Chapter 948: Red‑Eye Disease?! Ferocious Claw Marks!

…

Lower City District Mingguang Street.

Tonight is especially desolate.

Dim lights flicker and fade intermittently, the tree shadows stagger.

The sound of rummaging rises from the mountain‑high piles of trash, and occasionally the playful noises of animals can be heard.

A cramped alley shoots a flash of Flashlight, wildly illuminating this cluster of tin houses and rustic buildings.

"Selling buns~"

"Special offer Cigarette, fifty yuan each~"

"Fifty bucks and you call it a special offer? Why don't you go snatch it?"

"This Cigarette isn't that Cigarette, kids don't understand a damn thing, get out of here!"

Enforcers wearing digital law‑enforcement devices patrol everywhere, searching for traces.

Because of last night's 'Fierce Beast murder case', tonight's streets are noticeably more deserted.

The children who were playing near the trash mound have vanished without a trace.

Vendors are terrified, most dare not leave their doors.

Only a few who can't sell goods and can't afford a meal dare to do a little business at this critical moment.

"Did you hear? That Fierce Beast apparently turned from a human," the bun seller chats with a customer.

"Is it real? Isn't that just a rumor?"

"Are you stupid? If it were really false, why would these Enforcers exert so much effort to come to Lower City District?"

"Makes sense…"

"These days the world isn't peaceful; I don't know how long my bun shop can stay open."

"How much?"

"Three yuan."

The customer hands over the money, grabs the buns, and hurries away.

Just beyond the bun shop lies a cluster of dilapidated residential houses.

"Creak—"

A door silently opens a crack.

A pair of blood‑red pupils suddenly peers outward.

After a moment of checking, the body squeezes out.

Then it carefully closes the door.

The man looks left and right, tiptoeing forward.

His posture is odd; while walking on tiptoes, his frame appears slightly hunched.

From time to time his Brain jerks, his Tooth grins crookedly, emitting a few strange sounds.

The skin on his arm beneath the short sleeves is withered, like the bark of an ancient tree weathered by wind and frost.

Blue veins protrude, clearly visible.

A pair of blood‑red pupils stare at the street's end, revealing a nearly Crazy yearning.

It is a Beastly Desire!

A Desire for flesh and blood.

"Brother Li?"

At that moment, the man carrying a bag of buns sees the short‑statured middle‑aged man walking along the wall acting strangely, and can't help greeting him.

As the words fall, Li Sanjiang's eyes flicker, and his body stiffens instantly.

The man, seeing this, shows a puzzled expression, steps forward and asks, "My uncle told me you didn't go to the transport station today, feeling unwell?"

As he approaches, the faint light leaking from the residents lets him see the other's figure clearly.

He sees Li Sanjiang leaning against the wall, responding to the man's polite inquiry, his face forced into a smile uglier than crying.

"Whoa, damn!"

The man, frightened, recoils, looks uncertainly at the other's blood‑red eyes, and exclaims, "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"My eyes have been uncomfortable lately, I took leave," Li Sanjiang's voice rasps.

"What's this, Red‑eye disease?" the man asks.

"Hmm." Li Sanjiang rubs his eyes in agreement, looking very uncomfortable.

"Did you go to the hospital?"

"I did, the doctor gave me some eye drops."

"Then you need more rest, don't push so hard, money never runs out."

"Hmm…"

The man sees that Li Sanjiang's discomfort doesn't seem feigned.

That urge to scratch his ears and cheek was even somewhat hair‑raising.

Thinking of this, the man's heart stirs, "It's best not to go out at night lately; did you know Old Wang was killed?"

Li Sanjiang's Pupil flickers with red light.

As if recalling the exquisite rush of last night's blood, his lips can't help twitching.

The man sighs regretfully, "Old Wang was much like you, with no children under his knee, and no companion in life."

"All day picking up trash to sell, how much can you earn? Even a full stomach is a struggle."

"They're already seventy‑or‑eighty, an age meant for enjoying peace, yet still have to scavenge outside."

"Being born in the Lower City District is also a kind of sorrow, I guess."

"What do you think?"

The man looked up and immediately saw a terrifying, snarling face.

Li Sanjiang's facial Muscle kept twitching, his Mouth twisted, revealing a pair of sharp fangs.

A Black Shadow flashed across his Cheek, as if something was impatiently trying to break through the soil.

"You…"

The man, frightened, retreated two steps, then thought and stepped forward to pat his Shoulder, "Are you okay? Shall I escort you home?"

Li Sanjiang seemed to be forcefully suppressing his Desire.

He forcibly shifted the gaze that had settled on the man's Neck, rasping, "No need."

"There's no need for politeness; we've been neighbors for decades."

"No!"

In the next instant, a massive force suddenly shoved him outward.

The man staggered, retreating several meters before barely steadying his stance.

He rubbed his chest, about to get angry when Li Sanjiang vanished without a trace.

"Where's the person?"

The man looked around, his head full of question marks.

At that moment, a long Shadow suddenly appeared on the ground.

In that instant, the man suddenly recalled a three‑meter‑tall Fierce Beast, his Pupil abruptly contracting, his calf muscles trembling Crazy.

An inexplicable chill assaulted him, like falling into an ice cavern.

He wanted to flee, but his legs wouldn't move.

It was as if he were welded to the ground.

Just as despair filled his eyes, a bag of buns suddenly appeared beside him.

"Friend, your buns fell."

Hearing the unfamiliar man's voice, he strained to turn his head.

He saw a handsome face that was half‑smile, half‑grimace.

He exhaled a long sigh, his whole body like a deflated rubber ball.

"You scared me to death."

He hurriedly took the buns away, thanked Fire, and rushed home.

He didn't want to stay in this haunted place for even a moment.

Su Yang watched the man run, his gaze immediately shifting to the wall where the conversation had just taken place.

He saw three deep claw marks suddenly appearing on the wall.

He then leaned in a few steps, crouched, and examined.

Each claw mark was one to two centimeters deep, and the ground still bore powder left from the broken cement wall.

"Craving fresh blood, operating at night…"

"Zombie?"

Su Yang's Brain conjured an image from a TV drama—

Bouncing around, impervious to swords and spears.

Earlier, he had hidden in the Dark Place, watching the two's conversation and behavior.

Originally, Li Sanjiang could well suppress the Desire in his heart.

But when the other mentioned the scavenger old man, his gaze instantly changed.

That selective‑targeted Desire shone through his eyes.

Moreover, the man's approach further provoked his ferocity.

It's easy to imagine that, had the man not mentioned "decades of neighbors",

Li Sanjiang would certainly have slain him without hesitation.

In the balance between reason and instinct, the former held the upper hand.

But…

A person whose genes have fundamentally changed through Gene Modification, plus having tasted the sweetness of fresh blood, would not be easily suppressed.

Even though Enforcers were patrolling nearby.

Even though the deceased appeared on television.

He would still choose to take reckless risks.

Only because—

It's a hunting instinct etched into the genes!

"It seems Gene Modification also produces defective batches…"

Su Yang's eyes flickered as he hurriedly chased out.

He actually wanted to see how this short man could become a three‑meter‑tall monster!