Chapter Twenty-One: The Fly

In the darkness and silence, I felt the temperature in the cold storage drop dramatically. Suddenly, both Wang Hou and I vanished into the chilly vault, our figures swallowed by the gloom. At that moment, it was as if I melted into the endless shroud of blackness—only my eyes remained.

My scalp tingled with terror, an unprecedented sense of helplessness sweeping over me. And just then, the lights went out. I knew this was no mere coincidence; it was the harbinger of an imminent attack.

Anxiously, I called out to Wang Hou, "Wang Hou! What are you doing?" But the only answer was an oppressive silence, heavy enough to suffocate.

"Wang Hou? Washing machine? Don't scare me! What's happening?" No matter how I shouted, Wang Hou seemed to have evaporated, offering neither word nor sound.

My scalp prickled once again, that same helplessness clawing at my body. Had Wang Hou already been dealt with by the "thing" he mentioned, without a trace?

Lost and panicked, I suddenly felt a warm breath blow across the cold nape of my neck—a chilling sensation unmistakably like someone exhaling behind me.

As that feeling crept slowly across my body, I steeled myself and turned my head... But what I saw was not Wang Hou.

It was a pair of blood-red, enormous eyes!

"Mother of God!" I recoiled instinctively, stumbling backward until I collided with a slab of pork behind me.

I quickly hid behind the meat. At this moment, I saw clearly: the eyes were the size of lightbulbs, glowing with a dim crimson light in the darkness. The owner of those eyes seemed surprised by my reaction and did not immediately pursue.

In the cold, pitch-black vault, I realized with dread—that thing could see me.

We stood locked in a tense stalemate, time itself seeming to halt. My mind raced, guessing at the true nature of those eyes while forcing myself to calm down.

What could this thing be? I couldn't see its form, but I felt certain it wasn't the woman we'd just rescued.

Her deathlike appearance was too frightening, and apart from those possessed by the "greedy worm," I couldn't imagine anyone else with eyes so red.

Yet doubts gnawed at me: how had the woman come back to life? She'd been sedated, infested by poisonous insects, and her body temperature was dangerously low. How could a half-dead woman suddenly spring to her feet?

Just as I was lost in anxious speculation, the gigantic red eyes vanished!

Surprised, I rubbed my eyes, but before I could focus in the dim light, a sharp pain seared my shoulder!

"Ah!" I howled