Face (3)

The sound of crawling did not come from the floor, but from the walls, as if a person were scuttling along the surface like a spider.

The footsteps emerging from the bathroom were slow, while the crawling sound on the wall was rapid.

Hearing the footsteps and the crawling sound approaching, Zheng Ruijun did not panic. Being plunged into darkness seemed disadvantageous, as he could not draw the curtains or open the living room door without a high probability of being attacked.

He remained pressed against the wall, removing the cap of his golden fountain pen. The tip of the pen featured a small hollow opening; the moment the cap was removed, he pressed the hollow tip against the skin of his arm.

A faint surge of electricity welled up, and a tingling numbness instantly permeated his body. The hair on Zheng Ruijun's skin stood on end, as if he were enveloped in a strange, static electric field.

At that very moment, the black shadow crawling on the wall drew near.

Zheng Ruijun turned his head, staring at the creature creeping along the wall.

On the wall to his right was a disheveled, skeletal black shadow. As this person crawled, her neck jerked and swayed rapidly—at times with such extreme amplitude that it would be physically impossible for an ordinary human to achieve.

As the shadow approached, Zheng Ruijun's body, already encased in the static field, felt a wave of numbness in his muscles. The shadow stopped abruptly, twisting her head back and forth as if confused.

The target she had locked onto in the darkness had vanished!

Before long, An Lifen arrived, dragging her feet as if they weighed a thousand pounds, and approached the spot where Zheng Ruijun stood.

Although the room was dark, his eyes had adjusted, and at such close range, he could see clearly. An Lifen's face lacked eyeballs, and her lips were slightly parted, revealing a dark, toothless void within.

Most importantly, her face appeared artificial, radiating a dull, rigid, and stiff quality. Even after discovering that her target, Zheng Ruijun, had suddenly disappeared, her expression remained entirely unchanged.

An Lifen leaned in close; her stiff face nearly brushed the tip of Zheng Ruijun's nose, yet she remained oblivious.

Zheng Ruijun kept his eyes wide open, holding his breath, staring fixedly at her rigid face.

The disheveled shadow crawling on the side wall appeared to be Song Xiaoyu, who had been hiding in the room all along.

Unlike An Lifen, the shadow on the wall did not fully approach Zheng Ruijun. Upon discovering the target had vanished, she slowly began to retreat, inch by inch, until she reached the corner of the room by the floor-to-ceiling curtains, where she hid herself beneath them.

As An Lifen drew near, Zheng Ruijun noticed something strange about the skin on her neck.

Just as Shen Xing had described, the skin was wrinkled. To be precise, An Lifen's neck looked like a wrung-out rag, twisted together. Yet, eerily, her face had not rotated one hundred and eighty degrees; it was still facing forward.

Could it have rotated three hundred and sixty degrees and turned back? A sense of doubt rose in Zheng Ruijun's heart, followed by a surge of horror.

An Lifen seemed unwilling to leave. She stood right in front of Zheng Ruijun, her head leaning in slightly, sniffing repeatedly, her stiff face swaying before his eyes.

If Zheng Ruijun were an ordinary person, he would likely have been driven mad by this sight.

But he remained calm, turning the tip of the fountain pen in his hand and gently pressing a spot on the barrel. A sharp needle, about two centimeters long, extended from the hollow tip.

When the needle was retracted, the pen tip could generate a static field to stimulate his skin, effectively cloaking him from the entities.

When the needle was extended from the hollow tip, the pen transformed into a weapon, capable of dealing with these anomalies.

The needle contained a potent anesthetic, strong enough to put an elephant to sleep.

This was the difference between the officers of the Special Case Investigation Unit and ordinary law enforcement. They had previously attempted to use standard firearms against these entities, but they rarely succeeded and often risked harming innocent bystanders.

Conversely, using anesthetics increased their success rate by more than half.

Of course, there were failures, but in those cases, the static field would protect their personal safety.

Just then, An Lifen tilted her head back. Zheng Ruijun gripped the pen tightly, about to plunge the needle into her arm, when thump, thump, thump—a knock sounded at the door!

The knocking came from the living room entrance. An Lifen stepped back and looked toward the door, causing Zheng Ruijun to miss his chance.

Thump, thump, thump—three more knocks followed.

At the same moment, the black shadow crawling on the wall emerged from behind the curtains and scurried rapidly along the wall into the hallway leading to the bedroom, vanishing without a trace.

The lights in the living room suddenly flickered on, causing Zheng Ruijun to squint, momentarily unable to adjust.

A second later, Song Hao, who had been missing until now, walked slowly out of the hallway. He approached the sofa and sat down with a stiff posture, remaining silent.

Then, a scene that made Zheng Ruijun's skin crawl occurred.

He watched as An Lifen, standing not far away, produced a click-clack sound from her neck. Her rigid face, which had been facing him, rotated away as her hair gathered together.

Simultaneously, the rag-like wrinkles on her neck smoothed out rapidly, and another face rotated from the back, once again facing him directly.

This face no longer felt stiff or dull; it looked much more natural.

"Who is it?" With her lips slightly parted, An Lifen's face suddenly spoke, and she walked toward the living room door while asking.

Because of the interference from the static field, Song Hao, An Lifen, and Song Xiaoyu could not see Zheng Ruijun, but if a normal person were to enter, they would see him clearly.

As An Lifen headed for the door, Zheng Ruijun glanced at Song Hao, who sat silently on the sofa, and immediately began to move with extreme caution, tiptoeing toward the hallway leading to the bedroom.

He entered the bathroom, which had its door left open, and gently gripped the handle, slowly pulling the door shut.

At the same moment, An Lifen reached the living room door and opened it.

"Hello, is this Song Xiaoyu's home?"

Standing outside was a young man with a bright smile, looking very approachable.

"Yes, may I ask who you are?" An Lifen curled her lips into a smile, appearing entirely like a normal person; the eeriness she had radiated moments ago had vanished completely.

"My name is Shen Xing. I knew Song Xiaoyu at the Qiguang Orphanage, and I have something to discuss with her," the man said. "Is she home?"

"She is, but she's still sleeping. Come in, it's time to wake her up anyway." An Lifen stepped back to let Shen Xing enter.

Shen Xing did not enter immediately. Instead, he stood at the doorway, observing for a long moment before suddenly asking, "Excuse me, have you or anyone here experienced any uncomfortable symptoms lately, such as... an itchy scalp?"