9: Chapter 9 Similar

Wang Lin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he opened his eyes again, the confusion in them had vanished, replaced by an unprecedented sense of resolve.

He looked at Zhao Yan's corpse.

"Since it's already come to this..."

"Then let's make it thorough."

As he spoke, his face began to change.

It was like a flower bud blooming in an instant.

His skin split open from the center to the sides, revealing the bright red muscle tissue underneath.

His teeth became sharp, dense, and layered, like the fangs of a piranha.

His neck began to stretch, and his gaping maw aimed at Zhao Yan's corpse.

Then, he swallowed it in one gulp.

Not chewing, not tearing, but swallowing it whole.

Just like a snake swallowing its prey.

Zhao Yan's corpse was swallowed into his mouth bit by bit until it disappeared.

Wang Lin retracted his neck.

A few seconds later, he had turned back into that ordinary human teenager.

Suddenly, Wang Lin's movements froze.

He slowly turned around and looked at a corner behind him.

"Come out."

There was no response.

Wang Lin narrowed his eyes further.

He didn't say anything more, just slowly started walking towards that corner.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Just when he was only three meters away from the corner.

A figure stumbled out from the shadows.

"Wang... Brother Wang... It's me..."

Wang Lin's footsteps stopped.

Zhou Ming, his best friend.

Wang Lin let out a sigh of relief.

He feared the Night Watchers the most, feared that Captain Ye Han and his people would discover his secret.

But Zhou Ming wasn't a Night Watcher, so that made things easier.

He licked his lips, his footsteps not stopping as he continued to walk towards Zhou Ming.

The color drained from Zhou Ming's face completely in an instant.

"Brother Wang! Don't... don't!"

"We're on the same side! We grew up together!"

Wang Lin didn't speak, just closed in step by step.

Three meters.

Two meters.

One and a half meters.

"Brother Wang! Calm down! I didn't see anything! I swear! I really didn't see anything!"

Wang Lin still didn't speak.

A dangerous glint flickered in his eyes.

Zhou Ming finally couldn't hold on any longer.

His legs went weak, and he knelt directly on the ground:

"Brother Wang! I beg you! We've been classmates since elementary school!"

"We stole dates from the neighbor's house together, got scolded by the teacher together, and together..."

"I don't want to die, Brother Wang... I really don't want to die..."

Wang Lin stopped in front of him.

Looking down from above at the trembling Zhou Ming kneeling on the ground.

"Zhou Ming, why are you here?"

Zhou Ming's lips trembled: "I... I was worried about you..."

"Worried about me?"

"When school ended... you told me to leave first..."

"But I always felt something was wrong. You've been too strange lately, and I was afraid something would happen to you, so I secretly followed you."

"I'm sorry, Brother Wang... I didn't mean to spy on you... I just... I just..."

Wang Lin fell silent, his mood becoming complicated.

"How much did you see?" he asked.

"From... from when you transformed..."

That meant he saw everything.

Wang Lin's gaze became dangerous.

"Then you should know,"

"That I can't let you leave alive."

Zhou Ming's face went pale instantly.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't get anything out.

Wang Lin raised his hand—

"Wait!" Zhou Ming suddenly shouted.

Wang Lin's hand stopped in mid-air.

"Brother Wang, I... I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Actually... I am a Calamity too."

Wang Lin's hand stopped completely.

His eyes widened slightly, staring at Zhou Ming, who was kneeling on the ground.

"What did you say?" Wang Lin's voice was low.

"I said, I am a Calamity too."

Wang Lin was silent for three seconds.

Then, the corners of his mouth curled up.

"You are a Calamity?"

"Zhou Ming, we've known each other for so many years, when did you learn to lie?"

"I'm not lying!" Zhou Ming said anxiously, "I'm really not lying!"

"Then prove it to me." Wang Lin stared into his eyes, "Transform."

Zhou Ming was stunned: "Huh?"

"Didn't you say you are a Calamity? Transform for me to see."

"Th-this..."

"What? Can't transform?"

"It's not that I can't... it's just... it's a bit scary..."

Wang Lin raised an eyebrow: "Scary?"

The way he had just transformed was what you'd call scary. How scary could Zhou Ming be?

"Transform." Wang Lin was concise.

Zhou Ming took a deep breath and stood up.

He stepped back a few paces, putting some distance between himself and Wang Lin, then closed his eyes.

Wang Lin stared at him, his spiritual energy perception fully activated.

Then, he sensed it.

On Zhou Ming, there was indeed the aura of a Calamity.

And... it was not weak.

It was even a bit stronger than Lin Weiwei.

Zhou Ming opened his eyes.

In that instant, his aura completely changed.

His skin began to turn black.

The black color spread from the position of his heart, rapidly covering his entire body.

At the same time, his body began to elongate and thin, as if being stretched by an invisible hand.

His bones made "crack, crack" sounds, and his flesh and blood were rearranging.

A few seconds later, the person standing in front of Wang Lin was no longer the familiar Zhou Ming.

But a... shadow.

A human silhouette composed entirely of darkness.

No facial features, no details, just a human-shaped black silhouette, like a piece stripped from the night.

But in the chest area of that black silhouette, there was a pair of eyes.

Blood-red eyes.

Right now, they were staring at Wang Lin.

A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on Wang Lin's back.

Not out of fear, but because of... instinct.

His Calamity instinct told him that the thing in front of him was very dangerous.

"Shadow Nightmare," the black shadow spoke, "Upper-middle rank."

Wang Lin stared at those blood-red eyes: "You've been hiding your strength this whole time?"

"What else could I do if I didn't hide it?"

"With an ability like mine, once it's exposed, the Night Watchers would be the first to capture me."

"Either to be a test subject, or..."

He didn't finish, but Wang Lin understood.

In this world, Calamities are prey.

Whether hunted by the Night Watchers or devoured by other Calamities, the outcome would not be good.

"So you've been pretending to be an ordinary person the whole time?" Wang Lin asked.

"Pretending to be a coward," the black shadow corrected, "the most spineless kind. That way no one would suspect me."

Wang Lin fell silent.

He recalled all of Zhou Ming's behaviors over the years:

Not daring to fight back when bullied, being the first to run when encountering danger, being able to scream while watching a horror movie...

It was all acting.

This kid, his acting skills were much better than his.

"Alright, turn back," Wang Lin said.

The black shadow squirmed for a moment and began to shrink.

A few seconds later, Zhou Ming turned back into that round-faced, bespectacled teenager, only his face was a bit pale, and there was sweat on his forehead.

He looked at Wang Lin and asked cautiously: "Brother Wang... aren't you afraid of me?"

Wang Lin looked at him and retorted: "Are you afraid of me?"