Ambushed

"Click!"

A spark flared in the darkness before quickly dying out. Accompanied by the intermittent glow of a cigarette butt, two police officers took deep drags, eyeing the surrounding mountain forest and cursing their rotten luck.

"What bad luck, having to pull the night shift on a night this cold!" one officer grumbled.

The other officer glanced at the concrete building behind them and frowned at his companion's complaint. "Keep it down. If Captain Wang hears you, he'll chew you out."

The room behind them was exactly where the director's corpse was being kept, along with the Golden Dagger—both were critical pieces of evidence.

Currently, aside from the police officers and the captain, not even the Deputy Director was permitted to enter that room.

The two guards smoked and vented about their misfortune, unaware that in the small bamboo grove not far to their side, someone was already cursing up a storm in his heart.

"Stop being so angry, I'll make a heart shape for you!"

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

But Mad Dog just stared ahead with a dark face, eyes locked on the concrete building, completely ignoring the antics of Xu Tong beside him.

It was no wonder he was so annoyed; he had taken a massive loss this time. He had expected a Doctor—even if the newcomer was a bit weak in combat, a Doctor's methods could be life-saving at critical moments.

As it turned out, this guy had actually told him he was a veterinarian??

It felt like spending a fortune on a BMW, only to realize upon closer inspection that it was a Baojun!

The kicker was that this unscrupulous merchant wouldn't even offer a refund, instead telling him righteously, "A Baojun is still a horse!"

Facing Mad Dog's fury, he wasn't surprised in the slightest.

In fact, from the moment Mad Dog had so generously handed over such an important item, he had understood Mad Dog's true intentions.

It was precisely because he had told Mad Dog that his nickname was Doctor.

Doctor—this title carried a very strong label.

Using such a title to introduce himself was the most direct way to demonstrate his value.

Therefore, that precious potion clearly wasn't meant for him to drink, but was prepared for Mad Dog himself, so that if he were ever critically injured, he could buy himself more time to be saved.

"Don't be like that, a vet is still a doctor."

Xu Tong lay on the grass, counting off his achievements to Mad Dog, such as delivering foals, neutering dogs, and de-feathering chickens...

"Chickens need de-feathering??" Mad Dog looked utterly bewildered.

"Otherwise? If you don't pluck them, they aren't easy to eat!"

Mad Dog felt a moment of pure despair.

If it weren't for the principle of "more hands make light work" at this very moment, he might have had the urge to slaughter this guy right then and there.

Just as the two were talking, a damp, cold wind blew through the air. The two men lying on the grass felt their hearts tighten, and their gazes turned instantly alert.

A thick white fog began to drift through the air out of nowhere. It arrived with such speed that it gave them no time to react, blanketing the surroundings in a sea of white.

"Who's there!!" A startled cry rang out, followed immediately by the "bang" of a gunshot. Xu Tong and Mad Dog exchanged a look and scrambled up from the grass.

Mad Dog whipped out a machete and, ignoring Xu Tong, lunged forward. His speed was incredible, as if he possessed some sort of acceleration ability, and he vanished in the blink of an eye.

He didn't have Mad Dog's ability, but that didn't stop him. Summoning his Prop Catalog, he released a palm-sized Paper Doll.

The Paper Doll was small, but it clutched a gleaming silver paper blade. Once Xu Tong activated his Paper Control Technique, the doll seemed to come to life; it fluttered around him once before lightly sticking to his back.

The fog before his eyes grew thicker, to the point where he couldn't even see his own fingers.

Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air toward him, accompanied by a pungent, bloody stench. He didn't have time to think, hurriedly dodging to the side while the Paper Doll on his back sprang into action, raising its silver blade to hack downward.

Don't let the palm-sized stature fool you; after being enhanced by the Spirit Infusion Technique, the Paper Doll's durability was shockingly high. While its strength couldn't compare to an adult's, its speed was lightning-fast.

Especially the silver blade in its hand, which had been crafted from his limited supply of silver foil paper.

Whether in terms of flexibility or strength, it was no worse than a standard blade.

It was a pity that the Paper Doll's total weight couldn't exceed thirty grams, otherwise, he could have armed it to the teeth.

In an instant, blood splattered across his face. He didn't even have time to see what had lunged at him, only hearing a shriek that sounded nothing like any ordinary creature.

"Eee!!"

The familiar screech was identical to the sound they had heard during the attack the previous night, which sent a sudden, ominous premonition through his heart.

It seemed the enemy wasn't after the Golden Dagger at all; they were after him.

The eerie screeching grew increasingly piercing.

It was impossible to pinpoint their location, as the sound seemed to shift left and right, erratic and drifting, making it difficult to even judge how many there were.

Suddenly, a thin, black claw reached out from the white fog, grabbing Xu Tong by the shoulder. Sharp nails tore through his clothes, raking toward his neck.

He dodged to the side, but a long, thin gash was still carved into his shoulder.

The monster that had attacked him vanished back into the white fog with speed far beyond his imagination.

It seemed that after the first successful strike, the surrounding screeching grew louder, as if things were closing in on him.

Looking at the bloody wound on his shoulder, he arched a brow, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. He stood up and suddenly accelerated, charging out toward the left.

Such a flight-like maneuver undoubtedly excited the monsters surrounding him even more, their shrill cries piercing the air as they gave chase.

In the midst of his frantic sprint, he didn't forget to summon another Paper Doll. This one was noticeably smaller than the previous one. He quickly shoved something into the Paper Doll's arms and, manipulating the two Paper Dolls, sent them flying out to his left and right.

Perhaps he was running too recklessly, or perhaps his vision was too obscured, but Xu Tong stumbled, his body sent flying as he tumbled across the ground before sitting up in a disheveled heap.

The very moment he scrambled to his feet, two black shadows lunged from the white mist toward his back.

Watching the claws closing in, Xu Tong's eyes narrowed into slits, his lips moving slightly: "Twist!"

The moment the word fell, the two black shadows flashed past him from left and right, and simultaneously, something in the air seemed to be pulled taut.

"Pfft!"

The two shadows that had already charged before Xu Tong suddenly jerked to a halt in mid-air; their heads were cleanly sliced off, and carried by the momentum of their charge, their bodies slammed heavily onto the ground, rolling to a stop right in front of Xu Tong.

In the air, a strip of paper that had been pulled taut gradually softened after being stained with blood.

The two Paper Dolls flew back to his sides, one on the left and one on the right.

Looking at the corpses on the ground, Xu Tong finally understood what had been attacking him: they were monkeys!

These monkeys had dark brown fur and were a size larger than the average macaque. What was most baffling was that their eyes were covered by strips of black cloth.

Someone was controlling them!

Seeing this, he couldn't help but recall the scene from last night where he had nearly been crushed to death by that large rock, his heart growing even more suspicious as he wondered why the other party was going to such lengths to kill him.

Just as he felt puzzled by this, the strange cries around him grew more frequent.

From time to time, the shadows of monkeys flashed past him.

"Bang!"

Fortunately, at this moment, the sound of a gunshot rang out from not far away. The monkeys immediately paused, their ears pricking up as if they had received an order, and they quickly vanished into the vast white mist.

As footsteps approached, Xu Tong's heart stirred; he hurriedly deactivated his Paper Control Technique and tucked the two Paper Dolls into his pocket.

At the same time, he tossed the monkey corpses into his Prop Catalog, threw himself onto the ground, and shouted at the top of his lungs toward the direction of the footsteps.

"Is anyone there? Help me, save me!"

"There's someone over there!!"

Hearing the voice, the footsteps drew closer. By the time Chief Wang, who was leading the group, arrived, he saw Xu Tong lying on the ground in terror, covered in blood.

"It's Xiao Chen!"

Seeing this, the Deputy Director and several young men following behind hurried to pull him up from the ground.

Chief Wang cast a suspicious glance at Xu Tong, left one officer behind, and immediately led the others charging toward the nearby concrete building.

Strangely enough, the white mist from moments ago had now completely dissipated.

The two officers responsible for guarding the bodies and evidence were lying on the ground, but they were still breathing; they had merely been knocked unconscious.

Just then, a villager's scream came from inside the concrete building: "There's someone here, he's still breathing! Come help!"

Several villagers rushed in, and before long, they carried out the dying Mad Dog.

When they saw Mad Dog's injuries, everyone couldn't help but gasp in unison.

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