Puzzle Madness

Chapter 168 Autumn is the Hunting Season (Part 4)

Huang Youtian mumbled a long string of words while reaching out to pull down Da Tou Hong's pants.

Although Big Head Hong was much fatter and stronger than Huang Youtian, he couldn't exert any strength while sitting on the ground; so the two of them became entangled and wrestled together:
"Boy's pee?! I'll just feed it to you! Damn it, if I'd gone to Changshan Beach earlier, I wouldn't be a virgin anymore!"

The two of them twisted and turned on the ground like a comedic act, which actually relaxed the tense atmosphere.

Sour soup bak kut teh scratched his head, took off his thick-soled wedge heels, and tucked them under his armpits.

Although her hand gripping the flashlight was taut, with veins bulging, she suddenly let out a snort, seemingly quite disdainful:
"Ghosts? Do ghosts change clothes? Do they need to buy new clothes every year in the underworld, wear the latest styles, and keep up with the trends? Do they need to wear makeup too?"

She took a deep breath, exhaling the musty smell of the air-raid shelter, and asked herself a question:

"Probably not? That must be it. The girl was wearing running shoes, New Balance [998AS], they're new. That colorway is definitely from this year."

"The glasses didn't mention any recent accidents, so it's not like someone burned the paper shoes to the underworld, is it?"

"Moreover, I've only ever heard of corpses being burned to a crisp, I've never heard of scars growing back. It would be hilarious if someone really had this kind of scar-prone constitution."

"It's definitely a real person. It might be a prank, but it's probably not a reality show. The filming environment here is too poor. If they put on some lighting, it would definitely look terrible."

She rattled off a long string of words about sour soup and bak kut teh like a machine gun. She stamped her bare feet; she was already prepared to escape into the air-raid shelter.

“She shouted very loudly, did you hear that? She said [run].”

"Glasses, how's the security around here? Have you seen any petty thugs robbing people in the tunnels?"

The woman, barefoot, walked straight through the queue. Huang Youtian and Da Tou Hong also slowed their wrestling and looked up at her.
"There might actually be robbers ahead, and that girl was just warning us to turn around; safety first, if it's a prank, it's a prank."

"Let's turn around and leave. It would be troublesome if they were really bad people. I have a professional class on Monday, and I have to catch a flight back to Singapore tomorrow. If you're not leaving, I'll go ahead on my own."

The guy with the eyeglasses grabbed her arm abruptly, his face serious. He seemed relatively calm.

"It's best not to separate now; if you're going to leave, leave together. She did shout 'run,' but I don't think it's that simple. Let's not even talk about the security situation."

"Think about it: if she encountered a robber or a dangerous person, wouldn't that girl call for help from us? After all, there are several of us, and we are all young and strong. How scary can the robbers in the air-raid shelter be? Usually, hardly anyone comes here, so they can't possibly steal any money; they can't possibly be fully armed."

"But she didn't. What if she thinks we're accomplices of bad guys? But then there's no need for her to tell us to run away."

"So she assumed we weren't robbers, not bad people—how did she know? She only glanced at us once before running past!"

"So under these circumstances—I can only assume that she felt we couldn't handle the dangers ahead. Actually, my father's disappearance was also a bit suspicious—but let's not talk about that."

"It would be terrifying if our appearance differed greatly from [danger]. Everyone has seen 'Psychopaths' and knows that there may be many things beyond humans."

"We can't explore any further, but we need to retreat together for safety."

Although his words were full of urgency and fear, he spoke slowly and deliberately, seemingly unconcerned about the approaching danger.

The sour soup bak kut teh remained noncommittal, but didn't argue either: he simply pushed away the man with glasses and tightened the drawstring of his bag; ready to run at any moment. Wong Yau-tim looked up, panting. Although he had shouted to pull down Big Head Hong's pants, he had only gotten himself all dirty in the process.

"I agree with what Eyeglasses said. It sounds complicated, but it boils down to one sentence: that girl might have encountered a monster! Damn, what kind of weird thing likes to live in places like bomb shelters? What did the magazine say?"

He rubbed his face, and all his playful laughter vanished. Huang Youtian's eyebrows were thick, straight, and slanted upwards, giving him an air of righteousness when he wasn't being mischievous. He reached out and grabbed Da Tou Hong's forearm, pulling him up:

"But to be honest, it really is time to go; everyone seems more relaxed and calmer now, right?"

"Whether it's a monster or a villain, if they're chasing that girl at her running speed—they shouldn't be far from us."

After finally managing to stand up, Big Head Hong staggered back a few steps, only feeling relieved when he touched the rope that had fallen to the ground again.

"Yeah! I was saying we should just listen to what that ghost says, right? Ghosts generally don't lie. Stop nagging, let's run! We can continue our discussion outside—why are you all just talking and not doing anything?"

Big Head Hong straightened up abruptly, his movements so swift they were almost clumsy. But with a "ghost" on one side and strange noises on the other, Big Head Hong didn't know which way to run.

The guy with the eyepiece beckoned and turned to leave without hesitation; the others followed closely behind him.

Big Head Hong was second, slowly winding up the rope axle. He hadn't gone far when he suddenly slapped his forehead:
"Damn! I forgot, could it be the [Surinamese all-metal headed savages]?! Aren't they the ones that attack and hunt humans?!"

Eyeglasses guy waved his hand, signaling him to relax:

"There's no need to worry about the big-headed wild man. 'Super Psychological Exploration' has featured them in so many issues, consistently stating that they primarily inhabit South America; and how could such a dangerous creature possibly emerge unscathed after contact?"

Snapped!
Huang Youtian suddenly took two steps forward, raised his hand, and covered the boy with glasses' mouth; he almost knocked the glasses off.

"Don't speak yet! Listen. There's another sound, listen."

The playful and teasing expression had completely vanished from his face, leaving only solemnity and vigilance.

Everyone tensed up again and stopped in their tracks. All ears perked up at Huang Youtian's words:

There was indeed a faint sound echoing in the air-raid shelter; but it could only be heard clearly in the stillness.

The sound came from deeper inside the air-raid shelter, behind them.

Big Head Hong grabbed Huang Youtian's flashlight and switched it off. Beneath his baseball cap, his lips trembled, but his words were far calmer than before:
"Everyone, crouch down, and we'll slowly continue moving outwards. Turn off the flashlights, hold each other's hands, and we'll walk out along the rope."

The sound grew louder, completely different from the girl's running sound just now; they turned off their flashlights, grasped each other's hands, and could feel the sweat on each other's palms.

Hiss-hiss, hiss-hiss, hiss-hiss.

It sounded like some kind of violent panting, as loud as a steam engine; there was only inhalation, but no exhalation.

(End of this chapter)