Lure Them into the Trap!

The sky gradually darkened, clouds gathering overhead. Before long, raindrops began to fall.

Seeing this, Li Yuan pulled up his hood. Just then, the female student from before came running over with an umbrella.

"Rain again... Has it been raining every day lately?"

"Do you think the Jade Emperor got drunk, or the Dragon King caught a cold?"

Li Yuan instinctively avoided the girl, but she stubbornly followed after him. "What's with that? Can't you tell me if something's bothering you? It's not like I'd laugh at you."

"Think about it. Throughout all three years of high school, wasn't I the one who treated you best?"

The girl kept following Li Yuan, and Li Yuan kept quickening his pace.

Until a raven appeared. It landed on a utility pole and let out several meaningful caws.

The moment he heard the raven, Li Yuan's expression changed. "Can you stop following me? I have work to do."

"What work? Don't tell me you really kill fish at RT-Mart?"

"Oh, right. I saw a post online a couple days ago. A guy said he'd been killing fish at RT-Mart for over ten years, and his heart had already become like..."

"Get the hell out of here!" Li Yuan suddenly roared at the girl.

Seeing Li Yuan's twisted expression, the girl froze.

A tear rolled down from the corner of her eye.

"You..."

Li Yuan said nothing. He merely tugged at his raincoat and turned away.

The raven on the utility pole let out a strange laugh before flapping its wings and flying away as well.

The rain gradually grew heavier.

Li Yuan's face twitched, and his heartbeat became far more intense.

At that moment, the raven flew to his side and transformed into a young girl.

"Oh my, who was that girl just now? She looked like she treated you pretty well."

"You yelled at her like that. Her heart's probably shattered by now~"

Li Yuan did not answer.

"Hmm... Why not turn her into a Deep One too? Given how she feels about you, if she became a Deep One, she'd definitely be much more loyal and reliable than those subordinates of yours."

Li Yuan looked at Raven. "That woman talks too much. She's useless."

"Let's go. It's time for us to make our move."

Raven Girl grinned. This was really quite interesting...

Outside the North Ridge City Police Department.

"South Weir is the primary target of this investigation. I believe I explained the abnormalities surrounding South Weir clearly enough in the previous briefing. Any questions?"

"No!"

Everyone answered in unison.

"This time, we have only one objective: find out what exactly is inside South Weir. Monster or human, it has to give us an answer!"

Yang Yan turned to look at everyone behind him. "Everyone, check your equipment!"

The officers took out their Type 54 Pistols and inspected them, then checked their magazines and other standard supplies.

Yang Yan was not entirely confident about this hastily assembled squad, which had yet to receive official approval.

After all, their opponent was not human, but something they did not understand at all.

Even so, Yang Yan could not let the unease in his heart show.

As the saying went, a cowardly soldier was one coward, but a cowardly general made cowards of the whole army.

After the equipment check was complete, Yang Yan took a deep breath.

"Listen up. The opponent we face in this operation may no longer be human!"

"This may be our first encounter with monsters, but it will not be our last. This operation is codenamed Cloud Dispelling!"

"We must find out what those things are!"

"Move out!"

Night, Yangshan District.

Li Yuan stood atop a building, looking down at the streets below. A light but steady rain was still falling, with no sign of clearing.

A raven flew over and transformed into a girl standing beside him.

"Are you sure they'll pass through here?"

Li Yuan closed his eyes, then opened his mouth and emitted a strange cry.

It sounded like a whale's call. Its wavelength was exceedingly peculiar, and its range was vast, nearly covering the entire Yangshan District.

Quite a few people heard the strange cry, but none of them paid it any mind.

Yet everyone who heard it appeared in Li Yuan's mind.

"The route hasn't changed. Four police cars, seventeen people. Their destination is South Weir. Notify Queen Bee. She's been exposed."

At his words, Raven Girl dug an earpiece out of her ear.

"Hello, hello? Is 004 there? I'm looking for 004. Um..."

"Yes, you've been exposed."

"It has nothing to do with me. Number 002 said so. The police are already heading your way, so deal with it yourself."

"Give me the communicator." As he spoke, Li Yuan took it directly from her.

"Queen Bee, there's someone among them you may not be able to defeat."

"There's something strange about that kid. Immediately evacuate all the ordinary people from the hotel, then release my Deep Ones."

Queen Bee's voice came through the communicator.

"All of them?"

"All of them."

"Today, no one is leaving South Weir alive."

Li Yuan hung up the communicator directly.

"Chu Yang."

"If you really have what it takes to survive tonight, I..."

"Don't raise a death flag. You'll definitely die suddenly later." Raven Girl spun around, turning into a raven and flying away.

"My job is recording this. I'll be going ahead~"

Li Yuan twisted his neck, and his body immediately began to swell. Dark green scales spread across his body.

In the blink of an eye, Li Yuan entered his Fishman form.

Nanyan Hotel.

Four police cars drifted into a neat line before stopping at the entrance to South Weir.

A bearded officer stepped out of a police car and rubbed his head. "I'm just saying, with driving skills like mine..."

"Stop showing off. This isn't a sightseeing trip." Yang Yan stepped out of the police car and pulled out a Type 54 Pistol.

The bearded officer shrugged. "I was just trying to lighten the mood."

"But aren't we late?"

Everyone looked over. South Weir was eerily quiet. Though brightly lit, it was completely empty inside.

"Is this some kind of Hongmen Banquet?"

"I'm afraid they're luring us into the trap."

"Stay sharp. Our opponent isn't human!"

A young man stepped out of a police car. He first stretched his legs, then rolled his arms.

"Chu Yang, be careful."

Yang Yan said.

Chu Yang nodded. "Don't worry. I've got some ability to protect myself."

A raven flew overhead, a camera hanging from its chest.

The top floor of South Weir.

Queen Bee held a long smoking pipe and continually exhaled smoke. Several hundred women in uniform stood beside her.

"The guests have arrived."

"Though that fish told us not to interfere, this is still our turf. I don't want this place turning into a seafood market."

"You all know what to do. Cut the power when it needs cutting, stab people in the back when it needs doing, guard the doors when it needs doing. Today, anyone who dares enter this door isn't leaving."

As soon as she finished speaking, the hundreds of women nodded in unison, then began taking the elevators downstairs in groups.

Afterward, Queen Bee took out her phone and dialed a number.

"Hello?"

"A group of little cops got drunk and caused trouble at my place. One slip of the foot... and they all fell to their deaths. Can't blame us for that. You'll handle it impartially, right?"

"Phew..."

Queen Bee exhaled a cloud of smoke. After a moment, a hazy male voice came through the phone.

"...Yes, Queen Bee."

Inside South Weir.

A group of officers entered. They first cautiously searched every room on the first floor.

But without exception, there was no one.

Neither guests nor staff.

The officers were puzzled, but they continued searching upward.

They did not take the elevators. Instead, they split into two teams and went up the staircases on either side.

The second floor was the same as the first. There was not a single person there.

"Strange... Even if they knew we were coming, they couldn't have evacuated this fast, could they?"

"Unless..."

"Unless everyone was very obedient."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Everything."

Yang Yan narrowed his eyes. Would customers who had paid money really obediently leave?

If they had been driven out by force, how could the customers simply accept it? They would definitely gather outside and collectively demand an explanation from the hotel.

There should have been plenty of people who would stubbornly refuse to leave and never stop arguing.

Now, if they had been dispersed through incentives, such as being given money, that could indeed drive away some people.

But this was a high-end hotel. There had to be wealthy upper-class guests here, people who would not lower themselves over a little money.

Besides, suppose a couple was staying here, passionately occupied in their room, when hotel staff suddenly burst in and told them to pack up and leave immediately.

Why would they agree?

There were even expensive meals left unfinished on the dining tables, and the beds in the rooms still retained warmth.

What kind of force could evacuate everyone in such a short time?

No matter how he thought about it, it could only have been done through unnatural means.

The group continued upward, and just as they reached the third floor—

All the lights suddenly went out at once!

"Be careful!"

Patter, patter, patter!

At that very moment, a dense mass of wet footsteps abruptly sounded all around them!

"That sound is!"

"This is bad!"