Attacked

"Snap!"

A tiny flame flared in the darkness, then quickly went out. As the cigarette tip flickered, the two officers took deep drags and looked around at the forest, cursing their bad luck.

"Just our luck. We have to stand night watch in weather this cold!"

One officer grumbled.

The other glanced at the concrete building behind them. Hearing his partner complain, he frowned. "Keep your voice down. Chief Wang will chew us out if he hears."

The room behind them was where the director's body was being kept. The Golden Dagger was there too; both were crucial pieces of evidence.

Now, only the officers and the chief were allowed inside. Even the Deputy Director was barred.

The two officers on guard smoked and grumbled about their bad luck, unaware that someone hiding in the nearby bamboo grove was cursing his own fate even more furiously.

"Don't be mad. I'll make you a heart!"

Xu Tong lay beside Mad Dog and held up his index finger and thumb.

But Mad Dog wore a dark expression and said nothing. He stared at the concrete building, ignoring Xu Tong's antics.

No wonder he was so furious. He'd taken a huge loss this time. He'd thought Xu Tong was a doctor. Even if he was a rookie with poor combat skills, a doctor's abilities could save a life at a critical moment.

But then the guy had told him he was a veterinarian.

It felt like spending a fortune on a BMW, only to take a closer look and discover it was a Baojun.

And the worst part was, this swindler hadn't offered a refund. Instead, he'd solemnly told him, "A Baojun is a horse too!"

Mad Dog's anger didn't surprise Xu Tong in the least.

When Mad Dog had so readily handed him such an important item, Xu Tong had understood what he was counting on.

Xu Tong had told him that his nickname was Doctor.

That title came with a very strong implication.

Calling himself that was the most straightforward way to show what he could offer.

So the precious vial of medicine clearly hadn't been meant for Xu Tong to drink. Mad Dog had kept it for himself, so that if he were seriously injured, Xu Tong could buy him more time to save him.

"Come on, don't be like that. A veterinarian is still a doctor."

Xu Tong lay on the grass and listed his accomplishments for Mad Dog: delivering a foal, neutering dogs, plucking chickens...

"Chickens need plucking?" Mad Dog asked, looking astonished.

"Of course. You can't get a good bite in if you don't pluck them!"

Mad Dog was instantly devastated.

If they hadn't been in the middle of things, and if he hadn't been following the principle that one more person meant one more pair of hands, he would have wanted to kill Xu Tong right then and there.

As they spoke, a damp, chilly wind swept through the air. The two men lying on the grass tensed, their gazes turning instantly wary.

At some point, a thick bank of white fog had rolled in. It spread incredibly fast, leaving no time to react before everything around them was swallowed in white.

"Who's there?!" someone cried out. A gunshot rang out with a bang. Xu Tong and Mad Dog exchanged a glance, then scrambled to their feet.

Mad Dog pulled out a cleaver and sprinted off without a second thought for Xu Tong. He was incredibly fast, as if he had some kind of ability that let him accelerate. In the blink of an eye, he vanished.

Xu Tong didn't have Mad Dog's ability, but that didn't stop him. He summoned the Prop Catalog and took out a palm-sized Paper Doll.

The Paper Doll was small, but it gripped a gleaming silver paper knife. After Xu Tong activated the Paper Control Technique, it seemed to come alive. It circled him lightly, then settled against his back.

The fog thickened until he could barely see his own hand in front of him.

Suddenly, something cut through the air toward him with a sharp whoosh. The stench of blood filled the air. With no time to think, he dodged sideways as the Paper Doll sprang from his back and swung its silver knife at the attacker.

The Paper Doll was only palm-sized, but after the Spirit Infusion Technique strengthened it, it was astonishingly durable. It couldn't match an adult's strength, but it was incredibly fast.

Especially the silver knife in its hand, which Xu Tong had fashioned from the little silver foil paper he had left.

In both flexibility and strength, it was every bit as good as an ordinary blade.

It was a shame the Paper Doll couldn't weigh more than thirty grams. Otherwise, Xu Tong could have armed it to the teeth.

Blood splashed across his face. He hadn't even managed to see what had rushed at him before he heard a shriek unlike anything an ordinary creature could make.

"Eeek!"

The shrill cry was exactly the same as the one they'd heard during last night's attack. A sudden, dreadful premonition gripped him.

It seemed the attacker wasn't after the Golden Dagger. It was more likely after him.

The eerie cries grew louder and more piercing.

Yet he couldn't tell where they were coming from. They seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, shifting from one side to the other. From the sounds alone, he couldn't even tell how many there were.

Suddenly, a black, wiry claw emerged from the fog and seized Xu Tong's shoulder. Its sharp nails tore through his clothes and reached for his neck.

He dodged sideways, but the claw still ripped a long, thin gash across his shoulder.

The monster that had attacked him quickly disappeared into the fog, moving far faster than he'd expected.

As if emboldened by its successful strike, more and more eerie cries rang out around him. It sounded as though the creatures were closing in.

Looking at the bloody wound on his shoulder, Xu Tong raised an eyebrow, a glint flashing in his eyes. He stood and suddenly sped off to the left.

His apparent attempt to flee only excited the monsters surrounding him. They shrieked sharply and chased after him.

As he sprinted, he summoned another Paper Doll. This one was noticeably smaller than the first. He quickly stuffed something into its arms, then sent the two Paper Dolls flying off in opposite directions.

Perhaps he was running too fast, or perhaps the visibility was too poor. Xu Tong suddenly stumbled and went flying, rolling several times before sitting up in a heap.

The instant he got back to his feet, two black shadows lunged out of the fog at his back.

The claws were right in front of him. Xu Tong's eyes narrowed to slits, and his lips moved. "Slice!"

The moment the word left his mouth, the two shadows flashed past him on either side. At the same time, something in the air seemed to pull taut.

"Pfft!"

The two black shadows that had charged at Xu Tong abruptly stopped midair. Their heads were severed, and their momentum carried their bodies crashing to the ground, rolling to a stop right in front of him.

A strip of paper stretched taut through the air gradually softened as it soaked up blood.

The two Paper Dolls flew back to his sides.

Looking at the bodies on the ground, Xu Tong finally realized what had attacked him.

They were monkeys!

Their fur was dark brown, and they were a full size larger than ordinary macaques. The strangest thing was that their eyes were covered with black cloth.

Someone was controlling them!

That sight reminded him of how he'd nearly been crushed by that boulder the previous night. His suspicions deepened, and he wondered why someone would go to such lengths to kill him.

As he puzzled over it, the eerie cries around him grew louder.

Monkey-shaped shadows darted past him from time to time.

"Bang!"

Fortunately, gunfire rang out nearby just then. The monkeys stopped in their tracks, pricked up their ears as if they'd received a command, then quickly disappeared into the vast white fog.

Hearing footsteps, Xu Tong's heart stirred. He quickly deactivated the Paper Control Technique and stuffed both Paper Dolls into his pocket.

He also tossed the monkeys' bodies into the Prop Catalog, then flung himself to the ground. Facing the footsteps, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Is anyone there? Help me!"

"Someone's over there!"

At the sound of his voice, the footsteps drew closer. When Chief Wang arrived with the others, they found Xu Tong lying on the ground, looking terrified and covered in blood.

"It's Xiao Chen!"

The Deputy Director and several young people behind him hurried over and pulled Xu Tong to his feet.

Chief Wang gave Xu Tong a suspicious glance, left one officer behind, then immediately led the others toward the nearby concrete building.

Strangely enough, the fog had completely cleared by then.

The two officers guarding the body and the evidence were lying on the ground, but they were still breathing. They'd only fainted.

Just then, a villager's scream rang out from inside the concrete building. "There's someone in here! He's still alive! Come help!"

Several villagers rushed inside. Before long, they carried out Mad Dog, who was barely clinging to life.

When everyone saw his injuries, they all drew in a sharp breath.

The Golden Dagger was embedded in his lower abdomen...