Chapter 53: Slap in the Face

Yang Yi looked at Li Mingliang.

Li Mingliang hurriedly stepped forward, "Actually, I didn't see its entire body either; my ability is earth control. Once, a Brain-Sucking Beast—oh, that's a name we gave it privately—happened to be close to me, and I immediately split the ground open to a depth of over 15 meters.

"I saw part of its body; it looked like a white earthworm, getting thicker the deeper it went, with a suction cup for a head used to attack prey. Its body length was fully eight or nine meters; I couldn't see any more. It has earth-control abilities, so I couldn't catch up..." He lowered his head, looking extremely regretful.

"We suspect they can sense the dark matter fluctuations emitted by Awakened individuals. The Awakened have been appearing frequently at night to catch them, even deliberately luring them out, but they haven't taken the bait, only targeting ordinary people," the researcher with glasses added.

Yang Yi raised her eyebrows slightly, "Oh? How exactly did you do that?"

"To lure them out, some of us willingly served as bait, wearing thick steel armor and patrolling endlessly through the night, while Captain Li and other Awakened lay in ambush on nearby high-rise buildings. But it seemed to know our intentions and surprisingly didn't take the bait."

"It sounds like they possess a certain degree of intelligence?" Yang Yi asked.

"Not necessarily; it could also be an animal instinct, just as we inferred—they might be able to detect the dark matter fluctuations on Awakened individuals."

The meeting concluded quickly; as evening approached and the sky began to darken, Yang Yi and several Awakened exited the hotel entrance.

It was already early June; although the sky only grew completely dark around 8 PM, by about 7 o'clock, before the sun had fully set, the streets were already nearly devoid of people.

The few individuals who did appear were rushing hastily, their heads tightly covered with steel helmets, scrambling to get home.

"Right now, the entire city is in a panic; those who could run have already fled. Those remaining either have assets here they cannot leave behind or are harboring a wishful, luck-based mentality... But in this day and age, where is there absolute safety?" Li Yang said.

His ability was a C-rank Body-Type Bone Sword; it seemed to be a bone mutation, similar to hyperostosis, allowing sharp bone swords to grow from various parts of his body. He was a local of Wuming City, 31 years old; his family ran a car wash, and he was an honest businessman, yet three months ago, he inexplicably awakened this Body-Type ability.

Seeing his hometown reduced to this state, he felt deeply emotional.

Yang Yi wandered around the urban area until night fell and the lights came on; by then, not a single soul could be found in the city's streets and alleys.

Almost no one lived on the first or second floors of any high-rise building, even though thick steel plates had been installed; only from the third floor upward did lights begin to illuminate layer by layer.

It seemed people believed that the higher they lived, the safer they were.

They wandered continuously for three hours until past 11 o'clock, yet they did not encounter a single Brain-Sucking Beast.

The entire city was networked; if a Brain-Sucking Beast appeared and harmed anyone, the Awakened would be notified immediately.

Li Mingliang looked at Yang Yi, filled with doubt.

Another three hours passed; by 2 AM, there was still no news.

Li Mingliang contacted all monitoring stations, and every reply stated there had been no incidents of injury or death.

Yet normally, this time was the peak period for Brain-Sucking Beast appearances.

At this point, even Sun Sun Yaxi, Li Yang, Qian Ming, and even Wei Chang'an and Chen Chen Yushu began looking at her with strange expressions.

It wasn't until 4:30 AM, when the sky began to glow faintly, that there was still no news.

This night was unusually peaceful.

This was the first night without any deaths since the Brain-Sucking Beasts began appearing in Wuming City; even the areas surrounding Wuming City enjoyed a rare tranquility.

Everyone returned silently to the Lihao Grand Hotel, sitting in the buffet restaurant, soothing their rumbling stomachs while harboring various complex feelings that were hard to articulate.

"Damn it, this thing bullies the weak and fears the strong!" Qian Ming gnawed on a chicken drumstick in his right hand, cursing indignantly.

He possessed C-rank water control; for several consecutive days, he had been played in circles by the Brain-Sucking Beasts, seeing only corpses without catching even a single hair.

He thought that if Yang Yi could solve the problem, fine; if she couldn't, it would serve as a perfect warning to this number-one Awakened. He never expected the Brain-Sucking Beasts to be so frightened they wouldn't even dare to emerge.

It was simply a slap in the face.

Just as they were eating, Director Zhou called to inquire about the situation; upon hearing the result, he was rendered speechless.

"Then you'll just have to stay there for two or three days and observe the situation," Director Zhou said helplessly.

Yang Yi stirred the soy milk in her bowl, lost in thought. She recalled the feeling of being watched all over her body when she first entered the Wuming City urban area.

Assuming they can sense the dark matter fluctuations of Awakened individuals, could they also distinguish the strength of an Awakened's ability? Since they live by consuming human brains, might they also have gained a certain degree of intelligence?

Even knowing clearly that these Brain-Sucking Beasts were beneath Wuming City, the city covered over 22,000 square kilometers; it was impossible for them to turn the entire territory upside down.

Facing other exotic creatures, the Awakened present could always fight, even amidst life-and-death crises, and vent their frustration.

But this time, despite actively luring them, the beasts wouldn't take the bait; they could only be passively played in circles by a group of exotic creatures, which was truly extremely frustrating.

After finishing their meal, everyone returned to their hotel rooms to rest; since Brain-Sucking Beasts do not activity during the day, Li Mingliang and the others had grown accustomed to this nocturnal lifestyle.

Sleeping straight until 2 PM, Yang Yi was led by Wei Chang'an toward a luxurious private room.

"Everyone says we owe it to you that there were no deaths last night. You arrived in such a hurry yesterday that we didn't have time to host a welcome banquet for you; today we'll make up for it."

As soon as she entered the private room, she saw the Wuming City Party Secretary, the Mayor, the Vice Mayor, the Public Security Bureau Director, and yesterday's Awakened all seated; the moment she walked in, everyone stood up.

"Our great achiever has arrived; we truly owe it all to you, Captain Yang. You have no idea how we managed to endure these past seven or eight days..." Secretary Hu grasped her right hand with both of his, his face full of gratitude. He looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept for several days.

"Captain Yang, you truly deserve the title of the number-one Awakened! Last night, you allowed the entire city's population to enjoy a long-overdue peaceful sleep!" Mayor Wang was the second to grasp her hand, shaking it vigorously twice.

Yang Yi noticed the large dark circles under his eyes; clearly, he hadn't rested well for a long time.

"Indeed, with Captain Yang here, we probably no longer need to worry about these brain-sucking things!" Vice Mayor Li said.

These words were quite blunt; it wasn't that he lacked tact, but rather that his position required him to state matters more explicitly.

Seeing the bloodshot eyes of everyone present, Yang Yi smiled and said, "I will do my best."

Yang Yi was not naturally talkative, but the crowd didn't need her to make any grand speeches; as long as she indicated she would exert her utmost effort to resolve Wuming City's exotic creature crisis, this banquet was destined to be flawless before it even began.

As soon as they were seated, Mayor Wang summoned his secretary, instructing them to arrange for the dishes to be served.

Soon, a refined and handsome young man entered first, leading the waiters who filed in carrying dishes.

"Oh, Xiao Chen, as the young master of the Lihao Hotel, why are you personally serving the dishes?" Mayor Wang asked.

Yang Yi looked up and met eyes directly with the young man who had just entered.

She casually averted her gaze.

No wonder she felt the Lihao Grand Hotel sounded familiar; during the second semester of her junior year through the first semester of her senior year, she had dated someone for a while whose family seemed to run a hotel.