a heavy blow.

If he searched his conscience, his physique was certainly sturdy now, stretching his loose black T-shirt taut.

His muscle definition was as clear as flowing water, his deltoids fairly swollen.

But it still was not as exaggerated as Xu Dongtai's burly six-foot-one frame, right?

No one could answer his question.

The somewhat timid Xu Yao was soon led by Li Hongxia to the sofa area behind the shelves, where she set down her backpack and quietly did her homework.

Seeing this, Chen Feng did not disturb her. He stood at the register and silently rang up purchases.

"Xiaofeng, Xiao Yao will be having dinner here tonight too."

"I ordered two extra dishes. I hope you do not mind."

Li Hongxia soon came to the register and spoke quietly with Chen Feng.

After asking around, Chen Feng learned that Xu Yao had just finished tutoring, and Li Hongxia had happened to pick her up.

Because the other party's grandfather had returned to his rural hometown yesterday and there was temporarily no one at home to cook, she had simply brought the girl here.

Understanding the helplessness of a single mother, Chen Feng nodded and naturally did not mind.

Then, time passed.

Dinner was soon delivered, and Li Hongxia had paid extra for two additional dishes, one meat and one vegetable.

The three of them devoured the food. Chen Feng's appetite had greatly increased, but he restrained himself and only ate until he was eighty percent full.

Even so, every dish was wiped clean, leaving only a few grease stains and scraps.

"Xiaofeng, you've trained your body really well."

"No wonder you could so easily subdue those two hooligans last night."

As Li Hongxia cleaned up the food containers, she glanced at his increasingly sturdy physique and could not help praising him.

Beside them, Xu Yao also secretly stole a couple of glances. She helped clean up but did not dare join the conversation.

"Just a hobby," Chen Feng said with a smile, not explaining much about his boxing practice.

The two chatted on and off. More customers came in during that time, and he went back to working the register.

There was an LCD television hanging on the supermarket wall, though hardly anyone usually watched it.

But a news report was playing that evening, drawing the attention of quite a few customers.

According to reports, a Gold Store Robbery Case occurred on Qing Shi Street at 1:18 this afternoon.

The robbed gold shop was Fuxiang Gold Shop. The incident occurred at the critical moment when its vault was being opened. There were three robbers in total; one was injured by the Gold Shop's security staff before they seized ten kilograms of gold bars and gold jewelry worth one million, then fled!

The Security Bureau had issued a wanted notice. Anyone providing clues could receive a reward of two hundred thousand yuan.

As the news footage and audio played, Chen Feng glanced at it.

This was the robbery across from the Martial Arts Hall that afternoon. The official report was more or less the same as what he had seen then and the discussions he had later heard at the Martial Arts Hall.

"Ten kilograms of gold bars."

"Gold in the Chi Kingdom costs around six hundred yuan per gram. Even without counting the jewelry, that means they stole at least six million?"

After doing the quick calculation, Chen Feng was somewhat surprised.

Prices in the Chi Kingdom were very similar to those of Xia kingdom on Earth in his previous life. Six million was already an astronomical sum for many ordinary people, enough to live comfortably in Nanjiang City.

He suddenly understood why Xu Dongtai had looked so grim during the day.

"Too bad those guys wore masks."

Shaking his head, Chen Feng thought that if he ever had a chance to run into them, he could report them and collect a bounty.

Then the news continued, and customers came and went.

Time passed, and midnight arrived once more.

After Li Hongxia finished cleaning up, Chen Feng took the initiative to lock the supermarket's rolling shutter door.

Turning his head, he saw little Xu Yao drowsily sitting on the electric scooter with her backpack on, her head bobbing to one side.

"I'm off, Xiaofeng. Be careful on your way back."

"Okay, Sister Hongxia. You and Xiao Yao take it slow too."

"Alright. Xiao Yao, hurry and say goodbye to your brother."

"Goodbye, Brother Chen Feng."

"Goodbye."

With a light wave, Chen Feng hugged the box of Energy Bars Aunt Zhang had given him and carried the bag of clothes as he turned onto the nighttime streets.

Dim streetlights shone down, while the scent of grilled skewers drifted from the roadside once again.

Feeling hungry again, he casually opened the box, took out an Energy Bar, tore off the wrapper, shoved it into his mouth, and crunched it apart.

He walked and swallowed as a few other drunkards brushed past him.

His tall frame cast a long, narrow shadow beneath the dim yellow lights. Several streetlamps had exposed wiring, their light flickering unsteadily.

Tap, tap!

Footsteps echoed as Chen Feng passed an alleyway.

Suddenly, he froze, every hair on his body standing on end.

He abruptly sensed a powerful malice so intense it felt almost tangible.

Turning his head, he saw the alleyway was pitch-black, as though covered in thick ink. He could not see his hand before his face.

But yet, a pair of incomparably Scarlet eyes were exposed within.

Evil. Cold.

Crunching sounds rang out continuously, and a horrifying sensation kept washing over him.

In an Instant, his heart went cold. Chen Feng, who had initially thought Zhao Jin was taking revenge, came back to his senses.

"What the hell is that thing?!"

Tap, tap!

Sudden footsteps sounded, and the owner of the scarlet gaze charged at him.

The malice was cold. Chen Feng caught the scent of blood and a foul stench.

Without a second thought, he immediately twisted around and ran swiftly, clutching the cardboard box and clothing bag!

Tap tap tap tap tap!

Dry air flowed into his nostrils, and the blood within his body boiled restlessly.

At this moment, his heart became the engine that ignited the flame. His blood vessels burned hot; Chen Feng had never felt so exhilarated and terrified.

A monster!

It was definitely a monster!

The thought flashed through his mind as the nighttime streets before his eyes blurred and swayed.

He had thought Earth Star was merely a world with unique Martial Dao Schools, far more ordinary than the mysteries within the Dream Realm.

But now, the monster's appearance had shown him the extraordinary things hidden beneath this neon city.

Tap tap tap tap tap!

His footsteps were urgent as Chen Feng sprinted dozens of meters in one breath.

Only when the malice in his Perception Talent gradually faded did he turn his head to look back.

The streetlights were dim, but those Scarlet eyes did not appear.

It was as if everything from before had merely been an illusion.

"It didn't chase after me?"

"Or perhaps..."

Thinking to himself, Chen Feng was not even out of breath thanks to his improved physical condition.

He did not doubt the nearly tangible malice from before in the slightest.

His Perception Talent allowed him to roughly sense the power of the scarlet gaze. If they came into contact, it could definitely kill him with ease.

Thinking of that, he looked again at the pitch black night around him.

Though he was immensely curious, he did not dare approach the alleyway again so casually.

"I should go back first."

"I'll come take a look again tomorrow during the day."

Suppressing those thoughts, Chen Feng finally let out a breath and discovered that cold sweat had appeared on his face without him knowing when.

He wiped it away with a hand and rubbed it onto his clothes.

He immediately turned and hurried away.

About ten minutes later, he returned to his apartment complex.

Click!

The door shut. Looking at the quiet space with its simple furnishings, Chen Feng finally truly relaxed.

Then he showered, washed up, and hurriedly lay down on the bed.

He had thought he would fall asleep quickly, but Did Not Expect the shadow of that monster to keep appearing, impossible to banish from his mind.

"Monster..."

Chen Feng whispers.

He was not afraid. Instead, he was somewhat exhilarated.

If monsters existed, then the supernatural likely existed as well.

Perhaps the Dream Realm and the real world truly had some sort of connection?

At that thought, his mind surged like waves.

After being disturbed by such thoughts for a long time, before he knew it, it was already the early hours of the morning.

Only then did his emotions gradually settle, and he finally closed his eyes and fell asleep.