.....
Due to the possible danger of this situation and considering that Yan Feifan wasn’t particularly strong, Lu Ding had no intention of bringing him along.
A monster that possessed human intelligence, could seamlessly replace soone’s identity, and had been living undetected among humans for so long—there was no way it was anything good.
It was better to go alone. Even in the worst-case scenario, if he couldn’t defeat the creature hiding in the informant’s house, Lu Ding was confident he could escape.
But if he brought Yan Feifan along, that wouldn’t be so certain.
“Don’t worry, Patrol Officer Lu. You go ahead, I’ll keep an eye on things here. You be careful too.”
Outside, the sky was dark, and visibility was low.
Lu Ding responded with a simple “Okay,” then leaped out the window and soared into the sky, pushing his Wind-Fixing Art to the limit.
How could driving ever be faster than having a cheat ability?
Gao Zhengliang was so shocked that his mouth fell open unconsciously.
In that mont, all the myths and legends he had ever heard suddenly beca real.
The faces of all the legendary protagonists in those stories rged completely with Lu Ding’s image in his mind.
So, Cultivators of Qi could actually fly?
Lu Ding sped through the sky above Bao Fan District, his eyes burning with fury.
He wanted to see for himself what kind of creature dared to cause trouble in his patrol district!
And it even pulled off a “狸猫换太子” (Cat Swaps for the Prince) sche, walking around openly, going to work like everything was normal?
Did it really think he, Lu Ding, was that easy to fool?!
anwhile, on the other side.
Outside Dinghao Complex.
Dong Xinrui had just finished moving into her new ho. She was taking her golden retriever, who had been cooped up all day, downstairs to relieve itself and get familiar with the neighborhood.
But as soon as she stepped outside, she ran into a group of elderly folks playing with their grandchildren.
Kids naturally loved to play, and golden retrievers were the ultimate people-loving dogs. When the two t, it was like a “turtle spotting a green bean”—instant connection.
No matter how hard Dong Xinrui tried to pull back, her golden retriever was determined to play with the kids.
Luckily, she had put a muzzle on the dog before heading out, so there was no risk of it accidentally hurting anyone. The elders reassured her, saying it was fine to let the dog play.
Since they didn’t mind, she loosened the leash, allowing the dog to have fun while she mingled with the elderly folks, chatting away.
Gossiping, listening to stories, occasionally gasping in surprise.
As the conversation drifted toward personal lives, the elders started talking about people they knew who had passed away.
Dong Xinrui had lost her grandfather just last year, so she chid in.
“Sigh, my grandpa was a Traditional Chinese dicine doctor. He always told that birth, aging, illness, and death are things everyone has to face and that I should learn to accept it. I used to think I was pretty open-minded, but when it actually happened to , it took half a year to get over it.”
“Especially since, right before he passed, he called to his bedside, had take his pulse, and calmly told , ‘This is the Absolute Pulse.’ Then, after those words, he breathed his last...”
The elderly folks around her nodded, praising her as a filial granddaughter.
The conversation then shifted to Traditional Chinese dicine.
One of the elders spoke up first, ntioning that they had been having trouble with their appetite lately and asked if Dong Xinrui could check their pulse.
She was a bit eager to try, but she made it clear: “I’m not very skilled. I can take a pulse reading, but I can’t prescribe dicine. Just take it as a fun experint, okay?”
The elder said it was fine.
So, she reached out and took their pulse.
One person turned into two, then three.
Most of the elders were in good health, just so common age-related issues. A few had so health problems, but nothing serious.
Until one elderly woman pulled her husband over.
“Miss, can you check my husband? He used to be quite talkative, but now he barely says a word, and he doesn’t eat well either.”
Dong Xinrui placed her fingers on his wrist.
Hmm? That’s not right.
Why wasn’t there a pulse?
Did she make a mistake?
“Grandpa, give your other hand.”
Up until now, she had only been using one hand to check pulses—she had confidence in her skills. But this ti, she had encountered soone with no pulse at all.
She suddenly felt a little hot and anxious.
Just to be sure, she used both hands this ti.
She pressed down.
Still no pulse!!!
Holy sh*t, this was so creepy stuff. A living person without a pulse? That wasn’t sothing to joke about!!
But she couldn’t just say that out loud.
How was she supposed to explain it?
“Grandma, let tell you sothing interesting—your husband, well, his pulse isn’t beating, but he can still move. Pretty bizarre, huh?”
Making up an excuse about needing to tidy up her new ho, Dong Xinrui grabbed her dog and left in a hurry.
Back at ho, the more she thought about it, the less it made sense.
She had seen it with her own eyes—a living person, yet no pulse?
She ssaged her best friend to ask about it.
The reply ca back bluntly: “Isn’t it obvious? A human with a beating heart but no pulse—either a zombie or a ghost. Congrats, girl, you just hit the jackpot. That’s so rare stuff! Quick, record a video, and you’ll go viral for sure!”
The friend said it casually, but to the one hearing it, it was anything but.
If she weren’t the one who had actually experienced it, she would’ve laughed it off as a joke.
And just then—
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
Already on edge, Dong Xinrui jumped up from the couch in fright.
“Who is it?!”
No response.
The doorbell stopped ringing, but the next second—
Knock, knock, knock...
Dong Xinrui’s voice instinctively rose, “Who is it?!”
Still no answer.
Summoning her courage, she tiptoed toward the door. As she approached, whatever was outside seed to sense her presence and stopped knocking.
Her heart was about to leap out of her throat.
Slowly, she pressed her eye against the peephole.
A blurry gray fog—nothing else.
She let out a long breath.
“I’m scaring myself... I’m just scaring myself... They must’ve knocked on the wrong door.”
Dong Xinrui patted her chest, trying to calm herself down.
But at that mont, a thought flashed through her mind—one she wished had never appeared.
She muttered to herself, “But I did hear knocking… It wasn’t my imagination. If there really was knocking, then why didn’t the motion-sensor light outside turn on?”
To confirm, she pressed her eye against the peephole again.
This ti, amidst the hazy gray view, two white dots appeared.
Dong Xinrui’s pupils shrank instantly.
White dots!!!
That old man from earlier—his eyes had white dots too!!!
It was one of the elders from before!
The light hadn’t failed to turn on—the old man had pressed his eyes right up against the peephole, blocking the light.
“I SEE YOU!!!”
BANG!!!
The elder’s voice overlapped with a deafening crash.
A massive dent appeared on the sturdy security door.
The sheer force of the impact was terrifying.
In that instant, Dong Xinrui knew—this wasn’t human. There was no way the thing outside was human.
She fell backward in terror, covering her mouth to keep from making a sound.
She could only scramble to her feet and crawl away in panic, desperately trying to grab her phone and call the authorities.
But it was too late.
The security door was torn open, leaving a gaping hole. The old man’s expression remained eerily blank as he squeezed his body through the gap, his flesh tearing against the jagged tal edges.
As blood and shredded skin peeled away, he muttered over and over,
“I see you...”
A wave of despair crashed over Dong Xinrui.
In all her twenty-sothing years of life, when had she ever encountered sothing like this?!
And then—
Behind her, from the floor-to-ceiling window, a second voice echoed the sa chilling words.
“I see you too...”
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