Faceling!

It was the wet, muffled sound of teeth tearing through flesh, with strands of mucus stretching between them!

The man didn't even have time to finish screaming before he was thrown against the wall like a rag! The bloody bones of his face were already exposed.

Lin Yang looked away.

He silently thanked the man for buying him two seconds.

The group ran a long way and rounded three or five corners before Lin Yang finally stopped, once he could no longer hear anything behind them.

Everyone leaned against the walls, gasping for breath. The wallpaper, soaked with sweat, clung to their palms, cool and slippery!

"What was that thing?" The fat man was still panting, the table leg held across his body, his fingers still trembling.

"What the fuck was that thing?"

Lin Yang didn't answer.

He leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and opened the system interface in his mind. His prophecy uses had refreshed.

Without hesitation, he selected the Inspection Function!

The system had gained a new function. Besides the identities of people around him, he could now inspect these anomalous creatures as well.

The system interface unfolded before his eyes, and the outline of the black shadow from earlier appeared in his mind.

Two meters tall, black all over, with a smooth plane instead of facial features and a way of moving that involved gliding across shadows!

[Inspection successful: Faceling (hostile). They dislike all intruders. Please maintain a safe distance of at least ten meters from them. Do not look into their eyes. Although they have no eyes, they can sense when they are being watched. Do not approach or offend them. They like damp, dark places.]

Lin Yang opened his eyes.

"That thing has no face," he said. "I'll call it a Faceless Ghost for now!"

"Faceless what?" The fat man stared at him.

Lin Yang considered the information.

They liked damp places, so all he had to do was run somewhere dry and bright.

Lin Yang spoke to everyone.

"From now on, don't stare at them! Remember that."

The fat man was puzzled. "We just have to avoid staring at them?"

Chen Yu said, "I trust Brother Lin Yang! Let's hurry and run!"

Shen Yue asked, "But... where should we run?"

Lin Yang added, "Run somewhere dry, and don't look that thing in the eyes!"

Everyone in Lin Yang's group did as he said.

The eight of them formed a tight group and walked down the yellow corridor, looking down at the path beneath their feet.

The incandescent bulbs overhead cast their shadows onto the carpet. The shadows were short, huddled at their feet.

No one looked up to scan the end of the corridor, and no one turned to see where the door in the wall led.

They simply kept their heads down and walked along the carpet, searching for a path out of the corners of their eyes!

The newcomers weren't so obedient.

Yellow Hair rubbed his stomach, still aching from Lin Yang's beating, and followed behind with several of his people, muttering under his breath.

"Putting on a mysterious act." "I'm not fucking scared!"

He felt he had lost face when he was kicked earlier, and now he would go his own way, without taking cues from anyone!

They held their heads high, their eyes roaming everywhere, looking at the ceiling, the walls, the end of the corridor, and every baseboard.

Then Yellow Hair saw a black shadow. It was another Faceling!

This one had a knife in its hand! The blade was black too, held against its side and casting a long, narrow shadow on the beige wallpaper!

The Faceling sensed his gaze and began to accelerate.

The Faceling with the knife was faster than the one before. It glided across the shadows faster than any human could run.

Yellow Hair turned to run, but the black shadow cut across from the side and slashed him across the back!

Rrriip!

The blade sliced down from his shoulder blade, tearing through his clothes and flesh and carving a gash in his back so deep the bone showed!

Yellow Hair let out a piercing scream and pitched forward. Blood sprayed from his back onto the beige carpet, instantly staining a patch of it dark brown!

"Don't! Don't kill me! I was wrong!!"

Seeing the black shadow closing in, he finally lost his nerve and looked toward Lin Yang, pleading.

"Save me!! Please, save me!"

Lin Yang's people didn't look back. They remembered at all times to respect the fates of others.

Piercing screams and the wet sound of a knife plunging into flesh came from behind them.

Lin Yang heard the scream. He didn't look back or slow down.