The giant bat lay slumped on the ground, its face turned sideways. The black cat slowly crawled onto its head and pressed its mouth close to the bat's ear. Suddenly, it sucked in sharply—at once, the bat let out a shrill scream. As the cat's tiny mouth moved, blood began spurting from the bat's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Simultaneously, its body started to convulse uncontrollably, while its head remained pinned motionless, as if crushed beneath a massive stone.
Moments later, the bat's spasms gradually subsided. I understood what was happening—the black cat was sucking out the bat's brain through its ear canal. Watching this made my stomach churn with waves of nausea. A little while after that, the cat lifted its head and licked the sticky blood at the corner of its mouth with its tongue. Then, in a soft, whispery voice, it turned to Sun Fatty and uttered a single call: "Nyeh—"
That sight sent a cold jolt through my chest, and I felt like my insides were about to surge up my throat.
By now, the black cat looked nothing like the trembling bundle it had been before. It was as if sucking the bat's brain had emboldened it. The cat leapt down from the bat and slowly padded over to Sun Fatty. After witnessing that grotesque display, Sun Fatty's face was drained of color. Seeing the cat approach, he instinctively stepped back. But the cat was faster. Just as he moved, it sprang up onto his shoulder.
"Sun, do you believe now that this black cat is a demon's pet?" Hugo stared hard at the cat, speaking to Sun Fatty as he slowly pulled the wooden stopper from his vial of holy water. Just as he was about to make his move, the black cat suddenly turned its head. Its cold, unblinking eyes locked onto Director Hugo. Then it opened its mouth and shrieked at him, "Nyeh!"
I flinched. Thankfully, unlike before, the cat's cry didn't cause any of us to lose consciousness. But the bottle of holy water in Director Hugo's hand suddenly exploded with a sharp pop. He had been so focused on attacking the cat that he wasn't prepared for this at all. His face flushed red, but in the next second, his expression changed. It was as if he had just remembered something crucial—his face went pale, and he started fumbling inside his coat as if he had lost something important.
After rummaging for a moment, Hugo found the item he was looking for. Once he confirmed that the object tucked inside his coat was safe and intact, he let out a long breath, and some color returned to his face.
I stepped forward and said, "Director Hugo, let it go. This cat belonged to Yang Jun, but originally, it was a gift from Director Wu. I know you and Director Wu are close—consider this a favor to him. Spare the beast."
At the mention of Wu Rendi's name, Hugo's expression softened noticeably. "Shen, you know me. If this weren't connected to Director Wu, I'd have sent this demonic creature straight back to hell."
Though his tone lacked conviction, now that I'd given him an out, Hugo naturally didn't want to keep pressing the issue with the cat.
To be honest, persuading people isn't usually my thing, but at that moment, Sun Fatty wasn't in any state to say anything. Ever since the cat had perched on his shoulder, something in him had changed. He was eyeing the black cat sideways, and far from helping to defuse the situation, he didn't even dare to breathe too loudly. Understandable, really—the cat's mouth was now perfectly aligned with his ear. If it decided to take a bite, it would be over.
After I finished speaking with Hugo, Sun Fatty finally muttered under his breath, "Lazi, do me a favor—can you hold this cat for a bit? My shoulder's acting up again… that old inflammation's flaring."
"You must be joking. You think I'd dare provoke that cat at a time like this?" I didn't hesitate for a second and was just about to decline when the black cat, as if it understood me, suddenly stood up on Sun Fatty's shoulder, dipped its body, and leapt straight into his coat. It nestled comfortably inside, clearly not planning to come out anytime soon.
That startled the fortune rat hiding in Sun Fatty's coat pocket. It poked its head out, glanced around a few times, then yawned wide, flashing its four rows of mouse teeth, and retreated back into the pocket.
I looked at Sun Fatty and chuckled. "Da Sheng, got nothing to say now, huh?" Sun Fatty muttered something under his breath with a bitter face—it was clear he had resigned himself. By now, Hugo had walked over to the giant bat's corpse and was busy taking photos. Ever since realizing he could make decisions on his own, Hugo had become somewhat excited and was eager to handle everything himself.
Sun Fatty frowned at the bat's body and turned to me. "Lazi, why do you think Yang Jun and Hao Zhengyi left this one behind? Not trying to be picky, but they've already taken out seven or eight of these freaks. Why spare this one? There's only this one path. Yang Jun, Hao Zhengyi, and the Crow—it's impossible they didn't notice this Yanmahu."
I thought back to how we'd discovered the giant bat and replied, "Probably because it was hiding really well. If it weren't for those flashes of light earlier, we wouldn't have found it either. It's pitch dark down here—missing one doesn't seem that strange."
"Lazi, don't compare the three of us to those three." Sun Fatty glanced at Hugo, who was still busy snapping away. "Not gonna lie—it's kind of embarrassing, but it's true. Just Hao Zhengyi alone would be enough to keep the three of us running in circles." He shook his head, and the smile faded from his face. "I think something unexpected happened. The three of them must've left in a rush and didn't have time to check for stragglers."
Right as he said that, Hugo had finally stopped taking pictures (I suspected he had filled the memory card). He'd clearly overheard Sun Fatty's theory. "Sun, could you elaborate?" he asked.
Sun Fatty shot him a half-smile. "Not trying to be dramatic, but just keep heading forward. When you see those three, everything will make sense."
We moved forward again, approaching the spot where the arcs of light had flashed earlier. Having learned from his previous mistake, Sun Fatty removed a large part of his lamp mount and handed it to me and Hugo. These mounts didn't shine too far, but they were better than nothing—at least we had some light now.
We were all on edge, wondering if those three had left any more creatures behind for us to deal with. But as we made our way out of the corridor, we didn't run into any more half-finished monsters.
The corridor ended in a narrow passage, just wide enough for one person to squeeze through. Hugo went first. Sun Fatty had a bit more trouble—it was a tight fit. He turned sideways, took a deep breath, and scuttled through like a crab. I had to give him a push from behind, and with Hugo pulling in front, we barely got him through.
Beyond the passage lay a vast open space, almost like a square or plaza. Hugo was the first to step in, and he immediately looked up at the ceiling and murmured, "Oh God… This doesn't make any sense…"
Sun Fatty and I followed close behind. When we exited the passage, Sun Fatty deliberately pulled me back a bit, keeping some distance between us and Hugo. I understood—after what had happened earlier, he was still shaken and wanted Hugo to go ahead and scout.
When we heard Hugo say that, his tone didn't sound like he'd found danger—it was more like he'd seen something bizarre. Sun Fatty, being the curious type, hurried forward and called out, "Director Yu, the most unscientific thing here is your godfather—what are you talking about?"
He stopped mid-sentence and froze in place. Hugo did too, both of them tilting their heads almost ninety degrees to look up at the ceiling. I half suspected the two of them would walk away from this with permanent neck problems.
What the hell were they looking at? What could be so shocking?
I hurried to their side and looked up—what I saw left me speechless. Right above the center of the square was a circular opening in the ceiling, about fifty meters wide. Through the thin veil of the opening, we could see the murky ocean floor above. The seawater was flowing back and forth right over our heads, and a few strands of unknown seaweed drifted along the seabed. The whole thing looked like it could come crashing down at any moment. The plaza reeked of the briny smell of the sea.
My mind went blank. I couldn't think of a single word to describe how I felt.
After a long pause, Sun Fatty finally broke the silence. "So… you think there's a layer of glass up there?" he asked.
As soon as he said that, Hugo let out a long breath, looked at him, and replied, "Sun, what do you think this is, Sea World? There's no way this place and the invention of glass are from the same era. What are you trying to say? That glass was invented by you Chinese?"
Sun Fatty didn't back down. He pointed up at the sea above the ceiling. "Then why don't you give us a better explanation, Director Yu?"
Hugo didn't know how to respond. I sighed and said, "Da Sheng, stop guessing. There's no glass."
"What makes you so sure?" they both asked at the same time.
I pointed to the ground directly beneath the circular opening. "Look for yourselves."
Earlier, we had all been too focused on the ceiling to notice what was directly below it. There, lying motionless on the ground, were three people who looked like they'd been dead for a while. Judging by their build, none of them were Yang Jun and his crew.
At first, the sight of them startled me. But when I got a better look at their clothes—nothing like the ones worn by the monsters—we all breathed a little easier. Their outfits looked familiar, like we'd seen them before. Their whole bodies were soaked, like they'd just been fished out of the sea. From their position, it seemed they had fallen directly from the suspended ocean above.
Once we confirmed they weren't more creatures, Hugo led the way as the three of us carefully approached the bodies. When we got close enough, we recognized them: the deputy mayor's secretary, the deputy director of the local police bureau, and the fish farm director who had driven the speedboat. All three of them had been sucked into the whirlpool yesterday. Judging by their condition, their bodies hadn't bloated—they must have drowned and been carried straight here.
After examining their cause of death, Hugo pulled out his crucifix and muttered prayers over the bodies. Meanwhile, Sun Fatty had already shifted his focus. He paced back and forth, looking like he was searching for something.
I couldn't help but ask, "Da Sheng, what are you looking for?"
He glanced at me and said, "Lazi, don't you think something's wrong? Four people got sucked away by the current, but only three are here. Not trying to be dramatic, but the most important one is missing."
His words hit me like a lightning bolt.
The fourth person pulled under by the vortex was Zhang Rantian. By all logic, he should be lying here with the others. But his body was nowhere to be seen.
Just then, a blinding arc of light suddenly flashed across the ceiling above us. The entire area was momentarily illuminated. Another brilliant flash followed immediately after, cutting across the sea above.
"Lightning—that's lightning!" I finally understood. This was exactly where all those bolts had been striking the ocean surface earlier. Judging by the situation, the lightning hadn't stopped. If it weren't for the ocean acting as a buffer, this Yin Convergence Point would've been scorched to rubble by now.
Sun Fatty and Hugo realized it too. Several more lightning bolts lit up the place.
This didn't feel safe at all. Just as we were about to move on, another bolt streaked across the sky. Sun Fatty suddenly pointed beside me and shouted, "Look! What's on that wall?"
He rushed over with his lamp mount, and by its dim light, we could see an entire wall covered in red murals.
The wall was divided into segments—some with text, others with images—all telling different parts of a story. Sun Fatty squinted at them for a while but couldn't make sense of them. He turned to me and asked, "Lazi, can you make out what this is?"
I had barely glanced at it—no way I could tell. I was just about to bluff my way through when a voice suddenly rang out from the direction of the plaza exit: "What's written and drawn up there… it's all about Nyeh."
The unexpected voice startled all three of us. We turned quickly—and saw a figure clutching his stomach walking toward us.
He had only taken a few steps when a loud crash erupted behind him, as if something massive had fallen. The figure glanced back but didn't seem surprised, like he had expected it. He hunched forward and slowly made his way toward us.
"Didn't expect you to actually make it down here… and even get this far. I'm a little impressed," he said.
It was Hao Zhengyi. Even though he was still in the shadows, I recognized his voice.
I wasn't the only one. As soon as Sun Fatty heard him, he immediately raised his crossbow. When he realized it was Hao Zhengyi, he leveled the weapon on his shoulder but didn't lower it.
Sun Fatty stared in his direction. "Director Hao's big bro? Not trying to be rude, but where's Yang Jun and that other guy?"
Hao Zhengyi continued limping toward us, entering the range of our lights. It had barely been an hour since we'd last seen him, but he looked like a different person.
His coat and backpack were gone—who knows where. All he wore now was a thin cotton undershirt. His body was covered in wounds. One hand gripped the wall for support, the other pressed against his abdomen. With every step, his facial muscles twitched as if he were in unbearable pain.
He didn't speak at first, which only deepened our unease. I grew anxious at the mention of Yang Jun and demanded, "President Hao, I asked you—where's Yang Jun?"
He finally stopped, leaning against the wall and gasping for breath before he replied flatly, "Yang Jun's fine. Of the three of us, he's in the best shape."
There was something strange in his tone—vague, almost bitter. His behavior seemed off. For Hao Zhengyi, Yang Jun being okay was one thing, but even the Crow's safety didn't seem to concern him now.
And that was something I couldn't make sense of.