19: Chapter 19 Beetle Salad and the She-Wolf in Heat

Lunch break, one week later.

Sunlight bathed a bench in the corner of the playground.

Qin Ming sat in the middle, holding an ordinary ham sandwich.

To his left was Emma, who was munching loudly on a double cheeseburger.

To his right was Wednesday.

An exquisite black lunch box was laid out in front of her.

Inside was a pile of raw green vegetable leaves, crawling with black beetles, slender stick insects, and several plump white silkworm pupae.

Balsamic vinegar was drizzled over the still-wriggling insects.

Beside them lay a piece of charred, blackened steak.

It was roasted opossum meat.

A staple of The Addams Family home cooking.

Crunch.

Expressionless, Wednesday speared a beetle with her fork and popped it into her mouth.

The beetle's shell burst between her teeth with a crisp sound.

Juices sprayed everywhere.

Qin Ming calmly took a bite of his sandwich, completely unfazed.

“The school has been a bit noisy lately.”

Emma swallowed the meat in her mouth and turned her gaze toward the crowd in the distance.

A group of boys was gathered there, whistling at a girl in the center.

Ginger Fitzgerald.

The gloomy girl from before—the one who always kept her head down, wore baggy hoodies, and had even contemplated suicide—was gone.

The current her wore a tight camisole and heavy eyeshadow, her eyes reflecting a wildness that looked ready to swallow a person whole.

“Ginger, the upperclassman.”

Older sister Ginger on the left, younger sister Bri on the right.

“She's like a different person lately, transforming from an introverted suicide risk into a wild predator.”

“She’s been actively hitting on guys lately. Her eyes look... filthy.”

Wednesday stopped chewing.

Her nose twitched slightly.

“There is a scent in the air,”

Wednesday said coldly.

“What kind of scent?” Emma asked curiously.

“Wild dog, wet fur, rotting meat, and the distinctive stench of heat.”

Qin Ming took a sip of water, his gaze calm.

“Was she bitten by a werewolf?”

She was a bit like the werewolf sisters from 'Ginger Snaps'.

“A similar creature.”

Wednesday poked the still-struggling stick insect with her fork.

“She is showing extreme aggression during her ovulation period.”

“Based on the cycle, it will reach its peak around Friday night this week.”

“That’s a full moon.”

Qin Ming added.

“On Friday night, the upperclassmen are having an event party at the old campus stadium.”

Emma’s eyes lit up with the glint of someone seeing prey.

“That’s the perfect hunting ground, isn’t it?”

Qin Ming stuffed the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth and brushed the crumbs off his hands.

“Hunting time.”

He stood up, blocking the harsh sunlight.

“Leave it to me. It might get a bit bloody that night, so you two should head home early after school.”

“I’ll provide cover.”

Emma nodded obediently, then bared her little demon fangs.

“But I have a condition.”

“Speak.”

“I want her teeth to make a necklace.” Emma gestured. “It would definitely be cool.”

“Deal.”

Qin Ming looked at the silent Wednesday.

“And you?”

Wednesday closed her lunch box; the stick insect had finally stopped struggling.

“I need a bottle of blood.”

The corner of Qin Ming’s mouth curled into an arc.

“No problem.”

...

Friday, nightfall.

Robert was in the living room watching a ball game and drinking beer, completely oblivious to the eerie light flickering in Qin Ming’s room.

Qin Ming stood in front of the television.

The screen was filled with static.

“Larry, locate the old campus stadium.”

The screen distorted, instantly switching to a noisy, dim surveillance feed.

It was the camera at the stadium entrance.

Qin Ming reached out.

The moment his fingertips touched the screen, the glass rippled like water.

His entire body slipped into the television.

Old campus, stadium.

The place had been transformed into a wild rave.

Heavy metal music was deafening, and the air was thick with the smell of cheap perfume, sweat, and hormones.

An abandoned big-screen projection TV in the corner suddenly flickered to life.

Zzt—

Qin Ming stepped out of the screen.

He straightened his collar and looked at the frantically gyrating high schoolers around him, his gaze as cold as if he were looking at a herd of pigs waiting for slaughter.

Meanwhile.

On the road leading to the stadium.

An old car was speeding along.

Bri gripped the steering wheel, her face full of anxiety.

A syringe filled with a murky liquid sat on the passenger seat.

It was the antidote she and Sam had developed using Monkshood.

“Ginger, please don’t do anything stupid...”

Bri muttered to herself, pressing the accelerator to the floor.

At the party.

Ginger wore a tight red dress, standing out exceptionally in the crowd.

Her fingernails had become sharp and blackened, and her pupils glowed with a beastly green hue under the strobe lights.

She locked onto a target.

Jason.

He was the captain of the school football team, strong as an ox, with a head full of nothing but muscle and lust.

Ginger beckoned with her finger.

Jason immediately followed like a lapdog. One after the other, they headed toward the locker rooms behind the stadium.

Qin Ming stood at the edge of the crowd, his gaze fixed on their retreating backs.

He was about to move.

A large hand blocked his path.

“Hey, kid.”

A tall, burly Black man blocked the way—some delinquent who had been held back for years.

He looked down at Qin Ming with a mocking smile.

“This is a grown-up event. Are you lost? Hurry up and go home to your mommy for some milk.”

Qin Ming stopped.

He didn't even bother to look up at this idiot.

“Move.”

Qin Ming uttered the word flatly, then bypassed him and walked straight toward the back door.

“Hey! You little brat—”

The burly man was furious and reached out to grab Qin Ming’s shoulder.

Just then.

The phone in the man's pocket suddenly vibrated.

It wasn't just vibrating; it was burning hot.

“Shit!”

He instinctively pulled out his phone.

The screen lit up.

There was no image.

Only a pale, distorted ghost face that almost burst through the screen.

“Aaaah!!!”

The ghost face let out a roar so sharp it could pierce eardrums, exploding directly through the phone's speaker.

The man’s hand shook in terror, and the phone fell to the ground.

Immediately after.

All the surrounding lights began to flicker wildly.

The music from the speakers turned into ear-piercing static and low growls.

“Larry, don’t overdo it.”

Qin Ming whispered, walking into the corridor leading to the locker rooms without looking back.

Behind him, the man was already foaming at the mouth, collapsed on the floor with a wet patch on his crotch.

The locker room door was slightly ajar.

A heavy scent of blood wafted out.

Qin Ming pushed the door open.

A corpse lay on the floor.

It was Jason, the football captain.

His throat had been completely torn open, arterial blood sprayed everywhere, and his face was frozen in a mixture of extreme terror and pleasure before death.

A prey bitten to death.

“A pity, you aren't that Jason with the mask.”

Qin Ming shook his head.

He walked to the side of the corpse and raised his hand.

The golden halo behind his head trembled slightly.

A strand of holy light descended.

Sizzle—!

The corpse was instantly consumed by golden flames.

No smoke, no stench of burning.

Only the crisp sound of evil being purified.

【Purified infected corpse, Points +1.】

【Remaining Points: 25】

Qin Ming stepped over the pile of ash.

He heard a sound.

The sound of claws scratching against concrete, accompanied by heavy panting.

It came from deep within the corridor.

That was the direction leading to the school basement.

“Are you in there?”

Light flashed in Qin Ming’s hand, and a Benelli M3 Shotgun appeared in his palm.

Clack.

A round was chambered.

He walked with elegant strides toward the depths of the darkness.

“Little doggy, it’s time for your vaccination.”