[Fountain City]
“What’s wrong?”
The man wearing a duckbill cap turned back to look at Little Black Feet, who had stopped walking.
“I’m not going outside the city. That’s not in my line of work.”
Little Black Feet halted at the city gate, refusing to cross the threshold.
“Don’t be so rigid. You’re already here—look, you can see it from right here. It’s just a couple steps away, and there are guards posted at the door. What are you afraid of…?”
The man pointed at a six-legged heavy cadaver that had broken down on the roadside ten meters away.
Little Black Feet still shook her head.
The man’s face changed instantly, and he flew into a rage, threatening her:
“You’re breaching the contract! I’m going to report you to market supervision! I’ll make sure your shop shuts down!”
Little Black Feet ignored him completely and slowly walked back with her toolbox in hand.
She was secretly alarmed. Was he going to make a move just because they were acquaintances? Had those guys gone so far as to lose all sense of decency?
Meanwhile, at the Cat House shop.
A bearskin as glossy as silk rippled like waves. With a long, soft hum, a loli’s little head poked out from the collar. To her, this bearskin coat was even bigger than a sleeping bag—plenty of room inside for a hot pot.
Delwei’s eyes remained closed, her little nose twitching as she murmured:
“So fragrant… There’s something delicious…”
She rolled off the sofa and dashed down the street draped in the blanket-like bearskin, barefoot without shoes, stepping through mud and puddles. Like Little Black Feet, but different—her soles stayed pristine white, not a speck of dirt.
“Delicious food… Don’t run… Oh… So sleepy…”
Delwei yawned, struggling to open her drowsy eyes. She saw a sheep-head person in a waiter’s tuxedo running ahead, carrying a tray with a silver cloche. Its slender legs swung exaggeratedly back and forth, the suede Chelsea boots tapping elegantly.
Suddenly, the sheep-head person kicked off the ground and leaped out the city gate, like jumping through a flaming hoop in a circus.
When Delwei crossed the gate, she frowned as if she’d forgotten something important. But whatever—food came first…
Not far away, an RV pulled by a cadaver was parked on the roadside.
Peering through the open back door, warm yellow light illuminated an empty table.
The sheep-head person slipped into the RV, placed the tray on the table, and several people who had been waiting turned their heads in unison. Through their expressionless white masks, they stared at the drooling little loli with her mouth agape.
After Delwei boarded, the people outside closed the door.
The masked eyes exchanged glances behind their covers—time to strike!
Some noises came from the RV. The sheep-head person standing guard outside clasped its hands behind its back, standing ramrod straight with impeccable professionalism.
A few minutes later, the door opened, but it wasn’t an accomplice who emerged—instead, it was Delwei, belching contentedly.
“Thanks for the feast…”
The loli covered her mouth with her little hand, yawned lazily, and strolled back. The others hurriedly checked inside the vehicle, only to be met with a horrifying sight!
The people inside looked like melted wax figures, their bodies flattened and stuck to the walls and ceiling like jelly—soft and grotesque. Still-writhing muscles and eyeballs rolling in terror showed they were alive, but the boundaries of humanity had utterly collapsed…
At the same time, Nina received an invitation to go to Bull Town for legal notarization, while Chloe got an invitation for on-site reporting and a news tip. But they both refused, strictly following Ashley’s no-leaving-the-city strategy.
–
On the west side of the central square, an entire second-floor office space in a building had been rented by the Blood Nobles as a liaison office.
A liaison put down the receiver behind his desk, stood up, and walked to the window to report to the girl leaning on the railing, gazing into the distance:
“Lady Pearl, Ashley’s subordinates have iron discipline. Not a single one took the bait—except for that loli named Delwei. But… but our people weren’t her match at all. Four transcendents died in an instant… They might still be alive, but it’s worse than death. She’s the embodiment of disaster and ill omen…”
The girl from the Scripps Family wore no mask. Her silky white hair shimmered ethereally. From the side, her eyebrows and pupils were pure white, her lips a faint pink. Her delicate skin was nearly transparent, revealing red capillaries and faint blue veins beneath. Her slender neck and rounded shoulders were covered in a layer of glowing white down feathers—she was a rare albino Great Raven!
Bad news kept coming, but the girl remained unflustered. Her slender fingers gripped the window frame, eyes narrowed to slits as the breeze brushed her face, occasionally lifting the hair at her ears.
“Do they… have family?”
“Ashley is a member of the Jenkins Family—parents unknown. That family’s all pure lunatics; best not to clash head-on. Veronica and Delwei aren’t locals, family unknown. Nina’s family was entirely executed in the Bull Town incident. Only Chloe has a divorced mother…” the liaison reported.
“Five people, and they can’t even muster a single pair of parents? How interesting…” The girl narrowed her eyes, revealing a gentle, amiable smile.
…
…
Chloe opened half a window for five minutes of ventilation, then quickly closed it and drew the thick curtains. She turned to her bedridden mother on the sickbed.
The woman’s hand dangled over the green silk-faced real-silk quilt, making her withered, sallow face look even more gaunt and lethargic, in a half-asleep, half-awake state.
Chloe had gone out for a bit and returned carrying a sandpot wrapped in a thick cloth. Smiling, she said:
“Mom, the stewed pears are ready.”
The woman showed a weary but kind smile, laboriously turning over and sipping the stewed pears one spoonful at a time.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang.
In the reception room connected to the entryway, Chloe deftly brewed tea for the bald man and bowed as she asked:
“Dr. Zimmerman, my mom’s condition seems to have worsened lately. What do you think…?”
“Though post-cold cough is a self-limiting illness, the fluctuating temperatures lately, combined with your mother’s frail constitution struggling with heat and cold, have led to night sweats and complications. I recommend hospital admission—constant-temperature rooms will help,” the doctor said.
Hearing it was a city hospital, Chloe breathed a sigh of relief and said gratefully:
“That would be perfect. Thank you.”
She immediately hired a spacious luxury carriage, helped her mother aboard, placed a prepared charcoal brazier at her feet, and covered her legs with a wool blanket.
However, the next night in the hospital, urgent knocking jolted Chloe awake. She rushed over in slippers to learn her mother was in critical condition and needed an immediate transfer for surgery!
Chloe was dumbfounded and hurried to the hospital, only to be told the only place equipped for the surgery was outside the city.
“Do I have to go with her?” she asked.
“The surgery requires family signature. If you don’t go, another family member will do,” the doctor said.
Chloe sensed something ominous. Her expression dazed, pupils dilating, she hesitated for seconds, then gritted her teeth and cried out with a sob: “I’ll go!”
That night’s wind and rain were exceptionally fierce, lashing the ground in waves.
After the carriage carrying the reporter loli left the city, it didn’t head to the hospital—instead, it sped straight toward Danzhu Reservoir.
Chloe soon smelled a sweet fragrance. Her eyelids grew heavy as lead; she couldn’t keep them open and softly collapsed onto the carriage cushions.
When she awoke, she was in a dim cellar, her little head trapped in a noose dangling from the ceiling. Only her tiptoes touched the ground—she had to tense her legs, alternating her toes for support to avoid hanging.
Chloe panted in short gasps, struggling to maintain balance. Glaring down at the white-haired girl before her, she roared:
“Where’s my mom?!”
“Her mental state and physical integrity depend on your cooperation.” The girl smiled sweetly.
