9 Monster (9)

"Shh—"
Xue Ning drew the curtains shut, turned off the lights, and peered outside through a narrow gap.
The man was still standing where he had been, unmoving for at least three or four hours since she left. He faced in her direction, but the distance was too great for her to make out what he was looking at. Yet Xue Ning had a strange intuition: he was observing her.
The thought sent a shiver up her arms, goosebumps prickling her skin. When she looked again, she saw the man slowly turn and walk into the residential building behind him.
He didn’t come out again.
Was she overthinking things?
His behavior was odd, certainly, but Xue Ning had encountered people far more abnormal—some driven to madness by facing the Slaughterers, some buckling under unbearable mental strain...
In a world like this, maintaining sound mental health was a rare and powerful trait.
Perhaps the man was just a local resident. Xue Ning tugged at the hair on either side of her head, once more doubting the researchers’ assessment of her own mental state. Maybe she was simply under too much pressure these days, her thoughts running wild.
Enough. She’d sleep first.
Xue Ning slept until noon. Her fridge was still well stocked, but she wanted to visit the convenience store.
The store owner always seemed to know more than she did; if anyone had a grasp on the local residents, it was him.
Xue Ning was an assistant at the X Research Institute—even if only a temporary one, the store owner saw her as a promising connection. He pondered seriously before replying, “I don’t recall anyone like that. I’m familiar with most people in that building, and I’ve never heard of a man like him.”
He paused, then added, “But... I can’t be sure. A batch of survivors was brought back to the fortress recently. Some of them might have been assigned to the residential district. It’s possible I just haven’t met them yet.”
Xue Ning leaned on the counter. “What’s the situation on the surface now?”
She had never seen it herself; when she woke, she was already inside the fortress.
The researchers at the base all had their own projects, rarely seen by others, and even the assistants seldom discussed the surface. Some would start trembling at the mere mention of it.
All she knew was that it was dangerous beyond measure.
The owner gave a low exclamation, folding his hands on the counter and leaning in close to her. “Why, are you thinking of joining a surface operation? Let me give you a word of advice: don’t even think about it.”
His face was haunted as he spoke. “The surface is the Slaughterers’ nest now. You know what a nest means, right? It’s terrifying... Those things excrete mucus naturally—the ground is covered in that sticky, filthy slime. Like a marsh. Where the Slaughterers gather, anyone with a weak constitution can be infected in an instant and become one of the Infected.”
The “Infected”—that was the term for those not yet fully mutated into monsters.
Their minds shattered under the Slaughterers’ influence; they killed humans, but their abilities were weak. As long as you had weapons, you could kill them. The trouble was their overwhelming numbers.
“My friend went to the surface not long ago to look for his wife and kid—if someone nearby hadn’t saved him, he’d never have come back.”
Xue Ning drummed her fingers on the counter, tap-tap-tap. “If the fortress falls, does that mean we’re just waiting to die?”
The specimen in Room 01 had always been a hidden danger weighing on her.
The owner glared at her. “Don’t say things like that.”
Xue Ning clamped her mouth shut.
Suddenly, the color drained from the owner’s face. His legs buckled, and he collapsed to the floor. Xue Ning vaulted over the counter to brace him as he fell, easing his impact with her arms.

“What’s wrong?”
The owner gritted his teeth, unable to describe that moment—it was as if something monstrous had fixed its gaze upon him, every hair on his body standing on end. He gasped for breath and thanked Xue Ning. “I... I’m fine, just a little tired. I just need to rest for a bit.”
Panic flooded him.
Sweat beaded on his forehead. Footsteps sounded—each one like a boot stamping on his spine. He was so stiff he couldn’t even look up, only able to sense a massive shadow enveloping the two of them behind the counter.
A gaze, sharp as a blade, stabbed toward Xue Ning’s hand where she held the owner. Her fingers curled reflexively. A cold, oppressive aura seemed to coil around her, a sense of dread rising within her once more. She bit her lip and looked up.
It was the man from yesterday.
He was still dressed in the same jet-black hoodie, the hood pulled low over his brows, shadowing his nose so that only his lips and the sharp line of his jaw were visible. His features were edged with a chill, a hint of menace beneath the cold.
The atmosphere seemed to grow damp and clammy.
Xue Ning almost wanted to scream—relentless as a ghost!
She and the owner pressed shoulder to shoulder, both gripped by an inexplicable terror, huddling together. But the man’s stare only grew darker, as if a freezing wind had suddenly swept through the room. Xue Ning shuddered.
“Boss, I’ll take you to the hospital.”
She steadied herself, ignoring the man’s stare.
Before the owner could answer, the man standing outside the counter spoke. “I’ll do it.”
His voice was rough, the tone oddly stilted—just three words, but indistinct, like a child learning to speak.
Xue Ning frowned unconsciously. There was something oddly familiar about it—as if she’d heard it before?
The owner stammered, “N-no, I’m fine, I don’t need the hospital, I-I’ll just rest for a bit.”
Xue Ning persisted, “You really should go to the hospital.”
He shook his head, repeating himself. “No, no, I’m fine.”
Xue Ning was reluctant to leave the safety of the counter, but the owner had already opened the side door, clearly asking her to leave.
She pressed her lips together and stepped out. The man blocked her path. Xue Ning forced herself to steady her wildly beating heart, staring fixedly at her own feet, not giving the man even a glance.
You can’t see me. You can’t see me. You can’t see me.
Just as she was about to leave the store, someone gripped her arm. Xue Ning’s eyes flew wide—her heart nearly leapt out of her chest.
The man bent down, bringing his face close to hers. Xue Ning was forced to look at the exquisitely sculpted half of his face. His lips curled into a perfect smile, and he said, “Hello.”
His voice was much smoother than before.
If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought he was an old friend.
Awkwardly, Xue Ning replied, “Hello.”
The man did not let go. His grip tightened. She was certain she felt sharp fingernails pierce her sleeve and prick her skin, her arm growing damp and uncomfortable.
A flicker of irritation crossed her eyes.

The man’s smile widened, his aura still oppressive.
Xue Ning almost suspected he’d approached her just to show off that smile—like a toddler, proud to display a new trick.
She managed a weak smile herself, realizing how ridiculous the thought was. How could the man before her be compared to a child? Anyone with eyes would see, in an instant, that he was anything but harmless. Danger radiated from him, so much so that even the store owner had been rendered tongue-tied.
Xue Ning assumed a submissive expression, brows drawn as if on the verge of tears. “Could you let go of me?”
She shifted her arm. The man did not make things difficult; he released her, straightening his back, his hood still shadowing his eyes. Still, Xue Ning knew he was watching her—that chilling gaze following her like a shadow.
Even at home, she could not escape him. She would have to go to the X Research Institute.
She opened the door and stepped outside, pulling out her communicator. She muttered, “That Wang is always so scatterbrained, leaving her keys at home. I’ll have to bring them to her...”
She opened her contacts. The X Research Institute's number was at the top. Just as her fingertip hovered over it, she felt a suffocating gaze from the side.
She mustn’t look. She mustn’t look. But instinctively, Xue Ning glanced over.
The man stood at her side, slightly bent, his attention clearly fixed on her fingertips. Xue Ning’s hand trembled; she couldn’t press the button no matter how she tried. After a moment’s struggle, she shoved the communicator into her pocket. Instantly, the oppressive gaze vanished.
Xue Ning hurried away, glancing back once—he was following, always keeping an arm’s length between them.
How was she supposed to run with such a small gap?
He didn’t even bother to hide his intentions. It was obvious he was after her. Sometimes, when she looked back, she’d catch the gleam of his eyes beneath the hood, and it felt as if a viper in the shadows had locked onto her—no escape, no matter how she tried.
Xue Ning was certain she’d made no enemies. Since arriving at Hope Fortress, her life had been a straight line: work at the research base, home after hours. The only person she chatted with was the store owner. Why, then, was this man after her?
She was no one important—just a temporary assistant at the institute, privy to no secrets, insignificant in their eyes. If he wanted information, he’d get nowhere with her. Why, then, was he following her?
She could see no value in herself.
Bewildered, she listened to his steady footfalls behind her—like a cat toying with a mouse, waiting to see how she might try and fail to escape.
She cursed a blue streak in her mind.
Was he a lunatic? Was she just unlucky, randomly chosen for his twisted amusement?
A menace like this—someone who could threaten the safety of the fortress—should be handed over to the institute or the security office.
Xue Ning, familiar with the institute, decided to lure him there.
Behind her, the man’s shadow shifted with the changing light, inching closer, a dark hand tightening around her throat. Xue Ning’s face went pale; her breaths grew shallow. She quickened her pace.
Just as she rounded the first corner, head down, the man’s long strides closed the gap between them.
He said, “This isn’t the way home.”
There was a note of confusion in his voice. He bent down, his icy breath brushing her face.
Caught off guard, Xue Ning’s back stiffened.