Chapter 77: First Clash with the Smiling Dummy

Wang Ni held a cigar in his mouth, his face full of impatience as he walked toward the door.

"Who is it? At this hour..."

He opened the door.

Outside the door, there was no one.

Only the cold night wind, swirling a few fallen leaves.

Wang Ni frowned, stuck his head out and looked left and right.

The sensor lights in the Corridor were dim, the silence so deep one could hear one's own heartbeat.

"Damn it, which little brat is playing a prank?"

He was about to close the door when a corner of his eye caught something at his feet.

It was a huge delivery cardboard box, over a person tall, standing squarely at the doorway, its surface bare, with no sender information or shipping label.

"Hmm?"

Wang Ni squatted down, walked around the box, and his confusion grew.

Who would send him such a thing?

He thought for a moment; he hadn't bought any large items online lately.

After inspecting it, Wang Ni's doubt didn't lessen, but he still dragged the box into the living room.

Inside the command vehicle, the tense atmosphere relaxed a bit.

Su Chang curled his lip, shifted to a more comfortable posture, and leaned against the chair back.

"All that fuss, it's just a delivery."

Qin Zhixia ignored him, her sharp Crimson Phoenix Eyes still fixed on the surveillance screen, her brows slightly furrowed.

Her intuition told her the matter wasn't that simple.

"You Ling."

Her voice was cold, breaking the silence inside the vehicle.

"Still analyzing?"

From the headset came You Ling's lazy voice, accompanied by the clack-clack of keyboard keys.

"Building, building... don't rush, the model needs to run data, okay?"

"Cross-referencing and logistic regression analysis on the existing dozens of missing case files..."

"Done."

You Ling's voice suddenly became a bit serious.

"From the victim's first online encounter with the Smiling Dummy image to the eventual disappearance, the average time interval is twenty-three point eight hours."

"That's roughly a day."

Qin Zhixia's heart sank sharply.

"When did Wang Ni first see the picture?"

"Let me check..." The keyboard clattered again rapidly, "It was yesterday night at 10:07."

Qin Zhixia jerked her wrist up and glanced at her tactical watch.

It was now 10:15 PM.

Time had already passed!

A chill spread up Qin Zhixia's spine.

"You Ling! Immediately, now! Hack all of Wang Ni's shopping platform accounts, bank transaction records, social app chat logs! Check whether he bought anything recently, whether anyone sent him anything!"

Qin Zhixia spoke at a breakneck speed, her tone unmistakably commanding!

Everyone inside the vehicle was infected by her sudden tension; Su Chang also dropped his carefree demeanor and sat up straight.

You Ling seemed to realize the seriousness as well, the keyboard clacking so fast it almost merged into a single sound.

A few seconds later, he reported at breakneck speed:

"None!"

"In his consumption records over the past month, there are absolutely no large items!"

"Nor has anyone ever sent him a package!"

That box... wasn't a delivery!

It appeared at the doorway on its own!

Qin Zhixia's pupils suddenly contracted!

"Su Chang!"

Her voice, like an ice blade, sliced through the solidified air!

"Launch a raid with people! Quickly!"

In the living room.

Wang Ni couldn't find scissors, so he simply grabbed a kitchen fruit knife.

He hummed a tune, using the knife tip to cut the box's tape.

"Let me see, which cute little one sent this big gift..."

Sizzle—

The box's lid was cut open.

The knife in Wang Ni's hand clanged to the floor.

He seemed as if struck by lightning, slumping onto the icy floor, his facial color instantly draining clean!

It was a face.

A ghastly white plastic dummy face, painted with two clumps of exaggerated rouge.

It twisted its mouth, showing a smile Weird to the extreme.

It was exactly the same as the picture he had seen twice on his computer!

Wang Ni's heart nearly leapt out of his throat!

Fear, like countless cold hands, clutched his neck, making it almost impossible for him to breathe!

Fuck...... Fuck......

He scrambled backward, his throat emitting a hoarse, guttural sound.

It was a prank!

It must have been some enemy pulling the prank! Warning me!

Right! It has to be that!

The thought gave him back a sliver of strength.

Fear was swiftly replaced by raging fury.

"Damn it! How dare you scare me! When I find out who you are, I'll sink your whole family into the river!"

Wang Ni scrambled to his feet, mustering courage, grabbed the dummy head along with the entire dummy model, and roughly shoved it back into the box.

He dragged the box to the doorway like a dead dog, gave it a hard shove, and tossed it outside.

After doing all that, he gasped heavily, feeling his back soaked through.

He turned, intending to go back inside and pour a drink to calm his nerves.

But as soon as he turned, his steps froze in place.

The blood in his whole body solidified completely at that moment.

The dummy he had thrown outside, at some unknown time, silently stood behind him.

Less than half a meter away.

Now that Weird smiling face was staring directly at him.

The hollow, pupil‑less eyes stared fixedly at his.

Wang Ni felt his scalp about to explode.

He could smell a stench of cheap plastic mixed with some rotting corpse.

He could hear his own teeth rattling wildly.

He wanted to run, wanted to scream, but his body felt as if filled with lead, unable to move.

Time seemed infinitely stretched at that moment.

Finally.

The dummy moved.

It slowly raised a stiff plastic arm, and gently brushed against Wang Ni's face.

Ah—!!!

The instinct to survive finally overpowered the extreme fear, and a hoarse, off‑key scream burst from Wang Ni's throat!

Bang!!!

At that very moment, the villa's main door was violently kicked open from the outside by a massive force!

Amidst flying wood chips, Su Chang, towering like a brown bear, was the first to rush in!

He instantly saw the terrifying scene in the center of the living room!

A Weird dummy model was gently pressing its plastic palm against Wang Ni's face.

And Wang Ni's body was undergoing a visible transformation!

His skin lost its color and pores, becoming wax‑smooth; the terrified expression froze Weirdly on his face, his body stiffened, turning him into a living human‑shaped statue!

"Damn!"

Even someone like Su Chang, who has seen grand scenes, was shocked by this Weird sight, his scalp tingling!

He hesitated not a moment, instantly raised the Custom Assault Rifle in his hand, and roared at the Smiling Dummy:

"Fire!"

Clack‑clack‑clack‑clack‑clack!

The raging fire tongue erupted instantly!

The Custom armor‑piercing high‑explosive round, wrapped in destructive force, blew the Smiling Dummy to pieces in an instant!

The plastic limbs and broken arms splattered everywhere, exploding mid‑air.

The whole process lasted less than three seconds.

The battle ended.

Su Chang looked at the plastic fragments scattered on the floor, then at the Wang Ni who remained in a terrified pose but had completely lost vital signs, and let out a sigh of relief.

He lowered the gun.

"Thought it was awesome, but that's it?"

If it's this level of Weird, he could handle ten of them alone, even without a gun.

In the chaos,

no one noticed.

The dummy head that was blasted away rolled with a thud under the sofa, disappearing into the shadows.

The Weird smiling face still remained.

And those hollow, expression‑less eyes happened to turn toward Su Chang's direction.

Staring at him.