Deep in the Living
Chapter 221 - 210 Fishing

Chapter 221: Chapter 210 Fishing

[Waste Station Parking Lot]

A large amount of urban waste and various scrapped products were accumulated in a highly mechanized factory area, sorted and effectively recycled by various intelligent devices.

Although environmentally friendly and intelligent, the noise was considerable, leaving a large open space unsuitable for residential living within several hundred meters. Many bus terminals were located here, along with some driving test fields.

The population density here was extremely low, and at night there were even fewer people around, with a relatively low density of surveillance cameras. Even the sanitation workers only came here during the day for routine cleaning and light maintenance.

It was now past midnight, and not a single person could be seen here, with very few vehicles passing by.

At this moment,

A pair of casual sneakers stepped onto the curb, coming to the parking lot next to the waste station.

The arrival was none other than Luo Di, who had come in response to the address in a help-seeking post.

However, he was neither dressed as Mr. D nor wearing investigator attire, but simply dressed as an ordinary night runner.

He didn’t take any transportation either, arriving here simply as a runner.

[15min]had passed since the post was made.

There were at least thirty buses parked here, and Luo Di had intended to search them one by one, but just then he heard a voice coming from the deepest part.

The voice came from the depths of the parking lot, a spot with little lighting and where the cameras were conveniently blocked.

Luo Di jogged over to this dim corner, where a bus with its front door open coincidentally parked. Most of the light was blocked, and the interior of the bus was engulfed in darkness.

Perhaps out of an urgency to rescue,

Or perhaps for some other reason,

Luo Di stepped into the bus through the open front door, without turning on any lights.

At the same time as he boarded,

Click! The door closed suddenly.

Multiple beams of light from the back row shone on Luo Di’s face, accompanied by constant laughter.

"Hahaha! Didn’t expect such a stupid post to actually hook a fish. Shouldn’t 4hs be a niche horror forum? Didn’t think such a small community site would still have idiots.

This idiot mister here is really admirable, getting on the bus without checking anything, not even knowing to bring a flashlight.

Since you want to help us, just transfer the money directly, right? Let us have something to eat so we don’t starve to death, haha."

Six delinquents were sitting at the rear of the bus.

Studded leather jackets,

Tattooed nose rings,

Various hairstyles,

They seemed to be chewing on something stimulative,

And each was holding a sharp weapon in hand.

They had simply intended to play around, not expecting to actually catch a "fish", and judging by Luo Di’s running shoes and sportswear, he seemed to be a big catch.

This was much more comfortable than usual muggings, safe and hassle-free.

What puzzled them was that the opponent hadn’t made any extra moves since boarding; he just stood still.

A mohawked delinquent with a nose ring was slapping a dagger in his hand and said:

"Hey hey hey! This is so boring, we used to see people either begging on their knees or running away in this situation... What’s the deal with standing still? Are you completely frightened? It’s taken the fun out of our entertainment.

Forget it!

Hurry up, open your mobile payment, and transfer all your money to us.

We’ll be checking later. If there’s any money left, we don’t mind having some special bloody fun with you."

Facing the threat, Luo Di only stood still, silently gazing at the other party.

He imposed no mental pressure, emitted no killing intent, simply calmly staring them down.

However,

Even such an ordinary gaze made the blond young man feel a chill run down his spine, yet relying on his companions and the weapon in hand, he suppressed the apprehension.

Just as the group was losing patience and about to make their move,

Luo Di suddenly raised his left arm and started operating his watch.

Thinking he was about to transfer money, they didn’t continue with their actions.

But after waiting for a long time, the expected face-to-face transfer request didn’t commence. Instead, Luo Di performed some operation that activated the night video recording mode on his wristband.

At the same time, Luo Di finally spoke:

"I’ll give you 10 seconds to run away. Any method, any direction, run however you like. If you can get more than one kilometer away from me, I’ll let you leave."

These words stunned the delinquents in the last row for a moment, then they all stood up, brandishing their weapons.

"10."

Luo Di had begun the countdown.

The lead blonde, while appearing fierce, actually didn’t dare to kill. Although the place was quite remote, if someone were to investigate, they could easily be identified through nearby surveillance.

But facing someone who didn’t know better and was still pretending to be tough, he couldn’t lose face in front of his minions.

In a burst of anger, the blonde aimed at the "idiot mister" in front of him and stabbed at his arm, intending to cause a non-fatal injury for the sake of deterrence.

Ding!

The sharp dagger couldn’t penetrate the opponent’s left arm, as if there was some unknown metallic substance underneath the skin. Instead, the impact sent a painful shock through his wrist.

"Prosthetic?!"

People qualified to modify their bodies often have complicated identities, but Huang Mao, emboldened by his numerical advantage, showed no intention of retreating.

"8."

Meanwhile, Luo Di was still counting down.

"Go to hell!!"

Huang Mao’s brain overheated as he lunged straight for the other’s neck with all his might.

But Luo Di simply shifted his body slightly, aligning his cervical spine with the direction of the incoming blade.

Clang!

The dagger was knocked out of Huang Mao’s hand, flying away, while he clutched his dislocated wrist in shock.

Even without much education, he knew something was very wrong with the man before him.

"6, 5..."

Hearing the countdown again, Huang Mao felt as if it was a countdown to the end of his life.

He no longer cared about his pride, nor his so-called partners; he turned to run... his palm struck the button to open the door, and he rushed off the bus as fast as he could.

He was naturally adept at various petty thefts; running away was what he did best.

For some reason.

Even though he had left the bus, he could still hear the countdown, as if Luo Di’s voice could directly infiltrate his brain, never diminishing in volume no matter how far away he was.

"3, 2, 1..."

Huang Mao was about fifty meters away when the countdown ended, and he looked back towards the bus at the deepest end of the lot.

No one else seemed to have chosen to get off; it appeared all his partners had stayed on the bus.

He heard no sounds of physical altercation, leaving Huang Mao puzzled; perhaps, he thought, they had subdued or even killed the man by using their advantage in numbers.

Just as he began to harbor such doubts,

Aaaah!!!

A piercing scream came from the bus.

Merely hearing the scream made him shudder with phantom pain, as if his own arms were being broken.

Soon after, similar screams followed, with no indication of what was happening inside the bus.

Huang Mao began to suspect that his post had actually lured a real Pseudo-Person; it was the only possibility... after all, what normal person would come here in the middle of the night in response to such a bait post?

Huang Mao didn’t dare to linger; he ran with all his might, fleeing the parking lot, fleeing the street.

He wound up in a dark and quiet resettlement community, rushing into a deep-set apartment building and sitting on the stairs, panting heavily.

He didn’t rest for long before his will to survive urged him to rise and step between the third and fourth floors, peeking surreptitiously down the half-open staircase landing.

After ensuring no one was approaching, his heartbeat finally started to slow down.

"Hu~ Hu~ If it’s a Pseudo-Person, I need to report..."

Just as Huang Mao’s gaze shifted from the stairwell to his wristband, something caught in the corner of his eye, and he immediately looked back down.

A man was standing there,

in the exact same stance as on the bus,

tilting his head back,

his eyes staring straight at him.

"Fuck! He really followed me here; I can’t run upstairs or I’ll be trapped on the rooftop with nowhere to go! Wait for that guy to climb the stairs, then I’ll jump down from the third floor myself."

However.

The situation Huang Mao anticipated did not occur,

the other party did not enter the stairwell, but instead climbed directly up the exterior of the building, reaching him in less than three seconds.

Huang Mao wanted to run, but his body could no longer support him; overwhelmed by fatigue and fear, he staggered and fell down the stairs.

Crack—It felt as if he’d broken his right foot, and his face was scraped and bleeding.

Tap—Tap—Tap!

Distinct footsteps descending the stairs drew nearer.

Huang Mao looked up to see the other man approaching while apparently recording with a wristband camera.

Just as he was about to beg for mercy,

Snap!

A hand grabbed his mouth and held him aloft.

A gray blur flitted across his vision,

and Huang Mao thought he saw the most terrifying thing in his life.

The next morning.

Huang Mao and his five accomplices were all found,

with multiple fractures throughout their bodies, but no life-threatening injuries,

however, it seemed they had suffered some kind of extreme fright, making them mentally unstable, necessitating their transfer to the local Psychiatric Hospital for assessment.