NOVPUBDaniel held up his Desert Eagle cautiously, refraining from making a move.
His weapon’s firepower was immense, posing a risk to allies.
With Julia and Mike on the frontline, he didn’t need to engage.
Why hadn’t the monster revealed itself since the attack commenced?
Why only send these two minions?
And while he, Julia, and Mike were seemingly the most formidable, the monsters targeted the three charlatans instead.
"The monster desires more souls."
For reasons he couldn’t fathom, this thought surfaced in Daniel’s mind.
Only such reasoning could explain why the monster lurking in the darkness targeted ordinary people. Killing an ordinary person was like child’s play to it.
To catch the thief, first catch the king!
They had to find and stop the monster as soon as possible. The longer it took, the more complicated things might become.
With this in mind, Daniel shouted to Julia and Mike, "Get them out first, then come back and assist me!"
Then, without hesitation, Daniel dashed upstairs.
By now, Julia had reached the two monstrous corpses. With her right fist enveloped in lightning, she channeled all her strength and struck one’s head, yelling, "Take this!"
With a mighty roar, the lightning surged into the monster’s body.
Immediately, the charred smell of roasted flesh wafted through the air.
The body collapsed, seemingly lifeless. Julia swiftly turned, her fist connecting with the other corpse, incapacitating it instantly.
In the face of Julia’s abilities, these monsters were hardly a match.
Using a jolt of electricity, Julia revived the unconscious trio.
Upon awakening, they screamed and pleaded in succession.
But, seeing the two monsters now reduced to charred remains, they quickly erupted into relieved laughter.
Richard stood up, dusting himself off and adjusting the frame of his glasses on the bridge of his nose. He then chuckled, "Officer, did you handle all of this?"
Julia, having no patience for him, turned to Mike, "Take these three out. I’ll go find Daniel."
In her eyes, no matter how capable Daniel might be, he remained a mere mortal in the heat of battle.
Mike knew this was not the time to hesitate. "Be careful. I’ll call for backup," he said.
Julia nodded, turning swiftly and stepping into the darkness.
Mike turned to Richard and the others, "It’s extremely dangerous here. We don’t know if there are more threats lurking. We need to leave immediately."
No one argued against the term ’threats.’
Richard hesitated, looking in the direction Julia had disappeared, "Isn’t she leaving?"
As they moved, Mike replied, "She’s continuing her investigation here. Once we’re out, I’ll call for reinforcements."
Richard frowned, "You, a grown man, are leaving a woman in danger?"
Jennifer chimed in, "Exactly! That’s just awful!"
With a stern face, Mike retorted, "How about the two of you go accompany her then?"
Hearing this, Richard and Jennifer shivered, swiftly brushing past Mike heading towards the exit.
Passing Romant, who still seemed shaky on his feet, they, in a moment of decency, helped support him.
On the third floor of the mall:
Daniel had raced up, his eyes fixed on the shadowy figure standing by the corridor railing.
The shadow seemed to await Daniel’s approach, remaining still even as he reached the third floor.
With his gun at the ready, a thought crossed Daniel’s mind, "Why isn’t it running? Is it waiting for me?"
It was uncommon for such a creature to stay visible in the light.
As Daniel approached and illuminated the area with his flashlight, he was stunned.
The "figure" was not a person but a plastic mannequin commonly seen in malls.
Yet, Daniel remained on guard. After all, Alex and Brooks had been undone by these very decoys.
The real monster, it seemed, remained careful, controlling everything from the shadows, never revealing itself.
Where is it now?
Daniel abruptly halted, his gaze darting downward. The subtle, ancient scent of decay, dry and aged, tickled his nostrils.
"The creature is below!"
Suddenly, Daniel bent over, peering down intently. Just then, the soft patter of footsteps echoed from behind.
In a swift motion, Daniel spun around, firing a shot. Bang!
But it was Julia who appeared.
Lying on the ground, Julia gasped for air, her voice tinged with fear, "Daniel, were you trying to kill me?!"
Picking herself up, she snapped, "If I hadn’t ducked in time, I’d be another ghost under your gun!"
Taken aback, Daniel, uncharacteristically apologetic, responded, "I’m sorry."
"I told you to escort them out. How did you get back here so quickly?"
Julia coolly replied, "Mike’s handling them. You are my primary concern. If something happened to you here, I’d never hear the end of it at the Investigation Bureau."
Daniel, "..."
Her words, ostensibly caring, somehow sounded unsettling coming from her.
At that moment, a woman’s scream emanated from the direction of the main door below.
It was followed by the chaotic sound of scattered footsteps, resembling the frenzied scattering of startled insects.
A shadow crossed Daniel’s face. "Damn it, we’ve fallen for its diversion!"
He immediately turned, dashing down the stairs.
It took a moment for Julia to catch on, as she chased after Daniel, she inquired, "What diversion? Is the creature that clever?"
As they ran, Daniel spoke, "Those creatures have never been dumb. In fact, they might be smarter than us humans!"
Julia, incredulous, responded, "How can that be? If these monsters were smarter than humans, how could we have dominated the Earth for millennia?"
With a cold smirk, Daniel retorted, "Besides ourselves, who else acknowledges our dominance?"
"Moreover, these creatures might have existed far longer than we can even imagine, perhaps even older than the Earth itself, akin to Cthulhu."
Julia’s disbelief deepened. "Cthulhu is just a playful term we use, a fictional myth. It couldn’t possibly be real."
Daniel replied matter-of-factly, "My dear, creatures beyond our understanding keep emerging. At this point, what seems impossible?"
His words left Julia without rebuttal.
The mere existence of these monsters already surpassed human understanding, which is why they were classified as supernatural phenomena.
By the time their exchange ended, the duo had reached the first floor of the mall.
Daniel caught a glimpse of the upper floor from the corner of his eye, and his pupils narrowed sharply.
The mannequin that had been standing beside the railing moments ago had vanished.
He scanned the surroundings, but there was no trace of it.
A sly grin formed on Daniel’s lips. "Interesting. I hope you have more surprises in store for me."
As they continued, they suddenly collided with Mike, coming from the opposite direction.
Julia inquired, "Why are you alone? Where are the others?"
Mike, visibly shaken, gasped, "They scattered... there were so many creatures!"
Daniel furrowed his brow, noticing nothing amiss on Mike. He urged, "Calm down. What exactly happened?"
Taking a deep breath, Mike began, "We reached the main entrance, and as Jennifer was about to open the door, the remote control disappeared."
"We turned back to search and found the keys in the hands of a mannequin. That’s when I realized something was off."
"Just as we turned around, we were met with a sea of dark shadows—all mannequins!"
A realization dawned on Daniel. "This isn’t the place to discuss. We need to move further in," he urged.
As the trio turned, they caught a glimpse of the sneaky Richard.
Daniel’s gaze sharpened, noticing a fleeting glint as the flashlight beam swept across Richard.
Upon seeing Richard, Mike quickly inquired, "Where are the other two?"
Richard responded with a nonchalant smile, "I don’t know. We got separated in the chaos."
It was then Daniel interjected, "Does the monster possess the power to control others?"
Richard looked genuinely puzzled, "What are you talking about?"
Suddenly, Daniel let out a laugh. An eerie smile crept across his pallid face. His teeth bared as he chillingly remarked, "It seems you’re already dead."
Richard froze for a moment, then anger flashed across his face. "What the hell are you saying? You are..."
Abruptly, Daniel raised his gun and fired.
Sensing Daniel’s murderous intent, Julia’s face contorted in horror, "No!"
But it was too late.
Bang!
The deafening gunshot echoed as Richard’s head exploded, leaving a gruesomely decapitated corpse.
Both Julia and Mike were dumbstruck.
No one could have anticipated Daniel’s ruthless action against an apparently ordinary person.
Was he a murderer?!
Regaining her composure, Julia rushed forward, her face filled with rage. "Have you lost your mind?! Why would you kill an innocent person?"
Calmly, Daniel responded, "He wasn’t an ordinary person."
