Datuk Gong's Blessing
Beneath the dilapidated pier, three or four young men and women huddled together like quails.
The dull, thumping sounds coming from above felt like each strike was cleaving into their hearts.
Their faces were filled with horror and fear.
"Quick! Call Master Wen and ask him to come and save us!"
"I called! There's absolutely no signal here..."
A girl in a sundress with dyed blonde hair and snow-white skin had clearly reached her psychological limit. She suddenly broke down, crying and lunging at her companion to grab the phone from her hand.
"I... I'm done playing! I'm calling my dad to bring some people to pick me up!!"
"I told you there's no signal here!! There's no signal!"
The only boy among the four who didn't lose his phone while running away got angry and yelled at the girl for grabbing it back, regardless of the situation.
Almost simultaneously, "Boom!"
A loud, muffled thud suddenly came from overhead, and the entire pier shook violently, as if something heavy had crashed into the ground, accompanied by a series of cracking sounds as the wooden planks broke.
The people hiding under the bridge fell silent instantly, covering their mouths tightly, afraid of making even the slightest sound.
Actually, they are quite smart.
When they were chased here by that monster, they hid in the wooden house, using everything they could to barricade the door. Then they climbed out through a small window at the back of the house and hid under the pier; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to hold out until now.
The four held their breath and remained motionless in the darkness.
But after that loud bang, there seemed to be no further sound from above.
As time passed, the boy with the phone among the four couldn't contain himself any longer. He gestured and mouthed to his three companions, asking for their opinions, "Now, shall we... sneak out?"
Two people quickly shook their heads, but the girl in the sundress, who had already had an emotional breakdown once, forcefully broke free from the hands of the people next to her and rushed out from under the pier by herself!
"Lulu! Oh..."
Someone shouted and instinctively took two steps forward. With a pull and a tug, the remaining people all ran out from their hiding place.
Once they left the "safe zone," a sense of unknown fear enveloped them like a cold fog.
The three men walked swiftly through the pile of rocks, their faces tense, fearing that if they weren't careful, a fire axe would come crashing down from the nearby walkway.
They had experienced similar situations more than once before.
After running for a short while, the three caught up with their companion who had run away first.
The blonde girl in the sundress was the wealthiest among them, but also the one with the weakest mental fortitude and the one they feared the most.
But for some reason, the girl stopped running and stopped on a rock, facing one direction with a fixed gaze, seemingly looking at something.
"Lulu!"
The three called out the girl's name, but she didn't respond even when they ran right up to her. So they looked in the direction she was looking, puzzled.
In the direction the girl was looking, there seemed to be two dark shadows standing on the black pier.
The three stared wide-eyed for a long time but still couldn't see clearly. Just then, perhaps because the Black Tide was about to recede, a lighthouse on the distant sea regained its light.
A huge beam of light shone as it rotated, sweeping across the pier and exposing everything to its light.
The moment they saw what was in front of them, the three people on the reef widened their eyes, opened their mouths, and were so shocked that they couldn't say a word.
--On a nearby pier, under the bright light of the snow, a tall and upright young man held the monster that had been chasing them for half a day by the neck with one hand, lifting it high off the ground.
The boy tilted his head slightly, and the monster's body, which he held tightly in his fingers, trembled, turning into wisps of black smoke that rapidly collapsed and dissipated as if scorched by invisible flames. Some of the smoke seemed to seep into the boy's mouth and nose...
"Clatter!"
The rusty iron mask and fire axe fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
Someone couldn't help but exclaim "Ah!" before quickly covering their mouth in disbelief.
The boy heard the sound and slowly turned his face to the side.
He saw the four people standing motionless, and a smile slowly appeared on that young face that exuded a sinister charm.
"Good evening..."
Cheng Sheng gently shook the dust off his fingers and calmly examined the spoils of his trip.
This was the first time he had ever seen Evil Spirit with a physical form.
Perhaps it was born deep within the Strange Mist Zone, too close to the Black Tide.
Using terms like ghosts or vengeful spirits is no longer accurate; it's more like some kind of corpse ghost!
This thing is also immune to most physical attacks. Even if it's knocked down, it can quickly "revive." Its methods are more vicious and cruel than ordinary Evil Spirit, and once it targets you, you'll be relentlessly hunted down, suffering both mental and physical torment...
He's a bit like the immortal killer in some horror movies.
Cheng Sheng originally intended to sacrifice it, but tying up such a huge creature with superhuman strength was too troublesome, and... there were outsiders present.
"The Primordial Mark has been strengthened by one-tenth? It's better than nothing..."
Cheng Sheng shook his head, then slowly walked towards the unlucky few who were being chased by the corpse monsters not far away.
"You..."
The lighthouse beam flickered overhead. Cheng Sheng squatted down by the wooden boardwalk, looking at the tense, trembling man and three women below, and chuckled, "Could it be some kind of ' Black Tide Lovers Association'?"
Cheng Sheng had previously learned about a group of people online who, having nothing better to do, would spend their days diving into the Black Tide Current, calling themselves "Black Tide Chasers."
"No!"
A girl quickly shook her head, "We're from the Black Curse Society, apprentices under Master Wen..."
"Black Curse Society?"
Cheng Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly and casually asked a few questions without showing any emotion.
I later discovered that this so-called "Black Curse Society" was actually founded by someone who called himself a "Master of Curse," offering free instruction in Curse Art, provided you had the talent.
The four people in front of them had just signed up online a few days ago to join this so-called "Black Curse Society." Overly excited, they took advantage of the Black Tide to run away and seek thrills, and then they encountered the Corpse Monster and were chased all the way.
There were originally more than four of them; several died along the way...
"Real masters or fake masters? You believe everything you read online?"
Cheng Sheng spoke calmly.
The girl who had spoken earlier replied with absolute certainty, "Master Wen is a real Curse, not a fraud. A friend of mine personally witnessed him subduing monsters in the Black Tide..."
Where is your friend?
"He's already become a disciple of Master Wen, secretly studying Curse Art. We rarely see each other now, usually communicating by phone..."
The girl sighed and muttered, "I have no idea where I lost my phone."
Cheng Sheng's eyes flickered, and he took out his phone, saying, "Let's exchange contact information. I'm very interested in your ' Black Curse Society.' Remember to invite me to any activities you organize next time."
"OK!"
Upon hearing this, the two girls exclaimed with delight.
While exchanging phone numbers with Cheng Sheng, one of the four boys looked at Cheng Sheng and couldn't help but cautiously ask, "Are you... are you also Curse?"
This was probably the question that they were most curious about right now. The scene of Cheng Sheng killing the corpse monster was so shocking that it was still deeply imprinted in their minds.
"No, I'm just a boxer."
Cheng Sheng vehemently denied it.
"You think you can kill that... thing with your fists?"
The boy's eyes widened, clearly disbelieving. "We couldn't even kill it with guns before!"
"Of course not."
Cheng Sheng shook his head. "I mainly rely on other methods."
"What methods?"
The group couldn't resist moving closer.
Cheng Sheng and the others smiled and stood up.
Under the beam of light from the distant lighthouse, he clasped his hands together, his face calm and devout, and softly said, "Datuk Gong bless me!"
"???"
The group stood there, stunned, unable to utter a single word for a long time.
Cheng Sheng was too lazy to chat with them any longer. He glanced at the dense blackness receding rapidly on the distant horizon, greeted the others, and turned to leave.
"I have something to do, you guys have fun."
The roar of the motorcycles faded into the gradually dissipating night. As the group huddled together, whispering about "which is more effective, Datuk Gong or Curse Art," the girl in the sundress among them, who hadn't uttered a word the entire time but had been staring intently at Cheng Sheng, suddenly snapped out of her reverie. She lowered her head, her lips moving as she quickly muttered something.
If you listened closely, you would find that she was repeatedly reciting a string of numbers, which was the phone number that Cheng Sheng had just given her.
I went over it again and again, afraid that I might accidentally forget it.
Cheng Sheng didn't know whether he was lucky or unlucky.
Previously, when he first explored the Black Tide in Balai City, he encountered terrifying Black Tide creatures even in the Strange Mist Zone.
This time, they almost faced the Black Tide head-on, but didn't even see a single Black Tide creature.
He returned to the original rock.
By this time, the Black Tide had completely receded, and the surrounding seawater gradually rose, carrying a thick layer of water vapor.
Cheng Sheng walked to the spot where he had stored the [Hell Plague Fly] and examined them carefully. He discovered that all twenty-one Plague Fly he had left behind had undergone some unexpected changes.