Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Shi Yu couldn't quite figure out how he felt. By all rights, he should be disgusted.

After all, no normal human could tolerate having something life-threatening growing inside them. Yet this Little Monster had been behaving well—even actively shrinking its size earlier.

Shi Yu stared at his abdomen for a long while before finally withdrawing his hand with a grimace.

Oh well. Whether he resented it or not wouldn’t change the current situation. The most urgent matter now was to get enough nutrients. Otherwise, even if this thing tried its best to shrink, it would only buy him a few more weeks at most.

Now that he thought about it, he had always focused on ordinary food before. But the truth was, while the Little Monster would consume regular food, it couldn’t provide complete nourishment—it was just snack food.

So… what about Horrors?

As beings beyond normal comprehension, would the Little Monster prefer absorbing the essence of other Horrors to grow stronger?

Thinking of the mysteriously vanished remnants of the "men's high heels" in the bathroom, Shi Yu lowered his gaze in wordless frustration: Looks like he’d have to find a way to test this theory.

In the past, he had always been the one avoiding Horror incidents. This was the first time he was actively seeking one out—like he’d gone completely nuts.

Shi Yu took a deep breath, thinking he must be insane.

……

The next day, the alarm forced Shi Yu out from under the covers.

Who in their right mind would go out in weather like this, perfect for staying indoors?!

He was pissed enough to spawn a Horror. Yet feeling the extra weight in his abdomen, he scowled and dragged himself out of bed. While brushing his teeth, he glared at the mirror and thought: Nothing tortured a lazy bum more than waking up early!

It was only five in the morning—he’d never gotten up this early even during school days!

Splashing cold water on his face finally woke him up properly. After a quick wipe, droplets still clung to his lashes as he stepped out and saw the still-sleeping Mimosa.

The pot had stayed lifeless for days. Knowing how the Mimosa worked, it wouldn’t wake up for at least another week or two.

He picked up the watering can and sprinkled some rainwater into the pot, then checked the time and muttered, “Wonder if I can even get a ride at this hour.”

Might as well go check.

Delaying wouldn’t change the fact that he had to go out eventually.

Only after leaving his warm, cozy nest did Shi Yu get his act together.

Before heading downstairs, he pressed a hand to his abdomen and gave a firm warning to the Little Monster.

“Behave. No moving around outside, and don’t scare anyone. Understand?”

The last thing he wanted was for his stomach to suddenly jump while in a car, freaking people out.

The Little Monster took in its mother’s words and went completely still. Though its mind was foggy but still carried the cruel instincts typical of Horrors, it took its mother’s words very seriously.

Mother’s word was law!

Shi Yu glanced down, satisfied his baggy hoodie hid any differences from an ordinary man.

As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, a cold gust of wind slapped him in the face.

It started raining in City B around three o'clock last night, a steady drizzle that lasted all night. It finally stopped briefly in the morning, only to start up again suddenly.

In the guard booth of the residential area, the TV was blaring news about wind patterns through the window.

Shi Yu walked to the bus stop and opened his umbrella, waiting for a long time without any sign of a bus. Eventually, he had no choice but to take out his phone and try to hail a ride.

He typed "Haolai Shopping Mall" into the search bar, and a route map quickly appeared below.

A generic name, a generic location—the mall seemed like just a normal shopping plaza. But Shi Yu, who had read the plot before transmigrating, vaguely remembered that this mall was... off.

Since it was off, it was worth investigating.

In the original story, Haolai Shopping Mall had remained hidden until the mid-to-late stages, when reports of disappearances surfaced, drawing the attention of the protagonist group. However, by the time they arrived, the mall had already been fully overrun by Horrors, forcing them to seal it off.

Normally, Shi Yu would avoid such a place at all costs, but now he had no choice but to suck it up and go.

He frowned, about to figure out the best route, when the traffic light on the right flickered and a taxi pulled up through the rain.

"Need a ride?"

The driver in the front seat stopped the car, cranked down the window, and called out.

Shi Yu put away his phone and stepped forward. "Sir, could you take me to the eastern section of Nanlin Road?"

He deliberately avoided mentioning Haolai Shopping Mall directly, only giving the street name first, planning to walk the rest of the way once he got close.

The taxi driver didn't think much of it. After turning on the meter, he glanced at Shi Yu and double-checked,

"Young man, this route is pretty far—it'll cost you over an hour's fare. Are you sure you want to go there?" To avoid complaints about the price later, he warned him upfront.

Shi Yu had just checked the route and knew it was indeed far. From his current location, even taking the bus would take most of the day, which was why he went with a cab.

Besides, today was about testing a theory, and a crowded bus wouldn’t be convenient.

Hearing the driver's words, Shi Yu simply paid the deposit upfront.

"Let's go, sir."

"That's the place."

Seeing this, the driver said nothing more, nodded at him to buckle up, and drove off.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, the driver mused. The area around Chenghua Road was already bustling, with all the amenities one could need. Why would this young man insist on going to the eastern section of Nanlin Road?

What if he ended up catching some bad luck?

Nian Dahai shook his head, goosebumps rising on his arms at the thought of the mall near Nanlin East.

His younger sister ran a business in that Haolai Shopping Mall. He didn’t know what had happened there recently, but some shops had closed, citing renovations. Who knew what was really going on?

Still, there was no need to mention this to the young man. What if he got cold feet and wanted his deposit back? That’d be a wasted trip.

Shi Yu had no idea what the driver was thinking. Settling into the seat, he pondered the events at Haolai Shopping Mall. However, the novel had been vague about it. By the time the protagonist group arrived, everything was already over, and it was only mentioned that the Horror incidents there were contagious—nothing more specific.

Shi Yu speculated that the Horror incidents at Haolai Shopping Mall had initially been low-level, at most a B-rank. After all, anything higher would have triggered an alert from the Ability User Association. The fact that it had remained hidden until now suggested it hadn’t been particularly dangerous at first.

Deep in thought, he rested his hand against the window and looked outside. Though it was already morning, the rain made everything dark and gloomy, like the sun hadn't risen yet. Along the way, only a handful of breakfast joints had their lights on, the rest of the street was dark.

Shi Yu had this nagging feeling he'd forgotten something. It wasn't until he saw the breakfast stalls that it dawned on him—he'd skipped breakfast.

It was all from waking up too early—he wasn’t used to eating breakfast at five in the morning. Only now, seeing the steam rising from the food outside, did he finally feel a bit hungry.

The Little Monster in his stomach kept its promise like a good kid and didn’t stir. Shi Yu snapped back to reality: "Driver, could you stop for two minutes up ahead? I need to grab a baozi."

Since he’d already gotten the fare upfront, the taxi driver wasn’t in a hurry. After turning the corner, he pulled over.

Shi Yu held up his umbrella and walked to a small stall with a rain awning to buy a bun and some soy milk before returning to the car.

The freshly steamed bun, still hot from the pot, was quite tasty. With the first bite, Shi Yu’s grumpiness from the early morning started to fade. He even found himself thinking… maybe he could do a livestream making steamed buns for his fans tonight.

It’d been days since his last proper Mukbang. Once he solved the urgent problem with the monster in his stomach, he’d definitely get back to his normal routine.

The scorned Little Monster stayed perfectly still.

By the time Shi Yu finished eating, the sky had finally lightened a bit—the car had arrived at the Nanlin Road section of the southern district.

As soon as they entered the main stretch of Nanlin Road, the streets grew noticeably emptier. The few morning markets that had been open were now closed.

Just as Shi Yu was thinking this, the driver tapped the horn and pointed at the GPS.

"One more minute and we’ll be there."

"Gather your stuff, kid."

Shi Yu nodded, tugging his hood up.

He had kept his mask on the entire time, only removing it briefly to eat. Even so, the black hoodie covering his forehead made it hard to see his face clearly.

Nian Dahai, groggy from the early start, had focused solely on the road the whole time and hadn’t paid attention to what the young man looked like. The moment he got paid, he didn’t want to linger for even a second—hit the gas and vanished.

Shi Yu: …

Tsk.

So Haolai Mall’s reach had already spread this far.

You’d have to be blind not to see how obvious the driver was being.

But was it really this soon? The timeline seemed earlier than in the original story.

Maybe the book hadn’t recorded it in such detail. He adjusted his mask and looked away, then entered Haolai Mall from the other side.

……

At the Ability User Association:

Sang Huaiyu had just returned from a business trip. After a quick hello to the association brass, he turned to head for the archives on the fifth floor.

"Mr. Sang is back."

"Welcome back, Mr. Sang."

Everyone he passed greeted him.

Sang Huaiyu acknowledged them with a nod.

Wang Shan, who rode the elevator with him, greeted him eagerly before sighing in relief to Zhao Wen: "Thank goodness Mr. Sang is finally back. The vibe in the association lately has been downright scary."

"You wouldn’t believe it—even Dr. Shen and Bro Han nearly came to blows."

Although not a member of the Ability User Association, Mr. Sang is the only one among these exceptional individuals who can rein them in.

You should know that when Han Chuyi first arrived, he was utterly defiant. It was only after Mr. Sang stepped in and taught him a lesson that he finally fell in line.

That’s why, when Han Chuyi started making trouble, Wang Shan and the others immediately thought of Mr. Sang—unfortunately, he hadn’t been around these past few days.

Hmm?

Shen Yan and Han Chuyi?

Hearing these two names, Sang Huaiyu arched a brow, surprised they would clash. In his impression, Han Chuyi was quick-tempered and easily provoked, but Shen Yan was not.

That doctor had always been calm and... restrained. So how did he end up in conflict with Han Chuyi?

He couldn’t help but feel a little curious.

Wang Shan scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed under Mr. Sang’s questioning gaze.

“We don’t know either.”

“It just got tense after they came back from a mission that day.” No one knew, and no one dared ask.

Sang Huaiyu mused for a moment. “Thank you, I understand.”

The elevator came to a stop on the third floor. Wang Shan and Zhao Wen, who were heading to the testing room, got off, leaving Sang Huaiyu alone inside.

He lifted his gaze slightly, sensing much had transpired during his absence. However, what currently interested him was the energy fluctuation from that day. Based on the location, it was roughly in the direction of City B—perhaps there would be a record in the Ability User Association’s archives.

After fingerprint verification, Sang Huaiyu entered the hall.

The empty hall contained only various documents arranged in chronological order. His gaze, veiled by white silk, swept across them until he found the records from the past month.

Unfortunately—there was nothing noteworthy in the human records.

Only the appearance of an SSS-Class Horror had caught the Ability User Association’s attention.

Yet, even from a great distance, Sang Huaiyu was certain that what he had sensed was definitely not an SSS-Class Horror. After all, such things were already commonplace to him, hardly worth a second glance.

He shook his head with some disappointment. Just as he was thinking this, he heard a commotion not far away—someone from the office outside the hall was approaching.

Sang Huaiyu tilted his head slightly.

Fu Nanyao’s corruption rate had remained at 80% since he woke up in the hospital last time. But yesterday, influenced by Han Chuyi, he nearly lost control and began transforming. Today, he couldn’t help but feel exhausted.

Rubbing his temples, he took the files on suspected horror incidents submitted by various districts in City B over the past few days and opened them for review. Just then, he heard the urgent knocking of the dispatcher outside.

“Captain Fu, we’ve got trouble.”

“Another resident gone missing was just reported in the East District of Nanlin Road.”

East District of Nanlin Road...

He opened the file folder and located the relevant category.

There were two suspected horror incidents reported in the East District of Nanlin Road: one was the "sewer rats gnawing on a human body" incident in a residential area, and the other was the "strange noises at night in Haolai Building" incident. Both cases occurred in the eastern section of Nanlin Road, just a kilometer apart.

After the disappearance was reported, he immediately suspected it might be related to these two bizarre incidents. However, the two suspected horror cases were too close together, making it hard to tell at once.

Fu Nanyao thought for a moment. “First, have Wang Shan and Zhao Wen lead a team to check out both locations.”

The Ability User Association is stretched thin, so this is the only arrangement possible for now.

The receptionist nodded and was about to leave when the team leader looked up and asked, "Where's Han Chuyi?"

If he remembered correctly, there were no classes at the school at this time, and Han Chuyi should have come to the Ability User Association for work.

The receptionist answered awkwardly, "Well, Bro Han stopped by this morning but took off soon after. I don’t know where he is now."

Fu Nanyao's brow furrowed slightly at this.

He had no particular opinion about Han Chuyi and wasn’t interested in his conflict with Shen Yan, but since he hadn’t reported in as scheduled, he stated flatly,

"Tell him he loses one point for skipping when he returns."

"His internship points are already too low. If he doesn’t start participating in cases soon, he won’t pass this internship."

"Understood."

Under the team leader’s imposing presence, the receptionist barely dared to breathe, bobbing a nervous nod before scurrying away.

Only after the person had gone did Fu Nanyao return his attention to his paperwork.

A disappearance...

Sang Huaiyu had listened to the whole exchange with interest initially, but upon hearing it was just an ordinary human disappearance case, he lost interest. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he slid the record book back with a disappointed sigh—it seemed he’d have to wait until the next time that energy fluctuation appeared.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too long.

...

Shi Yu had no idea the evil god was still waiting for him.

After entering the Haolai Building, he realized—unsurprisingly for a place with a history of Horror incidents—the place was dead quiet.

What was once a bustling commercial building now had only about twenty businesses still hanging on, the rest left completely vacant.

Shi Yu scanned the building and noticed that the open shops were all concentrated on the first floor. From the second floor up, not a single store was open.

Playing dumb, he casually walked into a milk tea shop and put in an order.

"Miss, why are none of the shops upstairs open?"

"I was planning to book a murder mystery game. I heard there’s a famous one here."

Though wearing a mask, Shi Yu had a smooth way with words. The barista making his drink, despite having answered this question countless times already, couldn’t help answering, "The upper floors are shut down for renovations ordered by the building owner. Even we don’t go up there these days."

"You should look for another murder mystery place."

"And... that place upstairs is bad news." She paused, glancing around, and only continued after nearby customers had left. "Something happened upstairs—seriously messed up."

"An incident?"

Shi Yu played curious. "Mind telling me what went down?"

"Some kind of freak accident?"

That way he'd know what he was dealing with.

"No," the barista shook her head. "She added quietly."

If there were a logical explanation for the incident, it wouldn't be so terrifying. The problem was that this was utterly inexplicable. The girl across the counter hissed through clenched teeth, "A worker upstairs claimed they heard a stranger calling their name in the mall at night!"

A few days ago, a sales assistant from the women's clothing store upstairs kept feeling like someone was talking to her while closing up at night. At first, she thought it was a coworker she was close with from the neighboring store. Only after conversing for some time did she realize the neighboring store had long since closed and everyone had already left.

—She was the only one in the store.

Yet someone had clearly been responding to her just moments ago.

The sales assistant initially thought she was hallucinating from exhaustion. But the next day, she heard it again.

And this time, she made a horrifying discovery: the voice responding to her was identical to her former coworker’s! However, that coworker had already resigned and gone back home due to a family emergency.

A sense of supernatural dread washed over them, and even Shi Yu felt the creeping unease himself.

"What happened after that?"

"The story ends there."

"All we know is that the boss told us not to go upstairs."

"But I heard that when they sealed off the floor a few days ago, more than one person up there heard the voices." The salesgirl had been closing up early these days, shutting down before sunset, just to avoid hearing any strange noises herself.

Just as she finished speaking, a bubble tea customer entered, so she turned back to work.

Shi Yu glanced upstairs.

Strange voices?

The clothing section upstairs wasn’t very large, so locating the origin shouldn’t be too difficult.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Shi Yu slipped through the fire escape up to the second floor. Fortunately, due to the Horrors incident, the mall owner had shut off surveillance on several floors, considering them jinxed, so Shi Yu didn’t have to worry about dodging cameras.

The moment he stepped onto the second floor, an unnatural, penetrating chill seeped into him.

His brow furrowed slightly, just starting to feel the cold, when something stirred in his gut. A pause, then warmth pressed against his skin, radiating outward from his core and warming his entire body.

Shi Yu: ???

The Little Monster, who had promised its mother to behave, sensed the cold and, in its childlike understanding, didn’t know what else to do. So it quietly heated up its tentacles and clung to its mother’s belly like an octopus.

But worried that its mother might scold it for moving around, it immediately froze again after warming up, playing dead.

Shi Yu: ...

What a ridiculous attempt at hiding.

Moving for a second and then stopping—did it really think he wouldn’t notice?

He wasn’t numb.

Taking a deep breath, Shi Yu said, "You can move now."

Since there was no one on the second floor anyway—or if there was, it’d definitely be something supernatural—it was hard to say which was scarier. Might as well let the little thing relax.

The Little Monster, given this allowance, tentatively wriggled before happily squirming again.

Shi Yu suppressed a smirk but didn’t bother with it further. Instead, he refocused, adopting a convincingly lost demeanor as he wandered weakly down the second-floor hallway.

Based on his deduction, the strange voices seemed to target people who were alone.

And... it had probably spread to the entire second floor.

Just as expected, when Shi Yu approached the mirror in the clothing store, he suddenly felt a hand land on his shoulder—as if greeting him.

The strange touch felt stiff and unnatural, yet tried hard to seem relaxed.

In the next moment, a familiar voice—one he couldn’t quite place—whispered in his ear, trying to speak to him.

Shi Yu stood motionless, his eyes glazed over briefly.

When a second voice joined in, the sense of familiarity became even stronger.

As more voices rose around him, swarming him with malicious intent, Shi Yu suddenly opened his eyes and turned his head. He saw the speaker’s true face.

Just as he’d guessed—it was a mannequin, the kind commonly seen on the second floor.

Now, the plastic figure wore an imitation human expression, its jaws unhinging to reveal a horrifying, grotesque tongue. Like a gecko's, it stretched far beyond anything human, making its earlier mimicry look ridiculous.

Smiling, the mannequin called his name with that disgusting tongue.

"Shi Yu..."

...

"Shi Yu..."

...

"Shi Yu..."

So enthusiastic, yet so—disgusting.

Shi Yu nearly had a gut-churning reaction. It hit him for the first time how sickening his own name could sound.

Deep in his gut, the Little Monster sensed its mother’s shift. Fury bubbled up at the insult, itching to shriek in defense—but there was no energy. Just as it was about to let out a furious warning, Shi Yu took a deep breath and stopped it.

"Don’t worry."

He had this under control.

As the words left his lips, Shi Yu closed his eyes and once again felt the threads inside his mind.

They first appeared days ago during the "men’s high heels" case, but everything happened too fast for him to notice. Now, he could feel them clearly—flowing from his mind.

Amid overwhelming disgust, his thoughts were razor-sharp.

Countless invisible threads connected within his brain, twitching to life as the mannequin drew closer.

Shi Yu tested the waters with a thread. The mannequin’s moving limbs paused.

He barely had time to relax before another one started speaking.

Shit, he'd forgotten—they all mutated.

His mouth twisted. Before the fake, stilted voice could come out, he froze it again without hesitation.

Using too many Spirit Threads at once sent sharp needles of pain through his temples, but there was no turning back now.

Jaw clenched, Shi Yu lashed out with thirty-plus threads, hog-tying every damn mannequin in place.

The creepy space on the second floor was eerily silent. Without warning, the mannequin’s ghastly grin froze on its plastic face.

The newly awakened Horrors couldn’t comprehend what was happening and could only watch as the human across from them caught his breath, then stepped forward with his face darkening.

Shi Yu really didn’t want to look at that terrifying face—afraid one more glance would make him vomit.

He pressed a hand to his abdomen, waiting for the churning in his stomach to settle before muttering, “Try and see if you can absorb this thing and turn it into nutrients?”

Nutrients?

The Little Monster tilted its head, confused by its mother’s words. Still, driven by instinct, it squirmed closer against its mother’s belly.

At the moment Shi Yu immobilized the mannequin with his Spirit Threads, the Little Monster emitted a garbled “Awoo!”

Shi Yu’s ears tingled. Just moments ago, he’d been disgusted by the mannequin’s voice—now, with mixed feelings, he realized the “ugly child” in his belly sounded even worse. In terms of sheer horror, the Little Monster could probably count as a psychic attack.

As soon as the Little Monster cried out, the mutated mannequin’s face contorted horrifically, releasing wisps of eerie energy from its head. The energy flowed under the Little Monster’s guidance and was swallowed by Shi Yu.

It felt like air—tasteless—but Shi Yu gritted his teeth, enduring the discomfort without wasting a single trace.

When the last wisp of eerie energy emerged, fine cracks finally appeared on the mannequin’s plastic surface. Then, as if losing the energy needed to maintain its form, it disintegrated into dust on the spot.

This time, Shi Yu finally saw clearly how it shattered—

—the Spirit Threads in his mind devoured the Horror’s shell, obliterating it instantly.

Over thirty mannequins vanished at once.

The moment the absorption was complete, he placed a hand on his abdomen, sensing the previously restless Little Monster now quiet, as if satiated.

Frowning, Shi Yu tested his theory. As the Little Monster calmed down, the weakness that had plagued him over the past few days also faded away.

For the first time since becoming pregnant, Shi Yu even felt the satisfaction of a full meal, his expression turning downright weird:

—Damn, was he really going to have to keep eating this kind of thing from now on?