Chapter 179: A Voice in the Darkness

2022-05-20

The laughter was sharp, almost like metal scraping across concrete. But it definitely wasn’t a cat making that sound—this was a person. Their throat had to be wrecked to let out something so piercing. In the darkness, that laugh twisted together with the wild cries of stray cats, echoing into something that made my skin crawl.

Fear crept into my chest. Not a sliver of sunlight reached this place. All I could see were dozens of green eyes glowing in the dark. I felt each cat stepping over my body, and the sharp sting as their claws raked across my arms and face, leaving a web of cuts. Worse still, I could sense someone watching me from the shadows.

Humans really are afraid of the dark. No matter how much I told myself there was nothing to fear, in a place like this, my heart still thudded so loud I was sure it could burst out of my chest. My hands trembled and I fought to keep my fear in check as I fumbled my way forward.

Suddenly, my hand brushed up against someone else’s. It was smooth, almost unnaturally so, as if they washed it with milk every day. I jerked my hand back, and in that instant I realized—this person had to be the killer.

Just before, with a bit of light, I’d seen the little girl sitting cross-legged not far from me, her head and body separated. As a corpse she couldn’t move. That meant the hand I touched, warm and alive, had to be the killer’s.

Terror crashed over me, tangled with a sudden surge of responsibility. How could the killer stay so calm in utter darkness? Where had they even come from? I was scared, but the thought of that little girl—barely a teenager—killed so cruelly made anger flare up inside me.

I lunged forward, reaching blindly to grab the killer who seemed just in front of me. But I caught nothing but air. And just then, all the stray cats started dashing out, scattering till the place went quiet.

I curled myself up tight, blocking the narrow passage to make sure the killer couldn’t slip past me. But after a while, not a sound.

Suddenly, a haunting melody drifted from farther away, growing fainter by the second. Still that same sharp voice, but woven with an emotion I couldn’t quite name. I knew there had to be another exit here somewhere. I wanted to chase after them, but I couldn’t see a thing.

Frantically, I groped for the flashlight I’d dropped, though I had no clue where it landed. Maybe a cat had even run off with it.

I backed away and my hand found something stick-like. I twisted it and, finally, a beam of light flickered on. I scanned the ground—right beside me was a human head. The little girl’s. Behind it, a dagger was stabbed at an angle.

It hit me then—the killer was probably reaching for that dagger right in front of me. If they could move around like nothing in this darkness, stabbing me would’ve been easy. But they didn’t. Instead, they chose to leave.

Were they letting me go on purpose, or just afraid I’d manage to catch them? I had no idea.

Under the flashlight, I could see I was in a larger space now—wide enough for a grown-up to squat comfortably. I swept the light around, searching for another exit. But aside from where I came in, there was nowhere else to go.

I looked around carefully. The little girl’s head was still next to me, her body leaning up against the far wall. Her skin, porcelain-smooth, was carved full of crooked English letters. I couldn’t make out what they said.

Next to her, two more corpses lay on the ground.

Suddenly it all clicked. The whole family of three was here.

Those two adults were probably her parents, and the third—smaller—corpse was the girl herself. She could never have imagined that the real secret behind this black pit wasn’t some kind soul rescuing stray cats.

I checked again, comparing the two adult corpses with the girl’s body. Something about the girl’s position had shifted a little since before. I thought for a second, then crept over like a cat and moved her body aside. Just as I hoped, behind her was another narrow tunnel.

Without hesitating, I crawled right in.

It took a full ten minutes of crawling before I saw even a hint of light ahead. My flashlight was useless now in the brightening glow. Stepping out, the sudden sense of space was overwhelming—I almost burst into tears. Now I understood why so many people have claustrophobia. That oppressive feeling just wouldn’t let go.

I found myself in what seemed like a storage room, boxes piled everywhere. Gazing around, memories surfaced—a missing female boss in the killer’s story. This had to be her warehouse.

A door stood ahead. I stepped outside, straight into the front store. The main door was locked tight from outside—I tugged, but it wouldn’t budge. Pressing my face to the window, I looked out onto a quiet street—not the busiest in town, and barely anyone was passing by.

I pressed my nose to the glass, hoping to spot whoever just left. At the corner, I caught the glimpse of someone in black slipping out of sight. With a height around one-sixty-eight, I was sure—that was the killer.

I kicked the glass door hard, twice, but it was sturdier than I expected.

Then I smacked my forehead and quickly fished out my phone, calling Gu Chen right away.

“Hey Gu Chen, bring your team to this street right now, hurry! The killer’s around one-seventy tall, wearing black. Could be a man or a woman. This place is pretty deserted, you need to move fast!”

“Are you alright?” Gu Chen asked.

“I’m fine—just follow my instructions,” I said quickly.

With that, I turned back to the warehouse. The walk was eerily silent, nothing but my own footsteps. Naturally, I passed by the bodies again, but I didn’t stop—I pressed straight on.

When I came out, someone was still waiting at the entrance.

He looked at me in shock.

“What happened to you?” I asked.

He shot back, “That’s what I should be asking! Your face is covered in blood, your clothes are ripped to shreds, hair’s a mess… Anyone who saw you would think you’d been down a coal mine. Captain Wu, seriously—what happened in there…?”

I didn’t have the patience to explain. Instead, I asked, “Did anything happen while I was inside?”

He thought for a moment, then said, “About twenty minutes after you went in, all of a sudden this huge pack of cats came flooding out of the hole—dozens of them! They bolted down the street and vanished without a trace.”

“Gu Chen got worried about you. He called a bunch of times but couldn’t get through. A little while later, he got a call and took off with the whole team, left me here to keep watch. No idea what happened next.”

I nodded, patted his shoulder, and said, “Find a few thin guys—ones with guts—to help carry three bodies out. Better warn them first, though, or someone might just wet their pants.”

“So there really were bodies?” His eyes went wide.

Upstairs, I found only Guan Zengbin left. The others had gone with Gu Chen to chase down the killer.

“Hey,” I called softly as Guan Zengbin searched for clues.

She turned and looked me over, “Where the hell did you go? Your face is a mess.”

Pulling out some bandages from her kit, she started wiping the blood from my face. “Did you get scratched by a cat? You really should see yourself—all those lines of blood. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you picked a fight with someone’s wife.”

I turned my head to the window and caught a glimpse of sunset burning in the clouds. Evening had settled in. There was some warmth in the air. Sunlight spilled across Guan Zengbin’s face and hair, giving her a soft golden halo. For some reason, my nerves finally eased. The panic just faded away.

“Yeah,” I said quietly.