Volume 1 Chapter 28: A Strange Night
Damn it!
Seeing the twisted and terrifying monster completely let go of the steering wheel and wave its sharp claws as it tried to jump toward the back seat, Bai Muxue was shocked.
She did not even have time to open the music box in her hand before she heard an earth-shaking crash.
At that moment, the world seemed to stop.
In Bai Muxue’s ears echoed the sounds of metal bending and breaking, and glass shattering.
Her body felt as if it had been thrown high into the air by a huge force, then slammed heavily back into the seat.
She did not know how much time had passed.
When Bai Muxue opened her eyes again, the inside of the car was already a complete mess.
She struggled to kick open the badly deformed door and stumbled out of the car.
“...Ugh, it hurts.”
Looking at the luxury car in front of her, now completely destroyed after crashing hard into a tree trunk, Bai Muxue clicked her tongue quietly.
Another car accident.
Am I cursed to keep meeting car accidents in this life?
Luckily, she had not suffered any deadly injuries this time.
Only several tears had appeared in her black dress, exposing a few red cuts on her fair skin.
“Was I targeted by a monster... or...?”
“Was Sister Wang a monster hiding inside the Bai family all along?”
“But I remember she has been the Bai family’s driver for many years. There should not have been any problem...”
And if she truly wanted to attack, there had been many chances at the Bai family mansion.
Why bring her all the way to this empty place?
Bai Muxue tightly held the music box and quietly moved toward the driver’s seat.
She carefully kept some distance, in case some monster was hiding in a corner waiting to ambush her.
After making sure the area was safe, the girl cautiously looked into the car.
The next moment, her eyes widened.
Through the broken window, she saw Sister Wang inside the driver’s seat.
Blood was flowing from her forehead.
Her eyes were closed, and her head hung weakly to one side.
Her body was wrapped tightly by the airbag.
She was clearly unconscious.
The terrifying monster Bai Muxue had seen just now seemed as if it had only been an illusion.
She’s alive! Sister Wang isn’t dead yet!
Noticing the slight rise and fall of Sister Wang’s chest, Bai Muxue had no time to think further.
She quickly opened the door, gritted her teeth, and used all her strength to pull Sister Wang out of the driver’s seat.
Staggering step by step, she carried her to a flat area farther away and gently laid her down.
After carefully bandaging the wound on Sister Wang’s forehead, Bai Muxue, whose body was already weak to begin with, felt dizzy.
She swayed as she tried to stand.
Then she noticed that Sister Wang’s hand seemed to be tightly holding something.
A trace of hesitation appeared on her pretty face.
The girl slowly reached out her hand and carefully pried open Sister Wang’s fingers one by one.
What Sister Wang had been holding was a puppet.
A Nutcracker puppet.
“This is...?”
Bai Muxue carefully examined the puppet in her hand.
It was only palm-sized.
Under its tall pointed hat was a strange face with a twisted smile.
Inside its unnaturally wide grin, Bai Muxue could even see tiny sharp teeth, shining coldly under the weak moonlight.
So this thing was causing trouble...
Almost by instinct, Bai Muxue wanted to smash it into pieces.
She did not want to become the foolish main character in a horror movie.
But after thinking again, the girl put the puppet back into her pocket.
Shen Jingyi had said before that some monsters would disguise themselves as urban legends or internet ghost stories, slowly leading ordinary people step by step into their traps.
“Heh, I just don’t know whether this thing came specifically for me, or if I’m only an innocent person dragged into it.”
No matter which it was, this strange little puppet was clearly connected to everything.
Then thinking another way...
As long as she kept carrying this puppet, wouldn’t the one controlling everything come to her on their own?
After all, Bai Muxue believed she was different from those horror movie leads who always caused trouble for themselves.
No matter what ghosts or monsters appeared, she was confident she could defeat them.
“Next...”
After settling Sister Wang safely, Bai Muxue slowly stood up and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Then she began observing the surroundings.
Even though it was already early summer, strong winds howled around her.
The air was filled with a damp and rotten smell, making people feel cold without meaning to.
On the undeveloped road, cracks and weeds grew together.
In the endless darkness, the rough road seemed to stretch on forever.
Only an abandoned sign leaned to one side, but the words on it were already faded and impossible to read.
Where is this place? The suburbs?
There were indeed many undeveloped areas around Wangdu.
But because development costs were too high, most investors had run away long ago, leaving many abandoned buildings and facilities behind.
Because of that, many urban legends had appeared here.
Bai Muxue took out her phone, whose screen was already full of cracks.
But she discovered there was no signal at all.
Forget using maps.
She could not even make a phone call.
“Hahaha...”
Just as Bai Muxue was thinking about what to do next, a faint but clear laugh suddenly passed through the loud wind.
She focused and listened carefully.
Mixed within the laughter was cheerful music, seeming to drift from the far end of the road.
The happy melody felt terribly out of place here, carrying a strange and absurd feeling.
Laughter...
It sounded like a child’s laughter too.
In a place like this?
Bai Muxue frowned. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to follow the sound forward.
She did not know how long she walked. She only felt the sounds becoming clearer and clearer.
When she looked up, an amusement park suddenly appeared at the far end of her sight.
Colorful lights flashed beneath the dark sky.
But endless darkness stretched without limit on both sides, like two invisible giant claws tightly surrounding the whole amusement park in shadow.
The wind grew even stronger, as if trying to stop her from getting closer.
The howling wind tore apart the cheerful music, turning it into broken and hoarse echoes full of strange unease.
Above the amusement park hung a giant inflatable clown. Its exaggerated smiling face looked even more twisted under the changing lights.
Its bloodshot eyes seemed alive, constantly moving, as if watching every corner around the park.
Is this also the work of a monster?
Its magic can affect such a huge area?
The girl was secretly shocked.
Seriously...
I just finished fighting a disaster beast, and now I have to battle wits with another monster right after.
Aren’t I supposed to be the villainess young lady?
Why am I starting overtime work like that person too?
Bai Muxue complained silently in her heart.
She lowered her body and carefully moved toward the main gate.
………………………
“Tch, did I come too late...?”
“But it looks like this auntie is mostly fine. She’s still breathing...”
On the roadside not far away, a blonde girl wearing a cowboy hat removed her finger from Sister Wang’s nose and looked toward the badly crushed car nearby.
She could not help frowning slightly.
“But there should still be a child kidnapped into that amusement park.”
“I need to hurry and save her!”
The girl adjusted the brim of her hat.
A proud light shone in her honey-colored eyes.
“Hmph, this will be my first battle since coming to Wangdu...”
“I’d better get serious!”
“As long as I make a move, beating that purple one will be easy, won’t it?”