Chapter 316: Ambush in the Rain

A convoy of four Jeeps drove out from the Fourth People’s Hospital in Satellite City Seven, leaving Central City behind. They navigated onto the main road under a misty drizzle that had begun sometime earlier, their headlights cutting through the rain with a cold intense glare.

Inside one car the middle-aged man meticulously cleaned a gun with a black cloth, carefully wiping every surface.

A silver box rested on his lap; beside it a tray held four neatly arranged magazines.

*Ring ring ring…*

The car phone rang incessantly. The secretary answered a few calls before finally unplugging the line.

“Because Qinggang is involved many parties are hoping we don’t rush over just yet.”

The secretary summarized the calls reporting to the middle-aged man.

“When more people get involved will I still have the chance to put these bullets into his body?”

The secretary could only respond to his words with silence.

…

The Second Detention Center was located north of Satellite City Seven in a relatively open area. With the light rain falling there were even fewer people and cars on the road. The four-Jeep convoy quickly left the residential district entering a more deserted region. The misty rain painted the landscape in damp oppressive dark tones.

*Screech…*

The lead vehicle suddenly slammed on its brakes blocking the way.

“What happened?”

The secretary jolted slightly asking alertly.

“There’s a little girl up ahead…”

The driver of the front car nervously picked up the walkie-talkie glancing forward. A girl in a white dress stood barefoot before the vehicle. Her small body was covered in stitches her head bowed messy hair obscuring her eyes. She clutched a sharp stainless steel knife looking like a mischievous child who had snuck a kitchen utensil out to play.

A little girl with a knife blocking the road on a damp rainy night covered in ugly dense stitches…

It felt like all sound suddenly vanished from the surroundings.

The secretary in the third car paused then suddenly barked “Ram her!”

…

*Vroom…*

The lead car floored the throttle accelerating instantly and lunging forward.

Its reinforced steel body became like a roaring monster hurtling towards the seemingly fragile little girl.

No matter how you looked at it the mismatch was immense.

But the little girl remained standing in the middle of the road showing no sign of dodging. Only when the roaring steel beast was right upon her did she suddenly lift her head. Beneath her messy black hair was a face similarly marked with dense stitches. And on that grotesque face was a pair of eyes completely black without a hint of white.

*Swish*

The Jeep instantly ran over the little girl then stopped abruptly.

The vehicle began to shake violently as if an earthquake was happening inside causing the entire car to tremble intensely.

A few short screams came from inside the car as the shaking reached its peak.

Suddenly with several *pops* all four tires burst.

The car stopped moving enveloped in a deathly silence.

From the three vehicles behind fearful gazes turned towards the lead car.

As they watched an unnerving *creak* sounded from the roof of the lead car. Then the thick metal roof was pierced by a gleaming stainless steel knife which slowly cut a slit. A pale little hand reached out from the opening followed by a small head with black hair then a pale face and a thin gaunt little body.

The little girl appeared on the roof of the lead car her vacant eyes under the black hair staring straight at them.

“All personnel on alert…”

The secretary saw the little girl through the surveillance camera feed.

A certain hypothesis forming in his mind was confirmed. He suddenly took a deep breath and shouted.

*Bang bang bang…*

By now the armed personnel from the cars in front and behind had disembarked. Each held sophisticated assault rifles some even wielding standard-issue weapons loaded with special bullets. They unleashed everything they had at the little girl on the roof.

Amidst the deafening gunfire that made scalps tingle bullets tore through the rain curtain showering the little girl.

But just as the bullets flew towards her the little girl suddenly stood up straight.

As she stood her small body instantly seemed to expand.

Or perhaps it wasn’t expansion but dilution.

Her body suddenly dispersed spreading out. It became separate pieces connected by thin writhing threads of flesh. It was as if she was once a person but had now transformed into a net—a net of flesh and blood—that lunged forward.

Most bullets passed harmlessly through the gaps between the flesh.

Even the few bullets including special ones that hit a fleshy filament didn’t seem to cause much damage.

In this bizarre manner the little girl enveloped the men inside her net.

*Swish swish swish…*

A series of soft slicing sounds followed almost merging into one continuous line.

No one knew exactly what happened. Through the car windows they could only see writhing threads of flesh occasionally flying through the air.

Seconds later the threads of flesh converged towards the center.

The little girl’s body suddenly reformed appearing atop the hood of the third car.

She still held the stainless steel knife in her right hand only now blood dripped from it.

The surrounding gunfire had ceased sometime ago. The armed personnel holding their guns stood silent for a moment then collapsed simultaneously.

As they hit the ground their bodies broke apart into neat chunks of meat.

Blood squeezed out like sauce from a rare steak.

“Go now…”

Watching the girl who had landed silently on the car hood the secretary gritted his teeth and slammed a red button beside him. Instantly the entire vehicle erupted with harsh electrical noise. Visible blue arcs of electricity spread across strange patterns on the car’s body enveloping even the little girl standing on the hood.

Immediately the engine unleashed powerful thrust reversing sharply. It slammed the car behind back three or four meters then the vehicle prepared to execute a sharp drift break through the barrier gate beside the road and escape into the vast wilderness beyond seeking survival.

But just then the clear cry of an infant suddenly echoed through the surroundings.

“Waaah…”

The sound was piercing strange and unsettling.

Strangest of all as the cry sounded the Jeep whose emergency power system was already engaged felt like it had plunged into water.

Its unstoppable momentum was being forcibly restrained its speed slowing drastically.

Finally the car couldn’t move at all. Only the powerless roar of the engine and the sound of tires grinding against something remained.

The secretary lunged to the window looking out. His heart instantly sank.

The armed personnel whose throats the little girl had seemingly slit earlier were now standing up again. Only they were no longer Mr. Zhao’s guards but had transformed into grotesque fleshy monsters. It was these beings that pounced onto the front of the car using their expanding writhing flesh to engulf the four tires nearly lifting the Jeep into the air completely blocking any escape route.

Meanwhile the infant’s cries grew louder.

All the remaining armed personnel felt splitting headaches then realizing something let out terrified screams.

“Activate emergency defense system…”

The secretary yelled at the driver but found him unresponsive. He shoved him sharply only to see the driver’s face had become bizarrely distorted. Countless flesh buds like earthworms sprouted from his eye sockets nostrils and ears even spreading outwards covering the steering wheel gearshift throttle and crucial defense system controls.

The infant’s cries continued mournful and shrill.

The security personnel’s own flesh seemed to come alive crawling out from their bodies bit by bit shattering the glass masks they wore. Showers of blood exploded from within them splattering into the surrounding rain.

“Mr. Zhao you go first…”

The secretary shouted intending to push open the car door first. But as he reached out he saw his own hand had become monstrous.

His arm had transformed into a slender scaled serpentine body of blood-red flesh his hand a snake head its eerie eyes staring back at him. As the horrified secretary looked down the snake head lunged biting down hard on his throat.

Unable to comprehend what was happening the secretary’s body slowly slumped falling out of the car door.

…

Amidst these bizarre changes the middle-aged man sat silently.

He understood the quality of his security detail and knew what making a move against him within Central City signified.

So he was merely calmly assessing the level of attack he was facing and what the opponent’s objective might be.

After pondering for a moment he picked up a magazine and loaded it into the chamber of his gun.

…

The crying outside the car had ceased. The eerie little girl was also gone nowhere to be seen.

Only the soft patter of rain hitting the ground could be heard.

The dampness of the rain and the thick smell of blood mixed within it filled the car compartment.

*Creak…*

After a long quiet wait footsteps finally approached the car door pulling it open forcefully.

A man in a suit leaned halfway in wiping rainwater off his gold-rimmed glasses with a tissue. He then smiled amicably at the middle-aged man and said “Dr. Zhao I presume? Apologies I could only arrange to meet you this way.”

“I’ve always greatly admired your research at the Institute concerning data enhancement for the mentally impaired.”

“So now I formally invite you to join the Black Table.”