600: Chapter 600 Today, it's either you kill me, or I kill you.

"Fatty, where are you?"

[Writing up to this point, I hope readers remember our domain name. Taiwan Novel Network is super smooth and lets you watch anytime.]

"Dazhuang, hurry up and come out. Stop playing hide-and-seek!"

Fang Cheng and the members of the Supernatural Research Club called out Li Dazhuang's name one after another as they searched back the way they came.

The internal structure of the water treatment plant was extremely complex, with various pipelines and abandoned equipment installed everywhere.

Crisscrossing and winding, it was easy for anyone unfamiliar with the place to get lost.

At this moment, the sky was gradually darkening, and the lack of lighting facilities inside the factory building made it appear especially eerie.

Groping their way along, the group slowly entered the reservoir area.

The smell of rot in the air here was even stronger, mixed with an inexplicable stench that drilled straight into their noses.

All around were enclosed pump houses, and the light became even dimmer as a result, as if night had fallen prematurely.

Such an oppressive atmosphere made Fang Cheng and the others involuntarily lighten their footsteps, their expressions tense.

Fearing that some terrifying thing would suddenly pop out from the darkness.

"Huh, it looks like there's a figure over there!"

Wang Lan suddenly shouted in a low voice and pointed forward.

The group's spirits perked up, and they all looked over simultaneously.

Sure enough, in the corner of an abandoned pump house, there was a figure with its back turned to them.

Judging by the clothes and the outline of the body, it was undoubtedly Li Dazhuang.

At this moment, he was hunched over, standing facing the wall.

A low, fragmentary murmuring sound came from his mouth, as if he were talking to himself.

It's just that his words were very muddled, and it was impossible to understand what he was saying at all.

"Fatty, what are you doing? Everyone has been looking for you for half a day!"

Zhou Ming shouted excitedly, lifting his foot to step forward.

However, Fang Cheng's heart sank abruptly.

A familiar warning sign of danger suddenly arose.

He remembered last night, when his grandfather had also stood like this with his back to him in the living room, making that non-human grunting sound.

"Don't go over!"

Fang Cheng blurted out.

Having just taken two steps, Zhou Ming was halted by this cry, stopped doubtfully, and looked back at him.

"What's wrong?"

Wang Lan also frowned, sensing something amiss in Fang Cheng's tone.

Seeing everyone's gaze turn toward him, Fang Cheng explained in a deep voice:

"Don't you think Li Dazhuang's state is a bit off? It seems like he's been possessed by an evil entity."

"No way, right?"

Wang Lan instinctively took half a step back, her voice tightening slightly:

"Fatty is always so naggy and neurotic, and he loves playing tricks on people..."

Zhou Ming glanced at Wang Lan. Seeing her look of shock and uncertainty, he straightened his back and smiled with feigned composure:

"Hehe, with so many of us, even if we run into the real deal, we have nothing to be afraid of."

As he spoke, he shook the toy gun in his hand that was filled with talisman water:

"Besides, we still have this kind of Magical Artifact for subduing demons and subduing devils. Even the fiercest evil entity can be suppressed. Don't you agree, Lin Xue?"

Lin Xue nodded hurriedly:

"Of course, this is the talisman water I begged from the shrine."

Fang Cheng's mouth opened slightly, wanting to persuade them further.

But seeing their disapproving looks, he finally closed his mouth and chose to wait and see what would happen.

"Hey, Fatty, what's wrong with you?"

Zhou Ming wanted to show off in front of the girls, so his courage was much greater than usual.

But he wasn't completely reckless either; he still held the water gun with both hands and cautiously approached Li Dazhuang.

Then, he gently poked the other's back with the muzzle of the gun.

Right at this moment, Li Dazhuang's body swayed slightly.

Then, he slowly and stiffly turned around.

Seeing Li Dazhuang's appearance clearly, the group instantly gasped in horror.

His pupils were rolled completely upward, leaving only bloodshot whites of his eyes.

The corners of his mouth were split upward in an exaggerated arc, and dark brown slime was continuously dripping down from the gaps between his teeth, emitting a strong stench.

"Damn it!"

Zhou Ming cried out involuntarily, the water gun in his hand dropping to the ground with a clatter.

Fang Cheng's pupils shrank abruptly, staring intently at the ferocious-looking Li Dazhuang.

This face and this stench almost completely overlapped with the scene he had encountered last night.

"Careful, Zhou Ming!"

He immediately gave a warning voice, reaching out to pull Zhou Ming back.

However, he was ultimately a step too late.

Li Dazhuang's rolled-up white eyes suddenly turned toward Zhou Ming, and he struck abruptly, grabbing Zhou Ming's arm.

"Ah—"

Zhou Ming struggled desperately in fright.

But the other's strength was shockingly large, pulling him directly into his arms.

Li Dazhuang opened his mouth, making a retching posture.

The next second, a mouthful of fishy and pungent black liquid sprayed straight onto Zhou Ming's face.

As soon as the liquid touched his skin, Zhou Ming's body began to tremble violently.

His eyes quickly unfocused, changing from full of terror to numb and merciless, and his pupils also began to roll upwards.

That originally fair and clean face instantly crawled with dark blue-black blood vessels.

"Not good, the two of them are going to undergo a corpse transformation! Quickly use the talisman water to deal with them!"

Wang Lan reacted very quickly, immediately raising her toy water gun and firing continuously at Li Dazhuang and Zhou Ming.

Fang Cheng couldn't care about making a sarcastic remark about what a "corpse transformation" was, and immediately raised his gun and fired along with her.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The white water column accurately hit the two of them.

However, it only left a few damp marks on their bodies, looking without the slightest effect of subduing demons and devils.

Instead, that stench became even stronger and more pungent.

"A-Xue, didn't you say the talisman water is very spiritual?!"

Wang Lan exclaimed.

Lin Xue's face was pale as death, her tone slightly awkward amidst the panic:

"M... Maybe it's because the talisman water was diluted, or this kind of evil entity is immune to attacks?"

At this moment, the ghost detector in her hand kept emitting a piercing alarm sound.

Fang Cheng widened his eyes and stared intently.

Faintly, he saw that inside both Li Dazhuang and Zhou Ming, there seemed to be a vague, distorted black shadow.

Constantly writhing beneath their skin and flesh, it seemed to be carrying out some kind of possession ritual.

Li Dazhuang and Zhou Ming had by this time completely turned into mindless monsters.

They let out low roars and lunged at Fang Cheng and the others together.

"Run!"

Wang Lan shouted and grabbed Lin Xue, who was still in a daze.

The two threw away their toy water guns and rushed toward the factory exit without looking back.

Fang Cheng was also so shocked by this sudden turn of events that he didn't know what to do.

He knew the talisman water was useless, and being weak and alone, he couldn't possibly handle two monsters.

After thinking about it, he immediately turned around and ran along with them.

Lin Xue had a frail body and couldn't run fast, yet she didn't forget to hold her ghost detector in her hands.

Suddenly her foot stumbled, and her whole body fell heavily to the ground.

In just this short moment, Li Dazhuang and Zhou Ming had already rushed to her side.

"S-Save me!"

Lin Xue cried out in despair.

Hearing the cry for help, Wang Lan stopped abruptly.

She looked back, a flash of struggle in her eyes.

Seeing that Li Dazhuang and Zhou Ming had already bent down and grabbed Lin Xue's arms.

Black liquid continuously dripped from the corners of their mouths, obviously intending to assimilate her into a monster as well.

"Lin Xue!"

Wang Lan shouted anxiously.

But reason told her that rushing up now wouldn't save anyone and would only mean throwing away her life in vain.

"Wang Lan, let's get out and call the police, let the police come and help!"

Fang Cheng shouted loudly, grabbing Wang Lan's arm and practically dragging her as he continued to rush forward.

The two ran desperately, passing through one dark doorway after another, and finally saw the gate of the water plant right ahead.

Wang Lan lifted her foot and kicked open that rusted iron door.

However, outside the door was not the scene when they arrived, but a pitch-black darkness where one could not see one's fingers.

This place seemed like an abyss; all light was swallowed up, and even the ground beneath their feet could not be seen clearly.

Whoosh—

A chilling, bone-biting wind blew toward them from outside the door, and Wang Lan couldn't help shivering.

"How did it become like this..."

Her voice carried an undisguisable tremble.

Right at this moment, Fang Cheng's pupils shrank violently.

He clearly saw a pitch-black, distorted shadow silently emerging from the darkness behind Wang Lan.

Like a huge sack, it quickly enveloped her.

"Wang Lan, watch your back!"

Fang Cheng immediately shouted a warning.

Hearing Fang Cheng's warning, Wang Lan instinctively looked back.

By this time, that black shadow had completely enveloped her.

Fang Cheng only had time to see a flash of extreme terror in Wang Lan's eyes.

Afterward, her body stiffened, her eyes rapidly rolled up, and black liquid spilled from the corners of her mouth.

Then, she let out a low roar identical to those of Li Dazhuang and Zhou Ming.

Fang Cheng's heart sank, not daring to stay for even a second.

He immediately turned around and sprinted wildly in the pitch-black darkness toward the road in his memory.

At this moment, there was only one thought in his heart: to escape this cursed area and get as far away from this kind of bizarre monster as possible.

Stumbling along, Fang Cheng constantly bumped into debris while running, scraping his knees and arms until they stung with pain.

However, after running for a long time and looking closely again.

He discovered that the scenery around him had not changed at all.

It was still the rusted equipment, the crisscrossing pipelines, and that lingering stench.

Fang Cheng abruptly realized that he hadn't run out at all; he was still trapped in the water plant.

That "gate" just now, and that "pitch-black outside world," had both been nothing more than an illusion!

The air instantly congealed, and the surroundings were pitch-black and silent.

The darkness was like a tangible cage, trapping Fang Cheng tightly.

"Hoo— Hoo—"

Fang Cheng stood in place, his chest heaving violently, every breath carrying a scorching, stinging pain.

His gaze swept across the darkness, trying hard to find a way out.

Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat, bringing a scalp-numb feeling.

It was as if countless pairs of cold eyes were hiding in the darkness, prying on him.

Following that, dim red lights flickered one after another, lighting up from all pitch-black directions.

Fang Cheng widened his eyes, carefully identifying them.

To his shock, he saw many distorted shadows slowly emerging from the depths of the pipelines, from the roof beams overhead, and from the gaps in the decaying equipment, surrounding him silently.

They didn't rush to pounce, instead maintaining a certain distance.

Like predators enjoying their prey, they emitted a vague, bantering laughter.

That sound was like scratching against the eardrums, or like exploding directly in the mind.

Fang Cheng didn't want to run anymore; he simply slumped down onto the cold cement ground, breathing heavily.

Sweat soaked his clothes, sticking mushily to his skin, making it exceptionally uncomfortable.

Fang Cheng only felt his chest burning with pain like a bellows, and his legs shivering uncontrollably, on the verge of cramping.

The physical condition of this body was simply too poor; after running just this little bit of distance, it had already reached its limit.

The laughter in the darkness suddenly became denser.

Waves of low whimpering and rustling mockery sounded from time to time.

As if mocking Fang Cheng's weakness, pity, and helplessness here.

Those black shadows drifted everywhere, like intangible ghosts.

Forming an impassable encirclement around him, yet seemingly waiting for something, they delayed launching an attack.

Fang Cheng gritted his teeth, looking down at his trembling hands, and an unprecedented anger surged from deep within his heart:

"How could I have become so... weak?"

He clenched his fists fiercely, his nails digging deeply into his palms.

The pain temporarily suppressed the fear.

But a nameless anger, like a long-suppressed volcano, gushed out from the bottom of his heart.

"Yeah, how could I have become so weak?!"

Fang Cheng asked himself again in his heart, his voice low and full of unwillingness.

Amidst the nether, a thought cleaved through the fog in his mind like lightning.

Fang Cheng suddenly felt that he should inherently be more domineering and direct, solving everything with his two fists.

How could he possibly be chased like a stray dog and teased like prey by these ghost-pretending things?

This thought became clearer and fiercer in his mind.

In the end, like a spark, it completely detonated a certain shackle deep inside Fang Cheng's heart.

Boom—

Fang Cheng only felt as if a lock had been opened in his mind.

A majestic power instantly surged into his limbs and bones, vaguely touching upon distant memory fragments.

He didn't have time to think carefully about where this power came from.

Because right now his body had become exceptionally feverish, as if it were about to catch fire, and the skin on his body even began to faintly flush red.

Blood Qi kept surging upwards, rushing straight to his head.

The muscles all over his body tightened, and blue veins bulged on his arms like gnarled tree roots.

Every nerve in his body seemed to be issuing a hiss of longing for battle.

This was not a painful state, but rather an awakened wild instinct.

Deep within Fang Cheng's pupils, it was as if two faint flames were burning, growing fiercer with each breath, flickering uncertainly.

That violent instinct in his heart could no longer be suppressed at all right now.

It roared in his chest, urging him on.

"Fuck!"

Fang Cheng cursed through gritted teeth and abruptly stood up.

His feet stomped heavily onto the ground, his shoulders sank slightly, and his hands clenched tightly into fists.

The muscles all over his body trembled under tension, every inch of line strained straight.

The whole person exuded a ferocious malevolence ready to devour people, just like a newly awakened beast.

At this moment, he had completely entered a certain combat state he had never imagined before.

"Come on! Either you kill me today, or I kill you!"

Fang Cheng threw caution to the wind and roared with his head held high.

Then, swinging his fists, he fiercely charged toward those distorted black shadows drifting around him.

Right at this moment, one of the black shadows suddenly darted forward and lunged straight at Fang Cheng.

Swish!

The flushed-red fist struck the air, without any muffled impact sound.

But that black shadow that was hit, like an ice cube scalded by a stove, let out a sharp hiss.

It flew backwards heavily, crashing into a pillar.

Then it dissipated like water vapor, leaving only a damp black trace.

Fang Cheng looked at this scene in astonishment, widening his eyes.

This incomparably bizarre evil entity could actually be beaten to death by his own fists?