Chapter 19: Exposed Under Everyone's Gaze

Half Mountain Villa.

Pa!

A crisp sound.

Inside the villa, all the lights—whether the splendid crystal chandeliers on the ceiling, the antique wall sconces on the walls, or each emergency desk lamp on the tables——

In that instant, they all went out!

Extreme, pure darkness, where you can't see your hand in front of your face, swallowed everything.

Vision was deprived.

Panic, in the darkness, was infinitely magnified.

"What's going on?!"

"Backup power! Quickly turn on the backup power!"

"Don't panic! Keep formation!"

The policemen's panicked shouts rang out in the darkness, yet they sounded so feeble and powerless.

Because another kind of movement, at the moment the lights went out, became extraordinarily clear, extraordinarily terrifying.

Thud!

Thud! Thud!

That weird heartbeat pulsation was no longer coming from afar, no longer an auditory hallucination drilling into the ears.

It was inside each person's chest cavity!

On each person's heart!

Heavy, beat after beat, trampling their fragile lives!

It was as if an invisible giant hand had clenched everyone's hearts, and with that terrifying rhythm, slowly tightened.

Feelings of suffocation and oppression surged from all directions.

"I... I can't catch my breath..."

"Heart... my heart is about to jump out!"

Command Center.

In the audio fed back from the scene, only chaotic panting remained, along with a heartbeat like doomsday war drums.

Zhou Weiguo's weather-beaten face was now deathly pale.

He had been a policeman his whole life; this was the first time in his career he felt so powerless.

Science, logic, experience......

At this moment, they all failed!

He cannot fall.

He is everyone's mainstay!

"Withdraw!!"

Zhou Weiguo grabbed the microphone, exerting all his strength, roaring out the final order.

"Immediately take Li Zhenhu and withdraw from here!!"

"Leave this villa! Try leaving this range to see if 'it' still works!"

This is their last hope.

It is a gamble.

Gamble that the unknown 'thing' has its ability limited to inside this villa alone!

Zhou Weiguo's roar, like a thunderclap, exploded in the ears of every policeman on the verge of collapse.

"Quick! Bring Li Zhenhu and charge out!"

Two veteran detectives who still retained a shred of rationality immediately responded.

They groped in the dark toward the already limp-as-mud Li Zhenhu, one on each side, hoisted him up, and dragged him toward the door.

"Wrench! Show the way!"

"Front-left! Thirteen meters! That's the door!"

"Wrench" with bloodshot eyes, stared fixedly at the sole building layout on the laptop, guiding the charging teammates with a hoarse voice.

The spark of hope, in desperation, reignited.

Several policemen spontaneously formed a human wall, shielding Li Zhenhu around, stumbling toward the door that symbolized 'life'.

In the darkness, furniture was knocked askew; someone fell, then immediately got up.

The survival instinct overwhelmed everything.

Ten meters.

Five meters.

Three meters!

The icy metal door handle was already within reach!

But just then.

"Don't come over...... don't come over!!"

A despairing shriek to the extreme came from behind the team.

It was a young policeman.

His psychological defenses had long been stripped away; under the utter darkness and heartbeat oppression, he saw a twisted, huge black mass lunging at them from behind!

That was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

He collapsed.

He raised his gun, aimed at the terrifying black shadow that looked horribly ferocious in his eyes, and pulled the trigger!

"Bang!"

The piercing gunshot exploded in the enclosed space!

The smell of gunpowder smoke instantly spread.

As expected, the ghost's wail did not sound.

Instead, there was a suppressed groan.

Xiao Zhang's body stiffened suddenly.

He slowly lowered his head.

Looking at his abdomen, at the hole continuously spewing warm liquid.

Blood quickly dyed his police uniform red.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But in the end he couldn't say anything.

His body went limp, and he collapsed heavily into the pool of blood.

"Xiao Zhang!!"

The senior criminal investigator nearest to him let out a terrified shout.

That shout, like a sharp blade, completely severed the string named 'order' and 'reason'!

Friendly fire!

This fact could destroy a team's will more than any monster.

"Who fired the gun?! Who the hell fired the gun!"

"Where's the medic?! Quick! Xiao Zhang's been shot!"

"Don't panic! Nobody panic! Protect yourselves!"

The scene descended into total chaos.

Someone rushed over, trying to staunch Xiao Zhang's continuously bleeding wound.

Someone panickedly searched for the colleague who fired, waving the gun muzzle wildly in the darkness.

The retreating formation instantly collapsed.

The young police officer who fired, hearing Xiao Zhang's dull thud as he fell, hearing his colleagues' shrill cries, smelling the familiar scent of blood in the air...

He froze completely.

What...... have I done?

He looked at the smoking muzzle of the gun in his hand, then at Xiao Zhang lying in a pool of blood not far away.

"Ah——!!!"

A beast-like howl burst from his throat.

He dropped his pistol, clutched his head, knelt on the ground, and his spirit was utterly pulverized at this moment.

The police line, under double blows from within and without, vanished completely.

And all of this was clearly seen by Li Zhenhu.

He watched helplessly as the police who should have protected him descended into chaos.

He watched helplessly as the police officer named Xiao Zhang collapsed before him.

His sole, last spark of hope, before his eyes, was utterly extinguished by a downpour.

【Target: Li Zhenhu】

【Sanity: 0/100】

Thud.

That deafening heartbeat came to an abrupt halt.

The whole world fell into an eerie absolute silence.

Immediately after.

A bone‑chilling cold burst out of nowhere, instantly sweeping through the entire villa.

The temperature plummeted to freezing point!

Everyone felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar; their exhaled breath condensed into clear white mist in the darkness.

As their sanity points dropped to zero one after another.

In the darkness.

A silhouette gradually emerged.

At first it was just a vague humanoid shape, but soon its outline became increasingly clear and solid.

His face was pale and swollen, still bearing the terror and reluctance from before death.

His eyes were hollow, with no pupils or focus, merely staring fixedly ahead.

Most horrifying of all, his chest held a bottomless void that continuously emitted black resentment.

Time was frozen.

Space was solidified.

All the police, whether they were trying to rescue Xiao Zhang, or panicking while looking for cover, or already mentally broken...

At this moment, they all stood frozen in place.

They widened their eyes, pupils shrinking to pinpricks.

They stared at the monster that existed only in ludicrous testimonies, now truly and clearly appearing before them.

"On Wrench's computer screen, all data streams instantly cleared to zero, leaving only snow."

The blood color drained completely from Professor Chen's face; he had spent a lifetime studying human nature and criminal psychology, yet could not explain what lay before him.

Their materialist worldview, cultivated over decades, was shattered at this moment by the ghostly apparition with a gaping hole torn in its chest......

Torn to shreds.