NOVPUBIf Jennifer’s account held true, and she was indeed pursued here by the creatures, she should have been assimilated by now, turned into one of their controlled puppets.
Yet she remained unscathed.
This could only mean one thing: the monsters were baiting a trap.
And the bait was him.
A chilling realization washed over Daniel. "It’s a trap!"
If his suspicions were correct, the creatures were lurking close by, watching.
Seeing the alarm on Daniel’s face, Jennifer’s own fear intensified. "What’s wrong?"
Before she could get another word out, Daniel covered her mouth again.
Quickly, he switched off his flashlight, whispering, "Stay quiet. Someone’s coming."
Jennifer understood. In this eerie setting, the only ’someone’ would be the monsters.
Credit to her wit; she even placed her own hand over her mouth, preventing any inadvertent noises.
Her eyes widened in terror, yet she managed to stay completely silent.
Footsteps echoed in the darkness, approaching from a distance and seemingly entering the restroom. The pace was leisurely, deliberate, reminiscent of a casual post-dinner stroll.
Something wasn’t right.
Daniel’s senses sharpened.
It was outside regular business hours for the mall. Who would be wandering here?
The only explanation: it was one of the creatures.
He tried to sniff out any familiar scent, but there was none to detect.
Could it be something other than the creature?
Without any light, the darkness became almost palpable, and the silence, deafening.
Amidst such stillness, the clarity of the footsteps became all the more pronounced.
There was no doubt.
Whoever it was had entered the restroom.
And peculiarly, they seemed entirely undeterred by the suffocating darkness, moving confidently without a light source.
Daniel, with heightened senses, was acutely aware that the figure was right outside the door.
Jennifer too realized the same.
Her eyes widened even further, the depth of fear in them deepening.
Who was it outside?
Or rather, was it even human?
Humans don’t fear the dark per se.
What they fear is the unknown, the paralyzing uncertainty it brings.
At this moment, terror gripped Jennifer to the core.
Daniel gripped his pistol tightly, his ears finely attuned to every slight movement outside.
Judging from the sound, the footsteps seemed to have halted in front of the first stall, which meant the person, or entity, was standing less than five meters diagonally to his right.
At such proximity, his Desert Eagle could deliver a fatal shot.
Daniel weighed his options internally: "Should I take the shot?"
Yet, he refrained. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact location of the intruder.
If he missed, he would only give away his position, which would be rather awkward.
But simply hiding here wasn’t a solution either.
What should he do?
As Daniel was lost in thought, suddenly...
Boom!
A deafening noise erupted within the restroom, its echo lingering outside.
This was followed by the sound of splintering wood.
It became clear to Daniel: the intruder was inspecting each stall one by one.
Jennifer, too, recognized this, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.
Even with her hands firmly pressed against her mouth and nose, tiny fearful whimpers escaped: "Mmm...mmm..."
Once the loud noise subsided, the footsteps returned, taking a few steps and pausing again.
This time, they were closer, seemingly stopping before the second stall.
Boom!
Another explosion of sound, followed immediately by the shattering of the stall door.
Not only that, but the intruder also violently shattered the toilet tank, ceramic fragments scattering on the ground.
After a brief moment of silence, punctuated only by the sound of water gushing from the broken tank, the footsteps resumed.
The stranger was now in front of the third stall.
The very stall where Daniel and Jennifer were hiding.
Hearing the stranger stop just outside their door, Jennifer’s trembles grew even more intense.
Silently, she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impending doom.
Daniel stared unflinchingly at the door, slowly rising to his feet.
He was ready to pull the trigger the moment that door was kicked open.
Jennifer, sensing Daniel’s movement, was suddenly filled with a glimmer of hope.
Frantically, she clambered up and clung tightly to his waist from behind.
"Officer, please, take me with you. I don’t want to die here. There’s so much I haven’t done yet," she whispered desperately.
"Please, I’ll do anything you want. I’m good, really good – no man has ever resisted me. I can be any woman you desire," she pleaded, her tears soaking Daniel’s back in an instant.
Daniel’s expression remained icy.
He wished he could just knock her out with a punch.
With the intruder right outside, how dare she behave this way?
He hissed in the faintest whisper, "Shut up and crouch in the corner!"
In this silent atmosphere, even the drop of a pin would echo, let alone spoken words.
But Daniel didn’t care.
Next time, he wouldn’t bother waking this bothersome woman.
Now, with a gravely serious expression, he listened intently to any sound coming from outside, his gaze fixed on the door.
"He’s here!"
Daniel could clearly sense that the stranger was now right outside the stall, mere inches away.
He braced himself, ready to face the impact and fire his weapon.
However, what happened next was entirely unexpected.
Creeeak—
Instead of being kicked or smashed in, the restroom stall door was simply pushed open by hand.
Why wasn’t the door violently broken like before?
Had the creature’s attack pattern suddenly changed?
Something’s off!
Daniel swiftly turned on his flashlight, his finger resting on the trigger of his gun.
In the next moment, the beam revealed a portly, balding man.
With just one glance, Daniel recognized him.
It was Jack, the billionaire from Britannia who had participated in the ’Wild Treasure Hunt’ show in Mauritania!
The same man who was entranced by the female auctioneer at the underground auction in the Mauritania Convention Center, labeled as number 76.
Why him?
Daniel didn’t voice his question to Jack.
Because Jack looked vacant, with lifeless eyes, appearing very much like a puppet being manipulated.
This eerily matched the appearance of the minions from the mall.
Through Jennifer’s eyes, however, Jack was unmistakably human.
Strange-looking, sure, but not a monster. She breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "You scared me. I thought it was another..."
She was immediately cut off by Daniel’s cold voice, "Who told you to stand up?"
"The creature is nearby. This man is under its control. If you don’t want to die, stay crouched in the corner. Only come out when I say."
In an attempt to keep Jennifer from making another rash move, he figured it was better to instill fear into her.
But having had enough of hiding in the restroom and finally seeing more living humans, she wasn’t keen on returning to her hiding spot.
Just then...
"Handsome, you really hurt my feelings. Do I look like a monster with such a cute face?" A sweet voice echoed from outside the restroom, followed by light, delicate footsteps.
In such a tense environment, this sweetness was eerily terrifying.
Terrified, Jennifer quickly turned and crouched in the corner by the toilet, not daring to lift her head.
A petite silhouette approached Daniel, revealing an enchantingly innocent face – it was Nine.
She glanced at the Desert Eagle in Daniel’s hand and giggled, "Little brother, do you find my Spiritual Artifact useful?"
Daniel looked at her impassively, "Why are you here?"
Pretending to be frightened, Nine patted her chest, "You steal my stuff and then act all fierce towards me. You really are such a straightforward man."
Daniel remained silent, watching her dramatic act.
Nine pouted, "You took my things without paying. I couldn’t account for that, so I was sent to collect the debt."
"Little brother, when do you plan to pay me for that ton of gold?"
With a detached smile, Daniel said, "After what you did to number 76, what else is there to discuss?"
Nine suddenly burst into a clear, bell-like laughter.
Her every smile and frown were enough to captivate countless men. "So many people are eager to become my slaves, but I reject them!"
She sighed dramatically, "With such devastatingly good looks, wouldn’t we make a perfect celestial couple? Why resist my allure? Is my charm not strong enough? Or maybe I am far more attractive than her, right?" Nine pointed to Jennifer, still cowering in the restroom’s corner.
Although Jennifer knew the people outside were human, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the cute girl was more terrifying than any monster.
When she realized she was being pointed at, she buried her head between her legs, shrinking even further into the corner.
Daniel said calmly, "I’ve just met her."
With a mere gesture from Nine, Jack mechanically walked over and knelt down, lying prostrate on the ground.
Nine sat on Jack’s back very calmly, her legs tilted to one side, revealing her slender legs with perfect curves.
She opened the slit of the skirt with her hands, her bare skin was as white as jade, and she could see her elastic buttocks at a glance.
Then, looking at Daniel with blurred eyes, a very charming voice came out of his mouth: "Handsome, it’s itchy and hot under there, can you do me a favour?"
