After opening the hollow in her chest, Chloe noticed the girl’s demeanor change completely. Her gaze turned resolute, radiating an unyielding determination to achieve her goal or die trying.
“You…”
Before she could ask, Nina gripped the electrical switch and pulled it down without hesitation!
Sparks crackled through the air as the Pigman tensed up rigidly and twitched slightly. White smoke gradually rose from its body, electrocuting it along with a litter of human-headed piglets. Then, she reset the switch, lowered her head, and her eyes filled with complex emotions.
“Care to talk about the hidden story behind it all?” The reporter loli’s occupational curiosity kicked in as she asked.
“A boring story, really… Originally, my mother was Montago Boothslot’s most favored concubine. She was stunningly beautiful, graceful in song and dance. But the matriarch of the family grew jealous of her beauty and elegance, so she framed her. Mother sensed something was wrong and sent me away first, but she couldn’t escape in time and was turned into a human pig. Years later, I returned, vowing to utterly destroy this dark and evil family. It’s my destiny, a curse from my bloodline. I must end it, whether that brings new life or total destruction.”
“Indeed boring. I’d rather report this from Ashley’s perspective—it’d be way more interesting.” Chloe spread her hands.
The two stood in front of the elevator and pressed the up button. As the cabin descended, the wooden doors opened, and the dim backlight outlined the silhouette of a tall, thin Sheep-Head Person that looked like a devil!
The beastly body was wrapped in fine human civilization—exquisite formal attire and an elegant mask—which only made it more terrifying. Its rough, massive claws tightly gripped a Double-Headed Spiral Bone Spear, and its entire form exuded a suffocating sense of oppression!
“Run! It’s someone from the McIntosh Family!” Nina grabbed the reporter loli and turned to flee.
“What’s that?”
“An ancient noble family that worships blood. They wield immense power—even Union City has to curry favor with them. The Boothslot Family is just one of their vassals. We can only run, not fight. If we so much as harm that noble young master’s body, we’ll be in huge trouble. The Blood Nobles’ revenge isn’t a joke.” Nina warned. She only wanted to wipe out the Boothslot Family and had no desire to provoke the Blood Nobles.
“What a frustrating feeling, but yeah, we can’t beat him anyway.”
After running through several corridors, Nina gradually realized something odd: the pursuer seemed obsessively fixated on chasing them, which wasn’t normal.
Normally, if a distinguished guest spotted two rats scurrying along the wall in someone else’s home, they wouldn’t bother chasing them personally.
Moreover, the Sheep-Head Person’s pursuit posture was extremely strange. It would crouch down first, then leap forward with great force, shaking violently upon landing and needing to brace itself with the bone spear in a tripod formation to avoid falling over.
“Does he have cerebellar atrophy?” Chloe asked puzzledly.
“Don’t say that—he’ll get mad. And mocking someone’s congenital condition is rude.” Nina frowned.
“Stop!” Promush shouted from behind. “Hand over the ‘Hunger Key’!”
During the assassination of Linden, his sense of balance had been stripped away by Moracha’s projection of stellar will, leaving him only able to walk with a staff or jump in straight lines. The labyrinthine passages here, with their many twists and turns, posed a massive challenge to his limited mobility.
“I see,” Chloe glanced at the Shepherd’s Crook in her hand. “He wants this.”
“I know what he’s after!” Nina slapped her forehead and said, “Before coming here, I saw the family’s transcendents attack the Tribunal’s investigation team. This guy fought a loli in Bio Armor, and in the end, he trapped her with a cage formed from his massively grown horns. So now he’s after the ‘Hunger Key’ because this key can unlock any living flesh and blood cells—even Bio Armor!”
“Ashley? No, it must be Amber.” Chloe’s eyes bulged wide. She hadn’t expected the conflict between the Tribunal team and the local snakes to erupt so quickly.
“Never mind that—hurry and toss the thing away! If we make a racket and draw the guards, we won’t be able to escape!” Nina urged.
“No!” Chloe refused.
“Why?! Are you tired of living?!” Nina was utterly baffled.
“Because I’ve bet the newspaper’s fate on one person. The longer we stall here, the better for her. Hehe, I’m just that opportunistic.” Chloe laughed.
“So you’re willing to throw away your life for it?” Nina asked coldly.
“I’m going to use the newspaper as a springboard to become a big banker. When a capitalist faces huge profits, what’s a little recklessness?” Chloe declared righteously.
“I think you just like her.” Nina’s calm eyes seemed to pierce through all disguises.
“Wh-who-who would like her—?!” Chloe dragged out her voice in a shriek, her little face turning red as a persimmon as she desperately denied it. “That stinky Ashley is super annoying! Arrogant and full of herself! A total psycho! No one but some idiot would like her! And I hate clingy stuff the most!”
“Eh…” Nina gave her a look, then averted her gaze. “Fine, we’ll do it your way. You helped me, so I’ll help you.”
The two twisted and turned through back alleys, deliberately taking narrow paths and occasionally toppling a fire equipment box to block the Sheep-Head Person’s pursuit route.
Promush, who could only hop in straight lines, suffered miserably. As the chase dragged on, his mentality shifted.
It was like playing an asymmetrical game as the butcher, getting kited by the survivor until his mindset exploded. The game could be lost, but the survivor had to die—not just die, but be whipped into oblivion!
“Stop right there! You bitches! Vermin! I’ll slaughter you! Baa baa baa!”
By the end, the enraged Promush let out a long string of bleats.
He went berserk, adjusted his angle, kicked off the ground, his leather shoes screeching in friction, then wall-jumped for a second boost. With a tiny angle adjustment, he smashed himself viciously into a vertical corner turn!
The impact was so great that even one of his precious amber-like horns snapped off, blood trickling down his mask.
“He’s losing it! He’s gone mad! Epilepsy!”
Chloe deftly slipped through a door, then spun around and slammed it shut. A massive thud echoed as Promush headbutted the door, accompanied by a wail—his last horn broke off too.
“My horn!”
Promush’s eyes turned bloodshot with uncontainable fury. In the McIntosh Family, one’s natural horns were a noble symbol. Even if broken in battle, the enemy had to be renowned, and vengeance taken by killing them to restore honor.
Chasing two bratty kids and breaking his horns? No way to live that down—it’d make him the family’s laughingstock.
If word got out, even his fiancée might call off the wedding, though it was a political marriage tied to some ancient inheritance.
Actually, obtaining the Hunger Key wasn’t that urgent. Of the Tribunal’s seven-member team, aside from one dead and one missing, the remaining five were under control—he still didn’t know Ashley had been butchering Boothslot Family members like pigs.
The reason Promush was so fixated was that bratty little ghost with the crescent-moon eyes, who kept turning her head and sneering mockingly. She was utterly detestable, grinding his teeth to dust with hatred. Even through the door, he could hear her cackling.
But as Chloe turned around, her smile froze on her face.
Before her was a hotel kitchen. In the center sat a long table, flanked by rows of blazing stoves and various ovens.
But it was different—the walls curved like the inside of a submarine, and the ceiling cast a dim red light over a grand spread of plated dishes.
Chloe covered her mouth as a wave of nausea nearly made her vomit. The luxurious silverware held not delicacies, but human brains and organs!
The organs and brains had been meticulously cooked, emitting an enticing aroma—but that scent made her hold her breath. Even a whiff triggered violent retching!
Worse still, the opposite door swung open, blocked by a fat butcher wearing a tile mask!
