320: Chapter 320 The Butcher in the Rainy Night, The Beast's Perception

A rainy night in the early morning hours.

Like spilled thick ink, it soaked the entire world within it.

Two beams of light struggled to pierce through the darkness, moving from afar to near.

A white refrigerated truck was jolting forward in the heavy rain along a muddy dirt road.

The wheels constantly rolled over water-filled potholes, splashing large patches of mud.

Finally, it stopped outside a slightly dilapidated slaughterhouse.

This place belonged to a suburban village, surrounded by farmland and scattered houses, without even a single street lamp.

Almost at the same time the truck engine died, bursts of dog barking erupted from inside the slaughterhouse, instantly shattering the surrounding silence.

That sound did not sound like ordinary domestic dogs issuing a warning threat to visitors.

Instead, like kept beasts, it was filled with suppressed excitement and a bloodthirsty craving, piercing through the rain curtain and drifting into the ears, appearing exceptionally eerie.

The car door opened, and a man wearing dark work clothes jumped down.

The torrential rain instantly soaked his hair, sliding down his cheeks.

His appearance was utterly unremarkable, but those eyes, occasionally flickering under the dim light, exuded a ruthless aura.

The driver walked quickly to the back of the truck bed, exerting a slight force with his arms, and pulled open the heavy refrigerated door with a single jerk.

Inside the compartment, several wolfhounds with mottled fur crowded in the corner, looking alertly at the heavy rain outside the vehicle, making "whining" sounds in their throats.

Beside them, startlingly, lay a humanoid object wrapped in black plastic sheeting.

Its outline was stiff, obviously having lost all signs of life long ago.

Two team members wearing black tactical suits were squatting at the other end of the compartment, smoking cigarettes with a hint of fatigue on their faces.

"Captain."

Seeing the man appear, the two quickly pinched out their cigarette butts, stood up straight, and greeted him.

The man referred to as captain was none other than Captain Chen Rui, an Advanced officer of the Noah Organization.

He merely nodded expressionlessly, his gaze sweeping across the scene inside the compartment, without any extra words.

One team member immediately untied the ropes around the necks of several wolfhounds, letting them get off the vehicle.

The other team member frowned and picked up the corpse wrapped in plastic sheeting.

The three of them, one in front and two in the back, jumped off the truck bed, stepping clumsily and deeply into the muddy standing water, and walked towards the tightly closed iron door of the slaughterhouse.

Rainwater beat against them, quickly soaking their clothes through.

The barking of the pack of dogs and the "clattering" sounds of iron chains dragging on the ground came over from time to time.

In this quiet rainy night, it appeared exceptionally piercing.

Captain Chen Rui took a bunch of keys from his pocket and inserted them into the keyhole on the iron door.

With a "click" sound, the heavy iron door was pulled open a crack.

Whoosh—

An indescribable stench, mixed with cold air, rushed toward their faces.

Then, a bizarre scene occurred.

The dog barking from inside the door, which was originally rising and falling and full of restlessness, stopped abruptly the moment the door was opened.

Peering inside through the gap in the door.

In the darkness, pairs of glowing green eyes were staring straight at the uninvited guests outside.

The two team members subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Even though it was not their first time coming to this place, they still felt their scalps go somewhat numb.

Captain Chen Rui remained expressionless and took the lead in stepping inside.

Clack.

The old fluorescent lights inside the slaughterhouse flickered a few times before finally lighting up, emitting a pale and flickering light.

The scene presented before their eyes was enough to challenge anyone's nerves.

Countless rusty iron hooks hung from the ceiling, upon which were suspended some dark pieces of meat air-dried to look like firewood, making it impossible to tell what kind of animal they were.

The ground was a rough cement floor, full of pits and covered with dark red stains that had long since solidified and turned black, emanating an unshakeable bloody and rotting stench.

Around them were also many various slaughtering equipment and a huge stainless steel boiler.

Even more eye-catching was that on the west side of the slaughterhouse, a group of fierce dogs of various shapes and sizes were tethered with iron chains as thick as an infant's arm.

Dogo, Pitbull, Rottweiler, Caucasian Shepherd...

Every single one of them was a large vicious dog known for its ferocious and combative nature, and even cruelty.

Moreover, their body sizes were much larger and fiercer than ordinary fierce dogs, filled with primitive wildness amidst bulging muscles.

However, when Captain Chen Rui walked in, these usually untamable Vicious Beasts quietly prostrated themselves on the ground, not even daring to easily emit low growls.

They merely sniffed the air with their noses, and their heavy panting rose and fell inside the spacious slaughterhouse, forming a bizarre background noise.

"A-Jie, Shi-Tou."

Captain Chen Rui's cold voice rang out, commanding:

"Clean up everything completely, then find any room to rest for the night and wait for my notification tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Captain!"

The two team members hurriedly responded, not daring to show the slightest negligence.

They joined forces to carefully place the corpse wrapped in black plastic sheeting onto a stainless steel countertop stained with dark red blood.

Then, suppressing the discomfort in their stomachs, they turned around to find a high-pressure water gun, disinfectant, and rubber gloves in the corner.

Even though they were Captain Chen Rui's confidants, they still felt a deep fear toward this place and some of the captain's "special hobbies".

The two quickly put on raincoats, took their tools, and returned to the open air, beginning to carefully clean the white refrigerated truck.

The water jet sprayed by the high-pressure water gun washed over the inner walls and chassis of the compartment, eliminating any remaining suspicious traces.

The rain in the latter half of the night was still falling heavily.

This place was far from the city center.

All around, there was only the howling of wind and rain, and the strange sound of trees blowing to make "woo-woo" noises, just like ghosts crying and wolves howling.

A-Jie vigorously wiped the bloodstains on the inner wall of the compartment, while lowering his voice to say to Shi-Tou who was operating the water gun beside him:

"The captain has suffered heavy losses this time, and even those wolfhounds he treasures most have been lost. His mood must be extremely bad right now, so we must be careful not to incur his anger."

"Damn it!"

Shi-Tou used the high-pressure water gun to wash the bottom of the car, and upon hearing this, couldn't help cursing:

"I don't know which bastard leaked the news. If I find out, I'll definitely twist his head off and feed it to the dogs!"

"Wooo— Wooo—"

Just at this moment, a faint yet sharp police siren drifted over faintly from the distance through layers of rain curtains.

Immediately after, a flash of lightning suddenly tore through the thick dark clouds in the sky, illuminating the entire pitch-black countryside in a pale and blinding light.

A-Qiang and Shi-Tou both gave a start, and their movements involuntarily stopped.

They turned their heads nervously, looking in the direction where the police siren came from.

Rainwater, like a gray curtain, blurred the dim lights of the distant urban area.

Only the swaying bushes around and the outlines of sparsely scattered farmhouses flashed into view in the afterglow of the lightning.

Those police sirens were intermittent and showed no obvious intention of approaching.

It seemed to be just routine patrols or chasing other targets.

The two looked at each other and immediately tightened their alertness.

"Don't just stand there dazed, hurry up and work!"

A-Qiang urged, his tone somewhat anxious:

"If any more trouble arises and attracts the police over, watch out that the captain will hack us up too and feed us to his babies!"

Shi-Tou nodded and stopped talking more.

The two accelerated their hand movements, trying to finish the cleanup work immediately.

Crack!

Another flash of lightning tore through the sky, illuminating a patch of bushes not far behind them.

In that flash of a second, a figure wearing a black raincoat faintly emerged from the shadows of the bushes.

The figure stood quietly, like a ghost integrated into the night, without breathing and without heartbeat.

A pair of deep eyes stared at them without blinking.

But the rain was too heavy and the light was too dim, making everything appear somewhat blurry.

A-Qiang and Shi-Tou buried their heads in hard work and were completely unaware of this.

Inside the slaughterhouse.

Captain Chen Rui was holding a stainless steel basin filled with large chunks of bloody, raw meat.

He expressionlessly tossed the chunks of meat to the fierce dogs tethered with iron chains.

"Awooo!" "Hnch!" "Hnch!"

The starving fierce dogs let out a burst of excited low growls, scrambling to seize the chunks of meat on the ground.

Sharp teeth tore into flesh and blood, chewing on bones, making a horrifying crisp sound.

Blood and saliva dripped down the corners of their mouths, making the scene brutal and primitive.

Captain Chen Rui turned a blind eye to this, his gaze remaining cold as ever.

He kept dozens of such fierce dogs in total.

Besides the three elite wolfhounds taken out to execute the mission tonight that were unfortunately lost, even more were penned up here.

They were his most loyal guards and his most capable assistants when executing various special missions.

After feeding them, Captain Chen Rui unchained several of the most alert and sensitive Dogo dogs, patting their scar-covered heads.

Using a low command that only canines could understand, he signaled them to patrol and keep watch around the slaughterhouse.

Watching several fierce dogs disappear silently into the rain curtain like white ghosts, Captain Chen Rui breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Tonight's operation had a huge accident.

Besides losing three hound dogs cultivated with great vital energy, what was more serious was that the intelligence mission he was responsible for had a loophole, failing to detect the enemy situation in time and weed out the traitor.

While thinking about how to explain to the station master tomorrow, Captain Chen Rui rummaged through the cabinet for a canned beef, preparing to replenish some energy for himself as well.

Just as he unscrewed the can lid, an indescribable warning sign surged through his spinal cord like an electric current.

Almost as a reflex reaction, Captain Chen Rui instantly put down the can.

Then he suddenly dropped his body, his right hand pulling out a gleaming dagger from the inside of his calf, silently pouncing in front of a window like a leopard.

The entire action was swift and neat, without any dragging or hesitation, showing the professional soldier quality of being seasoned in battle.

He half-crouched, carefully parting a crack in the curtain with his dagger to observe outside.

Outside the window, the rain was still falling heavily.

The white refrigerated truck parked desolately in place, the compartment's lighting still on.

However, A-Jie and Shi-Tou, who should have been Cleaning the truck, were nowhere to be found.

Only the mop and water gun were thrown casually in the mud.

What is going on?

Are they slacking off in the compartment?

That's not right!

Captain Chen Rui knitted his brows tightly.

Based on his understanding of A-Qiang and Shi-Tou, although they sometimes slacked off, at a moment like this, they would definitely not dare to be so remiss.

More importantly, if it were an ordinary enemy ambush, the hounds he kept couldn't possibly have no early warning whatsoever!

Captain Chen Rui immediately closed his eyes and unleashed his special ability, Beast Herd Perception.

An invisible mental fluctuation rapidly spread outward centered on him, attempting to establish a perceptual connection with the dogs sent out to keep watch just now.

The first dog... no response, the perception felt like a stone sinking into the sea, completely silent.

It's dead!

Captain Chen Rui's heart suddenly sank.

Switching to another... still no response.

It's dead too!

Fine cold sweat seeped from Captain Chen Rui's forehead, and his hand holding the dagger involuntarily tightened.

He quickly switched to the third dog's perception.

This time, the connection was finally successful!

Through this Dogo's field of vision, Captain Chen Rui saw a pitch-black night scene blurred by rain.

He could only vaguely distinguish the splashes on the ground and the silhouettes of tree branches shaking violently blown by the fierce wind.

This dog was facing the boundless darkness ahead, making low, extremely uneasy "whining" sounds.

Its tail was tightly tucked between its two legs, and its body was trembling slightly.

In the darkness, a bizarre echo seemed to come over as well.

That sound didn't sound like a human voice, nor like a beast's roar.

It was more like a low murmur uttered by a demon in the wind and rain.

This vicious dog, specially trained by Captain Chen Rui, recognizing only him as its master and fearless of death, was currently showing obvious fear.

Even... a sense of submission!

Just at the moment Captain Chen Rui was about to forcibly order it to step forward to investigate the truth.

In the darkness, a black shadow so blurry it was almost uncapturable, like a ghost, suddenly pounced out!

The speed was so fast that it even surpassed the reaction limit of canine creatures!

Captain Chen Rui only felt his vision suddenly go black, and a sharp mental stinging struck instantly, the connection with that dog being forcibly severed.

That dog, without even managing to emit a single miserable cry, was killed without any resistance!

"Hoo..."

Captain Chen Rui exhaled a foul breath, reaching out to rub his stinging glabella.

He was not flustered because of this.

After a brief shock, he quickly turned around and neatly untied all the chained dogs inside the slaughterhouse.

Snap!

Subsequently, he turned off all the lights inside the house.

Darkness surged in like a tide, swallowing everything in the blink of an eye.

Captain Chen Rui gripped his dagger tightly, while his other hand drew a silenced pistol from behind his waist.

He slowly retreated, his figure silently vanishing into the shadows deep within the slaughterhouse.

The entire venue fell into absolute darkness.

Vision was deprived, and the sense of smell and hearing became exceptionally acute.

The rich bloody smell, putrid stench, and the gamey odor of animals mixed together, stimulating the nasal cavity.

The sound of wind and rain beating against the tin roof and the sound of rainwater dripping from the eaves were infinitely amplified in the silence.

"Hoo-ch... hoo-ch..."

A dozen or so unchained fierce dogs emitted low, threatening growls in the darkness.

Their emerald eyeballs flickered with a gloomy light, quickly scattering and occupying every corner of the slaughterhouse.

Through the visual sharing of these dogs, Captain Chen Rui's vision was actually clearer than when the lights were bright before.

Every dog's perspective was like a high-definition, mobile security camera with built-in night vision, presenting the scenes inside and outside the slaughterhouse into his mind without dead angles.

He had formed an airtight, three-dimensional alert network composed of the pack of dogs.

Any slight disturbance could not escape his perception.

And while increasing his own advantages, it also weakened the opponent's mobility.

However, time passed minute by minute.

Waiting for several full minutes, no trace of any enemy was captured.

The opponent seemed to be just a phantom, disappearing right there.

In the distance, one or two screams of police sirens occasionally came, sounding exceptionally distant and blurry in the rainy night.

Gradually, it also completely dissipated.

Inside the slaughterhouse, there was only the sound of wind and rain and the panting of the dogs.

The atmosphere was depressingly suffocating.

Suddenly, a Rottweiler dog in the corner seemed to have discovered something.

All the hair on its body stood on end, emitting an uneasy "whining" low growl.

"Charge!"

Captain Chen Rui immediately issued an order forcibly through the mental connection.

Seven or eight fierce dogs lying in ambush nearby instantly, like arrows leaving a bow, lunged fiercely toward that direction simultaneously!

Barring their bone-white fangs, letting out deafening roars, they surrounded from different angles, stirring up gusts of vicious wind.

Captain Chen Rui had extreme confidence in these fierce dogs he kept.

Such a well-trained encirclement was enough to easily hunt and kill an adult brown bear!

But the next second!

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A series of muffled loud noises like heavy hammers striking leather suddenly exploded in the darkness.

As if an autocannon was strafing at close range!