Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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After entering the hotel, Jiang Lan first went to the front desk to book a room.
The receptionist was a handsome young man, though somewhat effeminate, which made people inexplicably uncomfortable. However his eyes lit up when he saw Jiang Lan, and his expression became very enthusiastic: “Welcome! What type of room would you like?”
“Standard room.” Jiang Lan casually gave a room type, not ignoring the other person’s earnest gaze.
Although the receptionist’s gaze was subtle and restrained, Jiang Lan still sensed the greed and desire he was trying so hard to suppress. This urgent desire distorted his delicate and handsome face.
Seeing this, Jiang Lan understood what was going on.
He stared at the receptionist until he awkwardly looked away before taking his room key and going upstairs. He deliberately chose a high floor and didn’t take the elevator, but instead slowly walked up the rather old-fashioned staircase.
As Jiang Lan passed each floor, he could detect faint, almost imperceptible red mist in the air. Some floors had a darker red mist, while others had a lighter one. According to Jiang Lan’s observation, the distribution of this red mist seemed to be related to the number of guests.
The red fog was thicker on floors with more guests, and much thinner on floors with fewer guests.
Jiang Lan went to his room first. After entering, he opened the door and window and looked down. He saw that a light red mist was gradually spreading outward from the hotel, encompassing the area in front of and behind the hotel, including the bus stop opposite. Under the dim streetlights, the light in these places was tinged with a faint red glow. On its own, it wouldn’t seem like a big problem, but if you looked down from above like Jiang Lan, you would see that these halos formed a whole, like a cage hanging down from above, the red color exuding an ominous aura.
He glanced around, got a general idea of the area, and then went out and downstairs.
He unexpectedly ran into the receptionist at the corner of the stairs when he was going downstairs.
He smiled at Jiang Lan from three or four steps away. The old-fashioned staircase, which had been deliberately preserved, was full of a sense of history, but the lighting was not very good. The light dappled through the carved wooden handrail, and the light and shadow fragmented his smiling face into many pieces.
Like a mask that had been shattered and then pieced back together.
Jiang Lan twitched his eyebrows slightly, gave him a cold nod, and continued downstairs without looking at him.
The receptionist behind him frowned, his eyes fixed on him greedily. Suddenly, his fingers formed claws, and thin red mist spread from his fingertips, forming a spiderweb that silently enveloped Jiang Lan.
This was one of his usual tricks.
This hotel was a popular spot for internet celebrities and hipsters, mostly frequented by vibrant and attractive young men and women. The owner occasionally picked out the best food from among these people to enjoy, while the rest were left for them to choose from, as long as they kept things in check and didn’t kill anyone or give themselves away.
From the moment Jiang Lan entered the door, he had his eye on him.
Although the hotel had many attractive guests, most of them relied on plastic surgery or makeup to enhance their appearance. While they weren’t bad-looking, the results still couldn’t compare to those of truly beautiful people.
But Jiang Lan, whom he met today, was one of the few.
In the past, such high-quality prey would definitely be reserved for the boss, but tonight the boss had taken his new pet hunting. If he could make his move before the boss returned, this prey would be his…
As he thought this, the smile on his effeminate face became even more sinister. The spiderweb-like red threads had almost completely wrapped around Jiang Lan’s head. These tentacles were his feeding tools. As long as they invaded a human body, they could continuously absorb the other’s life force to replenish themselves and even replicate their appearance.
The receptionist subconsciously touched his face, thinking that if he ate this person, his body would be much more stable and his appearance would be more natural.
Although he was good-looking, some people could always spot the unnaturalness and would ask where he had plastic surgery. The boss never encountered such misunderstandings. He snorted somewhat indignantly, his spiderweb-like tentacles trying to burrow into Jiang Lan’s ears, nose, and mouth.
However, before he could make a move, Jiang Lan grabbed his tentacle first, then he turned around and looked at him with a smile, but the smile did not reach his eyes.
“So that’s how the red mist came about.”
The tentacle he was holding writhed, its appearance resembling condensed mist, but it actually felt cool and slippery to the touch.
The receptionist was startled and instinctively tried to retract the tentacle, only to find that he couldn’t break free from Jiang Lan’s grip. His face darkened; he knew he had bitten off more than he could chew.
His body suddenly exploded like a bomb, and a large amount of red mist instantly spread out, filling the entire staircase.
Jiang Lan narrowed his eyes and caught sight of a blurry red figure fleeing downstairs under the cover of the crimson mist. The figure was incredibly fast, almost instantly reaching the first floor. Jiang Lan seized the opportunity, and just as the figure touched the ground, he leaped down the spiral staircase, stomping the fleeing red figure beneath his feet.
“What is that?”
Jiang Lan picked up the blurry red figure and shook it. It had probably consumed too much energy for the self-destruction, because the red figure now looked only the size of a five or six-year-old child. When Jiang Lan held it in his hand, it was still struggling, its faceless head constantly turning, as if looking for a chance to escape.
“Where are your accomplices?” Jiang Lan shook him as he looked around the empty lobby. From the moment they met on the stairs until now, he hadn’t seen anyone except the receptionist.
The red figure stopped turning his head and looked at Jiang Lan, somewhat regretting that he had sent all his helpers away so that he could eat alone.
After a moment of silence, the red figure suddenly let out a strange shriek.
The whistling sound was extremely penetrating, as if it bypassed the eardrums and struck the soul directly. In just a few seconds, Jiang Lan noticed that the red mist in the hall had become thicker, and then four or five red figures quickly flew down from upstairs and surrounded him.
These red figures were solid and tall, almost two or three times the height of an average person. The blurry outlines of their facial features were already discernible. They looked down at Jiang Lan, their tentacles dangling from their fingertips, already poised to move.
Jiang Lan narrowed her eyes and looked down at the front desk: “Just these few? Are there any more?”
The front desk staff, still struggling: …
He was stunned for a moment, then quickly sneered, “Arrogant.”
Before the words were even finished, the red figures began their attack on Jiang Lan—
Jiang Lan coldly watched them. Just as one of the red shadows was about to get close, a huge phantom of a Taotie suddenly appeared behind him. The black beast had curved horns and icy red eyes. It stomped heavily on the ground with its thick front paws, used the momentum to lift its upper body up, and opened its mouth full of sharp teeth to its limit, swallowing the red shadow that pounced on it in one gulp.
He smacked his lips, as if savoring the taste, and then seriously commented on the flavor: “It doesn’t look good, but it tastes pretty good.”
It’s smooth and bouncy, with a texture like jelly.
He can!
Jiang Lan turned his gaze to the receptionist who was huddled up in a ball, and said in a friendly manner, “I won’t eat you for now, but you have to lead the way for me. You have to answer whatever I ask, and be honest, understand?”
Receptionist: ……
How come this person in front of me is even scarier than the boss?
He dared not resist and could only nod.
Jiang Lan was finally satisfied and said to him, “Where is the entrance to the other space? Take me in first.”
The receptionist was shocked that he even knew this. The thought of his boss hunting in the hunting grounds sent shivers down his spine. If he brought him in, the boss would surely throw him into the warehouse as raw material.
However, before he could hesitate for long, Jiang Lan had already torn off one of his legs and ate it like a snack.
His gaze, still lingering with interest, swept over his other, undamaged leg, as if waiting for him to say no.
“…”
The receptionist’s expression twisted, and a faint red mist emanated from his severed leg. Looking at his remaining left leg, he nodded humiliatingly, clinging to the thought of surviving, and agreed to lead the way.
….
Xiao Xiaoyu hid behind a large tree, breathing heavily. She had been wandering around this area for quite some time since escaping the hotel.
She initially wanted to run towards a crowded area, hoping to find a signal so she could immediately call for help. However, after running as fast as she could remember for a long time, she found herself back where she started— the side alley of the hotel where she had initially fled.
In front of the hotel, the red figures grew increasingly solid. Even the tentacles attached to the fans were still slowly wriggling. The fans, who were being used as food, stood motionless before their eyes like human food storage barrels, their faces completely lifeless, tinged with a dull bluish-gray.
Xiao Xiaoyu’s two best friends were among them.
However, there was nothing she could do but be angry.
Because Bai You was sitting on the back of a tall, red figure. The red figure was kneeling on the ground, its back flat, serving as a chair.
His exquisitely handsome face was turned towards Xiao Xiaoyu, gazing at her with a smile. Meanwhile, one of his hands was piercing through the red shadow’s head, his eyes slightly closed as he contentedly ate.
His movements were essentially no different from those eager red figures, but when he performed them, they were exceptionally refined and elegant.
It was also particularly chilling.
Xiao Xiaoyu turned and ran away.
However, no matter which direction she ran in, no matter how fast she ran, she would eventually return to the alleyway on the side of the hotel. Meanwhile, the red figure sitting on Bai You grew smaller and smaller. After Xiao Xiaoyu returned to the starting point countless times, the red figure sitting on Bai You was only the size of a normal person.
He seemed to have finally eaten his fill. So he stood up slowly, straightened the wrinkles in his clothes, and walked towards Xiao Xiaoyu.
It was like a cat catching a mouse.
Bai You was the cat, while Xiao Xiaoyu, who was fleeing for her life, was the mouse that was being teased.
No matter how she tried to escape, it seemed she couldn’t escape Bai You’s grasp.
Her limbs were sore and weak, and she could only stand up by leaning on the tree trunk for support. Her heart and lungs, which were working overtime, felt like they were about to explode. If she ran another run, she suspected that she would die suddenly from a heart attack even if Bai You didn’t kill her.
Exhausted, Xiao Xiaoyu slid down the tree trunk and sat on the ground, trying to find some humor in her misery, thinking that Bai You hadn’t come looking for her yet.
She leaned against the tree trunk for a while to catch her breath, but her will to survive eventually overcame her fear and exhaustion. With her last bit of willpower, she dragged her aching limbs to her feet. However, her body was already working beyond its limits, and she staggered as soon as she stood up, barely managing to steady herself by holding onto the tree trunk.
A gentle voice sounded beside her, asking with a hint of a smile, “Do you need any help?”
The sound was like a thunderclap in Xiao Xiaoyu’s ears. She turned her head sharply and saw Bai You lightly jump down from the treetop and stand half a meter away, smiling at her.
His gaze locked onto her like that of a venomous snake.
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