Chapter 13: The Stench and Terror of the Sewers!
2293 Words
The sewer entrance! Darkness! Like the maw of a giant beast!
A shadowy claw as thick as ink! With an all-consuming stench of sulfur! It thrust out suddenly!
Ice-cold! Slippery! Filled with endless malice and bloodlust! It instantly enveloped the entire back alley!
The air! Solidified! Frozen!
The breath of death! Like tangible ice water! Pouring over everyone!
"Ahhh!" Ella let out a short, startled cry! It wasn't fear! It was an instinctive shudder from the depths of her soul! She felt as if every blood in her body had frozen! Her muscles stiffened! Even the strength to pull the trigger was instantly gone! Those sharp eyes! For the first time! They were filled with immense, incomprehensible terror! What the hell was that?! An illusion?!!
The shadowy assassin lunging at Leo! His movements suddenly froze! For the first time, intense horror and...incredible fear erupted from those cold eyes! They seemed to "feel" the terror of that thing! Their bodies instinctively retreated, abandoning the attack!
Leo! His head buzzed! It was like being struck by a sledgehammer! Heat instantly surged from all his orifices! His nose bled! Blood streamed from the corners of his mouth! His ears buzzed! Everything before his eyes was bloodshot! The onslaught of that evil energy was a hundred times stronger than before! His already weakened body was like a candle in the wind, ready to go out at any moment!
But he couldn't fall! If he fell, everyone would die!
"Run!!!!" Leo roared, using up his last bit of strength! Not at Ella! But at everyone! Including the killers! He spun around! Not to safety! But deeper in the alley! To the sewer opening emanating an even stronger stench!
The target! Not to escape!
The source of the demonic claw! I must! Draw it away!!!
Buzz!!!!
The Shadow Claw seemed enraged! It let out a deafening scream that only Leo could hear! It abandoned Ella and the killer within reach! Like a living creature, it swerved! Carrying with it a monstrous darkness, it swung towards Leo! Fast as lightning!
"No!!!!" Ella's pupils shrank! She watched Leo rush towards the entrance to hell like a moth to a flame! A massive, inexplicable impact nearly suffocated her! He... was drawing that thing away?! Saving them?!
Leo didn't even bother to look back! The chill of death was already pressing against his back! He lunged forward! Tragically! He rolled into the stench-filled sewer entrance! His body slammed heavily into the cold, sticky mud!
Splash!
Water splashed everywhere! A foul stench filled her nostrils!
Almost simultaneously!
BANG—!!!
The enormous shadowy claw! It slammed down hard on the spot where Leo had just stood! The concrete floor cracked instantly! Gravel flew everywhere! A shocking claw mark was left behind! Then, like receding tides, it retreated deep into the pitch-black sewer, chasing Leo!
Dead silence!
In the back alley, only the thick, inexorable stench of sulfur remained! And three shadowy assassins stood frozen in place, as if petrified!
Ella gasped for air! Her heart pounded like it was about to explode! The wound under her ribs burned with pain! But even more painful was her mind! What was that?! That claw?! That darkness?! That stench?! And... Leo Yang?! He...he rushed in?! To distract that thing?!
"s**t!" One of the shadowy assassins snapped back to reality! His voice trembled imperceptibly! He stared at the pitch-black sewer entrance, his eyes filled with uncertainty. "What the hell is that?!"
"Target! In!" another assassin's voice was icy, but his grip on the knife was white with knuckles. "Chase! Live or dead! Rosa's orders!"
"Chase?!" the third assassin's voice rasped. "Chase into that damn place?! Can't you feel it?! That thing..."
"Shut up!" the leading assassin shouted, his eyes turning cold again. "Follow orders! Target first! Ignore everything else!" He took the lead, gritting his teeth, a fierce glint in his eyes. He sprinted towards the sewer entrance and leaped in!
Plop! Plop!
The other two exchanged glances, each seeing the fear in the other's eyes. But they dared not disobey, and followed closely behind, leaping into the darkness!
Ella stood still, her body icy cold! Watching the three shadowy figures disappear into the stinking sewer! Then looking at the terrifying claw marks on the ground! Then looking at the bleeding wound under her ribs!
My worldview! It was crumbling!
Brandon's report? Illegal drugs? A sorcery ritual?!
Was that thing just now... something that could have been produced by drugs?!
Leo Yang... he rushed in... to save her?!
Fuck! What the hell was going on?!
A powerful, uncontrollable urge! A mixture of professional instinct and immense confusion! It drove her!
"Wait!" Ella whipped out her pistol! Checked the magazine! Her eyes sharpened again! A hint of desperate madness! "Police! Stop!" she shouted at the cave entrance! But no one responded!
She gritted her teeth! Ignoring the stench and fear, she leaped! Into the bottomless darkness!
Plop!
Icy cold! Viscous! Smelling sewage, emitting a strong, stench! Instantly, it reached Ella's thighs! The biting chill and nauseating smell nearly made her vomit! She flicked on her powerful flashlight, and the beam pierced the darkness!
Before her!
A gigantic, endless circular concrete pipe! Over three meters in diameter! The walls were coated in a thick, slippery black slime, like the intestinal lining of some monster! Below her feet! Knee-deep in murky sewage! Floating with all sorts of disgusting garbage: plastic bags! Rotting food scraps! Even... animal carcasses! The stench! So strong it practically formed a substance! It penetrated her nostrils and rushed straight into her brain!
"Ugh..." Ella fought back the urge to vomit! Her stomach churned! She swept the flashlight forward!
Three shadowy assassins! Just a dozen meters ahead! Moving with incredible speed! Like ghosts! Wading through the sewage! Their target was clear! Chasing after Leo, who was further ahead?!
At the end of the beam! A staggering figure could be vaguely seen! Wearing a gray sweatshirt! Troughing through the sewage! Not moving fast! Staggering! Looking like he'd collapse at any moment!
"Leo Yang! Stop!" Ella shouted! His voice echoed through the empty sewer, a buzzing sound!
Leo in front! It seemed he hadn't heard! Or perhaps he simply couldn't respond! He continued to struggle forward!
"Target detected! Accelerate!" the leading shadowy assassin shouted! The three of them suddenly increased their speed! Splashing up a large amount of sewage! They charged straight at Leo!
"Police! Stop! Or I'll shoot!" Ella panicked! She raised her g*n and took aim! But the sewage was sloshing, and the figures were mingling! She didn't dare to shoot! Fearing an accidental injury!
"Ugh!" Suddenly! Leo in front let out a painful groan! His body jolted violently! It seemed he'd stepped on something! He fell forward! He landed hard in the sewage, splashing profusely! He couldn't get up for a long time! Was he completely exhausted?!
Opportunity!
Three shadowy assassins instantly pounced! Forming a triangular formation, they surrounded Leo, who lay in the water! Their icy eyes held murderous intent!
"Target captured!" the leader shouted coldly, reaching out to grab Leo by the collar!
"Stop!" Ella roared, wading through the sewage, g*n pointed at them! "Police! Stand back! Let him go!"
The three assassins paused, turned around, and glared at Ella with icy eyes! There was no fear, only impatience at being interrupted!
"Police?" The leader's lips curled cruelly. "There are no laws here... Only... orders!" He whipped out a silenced pistol! The black muzzle! Instantly, it was aimed at Ella! "In the way! Clear!"
Fuck! Ella's pupils shrank! Her heart stopped! These lunatics! They even dared to kill a police officer?! She didn't hesitate! She pulled the trigger!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The gunshots exploded in the sewer! Deafening! The echoing sound!
Puff! Puff! Puff!
The bullets slammed into the sewage behind the killers! Splashing water! Ella had no intention of killing anyone! She just wanted to force them back!
But!
The killers were faster!
The moment Ella fired, the lead killer had already swerved! The bullets grazed him! At the same time, the g*n in his hand unleashed a deadly stream of flames!
Puff! Puff!
The silencer was on! The sound was muffled! But the aura of death remained undimmed!
Two bullets! Torn through the air! Accurately pierced Ella's chest and between her eyebrows!
Deadly! Brutal! Merciless!
It was over! Ella's mind went blank! Too close! No way to dodge! She could even feel the scorching heat waves from the bullets!
At that crucial moment!
Buzz!
A surge of evil energy, even more violent and sinister than before! Like a tsunami, it suddenly surged from the depths of the sewer!
Instantly!
Engulfing everyone!
Ice-cold! Slippery! With the piercing screams of millions of ghosts, audible only to Leo!
Puff! Puff!
The two bullets fired at Ella! Less than half a meter away! It was like they hit an invisible, sticky wall of ice! Their speed drastically slowed! And then! The violent evil energy! Crushed them! Twisted them! Transformed them into two clumps of scrap metal! They fell into the sewage! At the same time!
The three shadowy assassins! It was as if they had been struck by an invisible hammer! Their bodies suddenly stiffened! Extreme fear erupted from their eyes! Their movements froze instantly! Like fish frozen in ice!
Ella! She also felt an overwhelming chill! Her limbs instantly froze! Even her thoughts became sluggish! Only her heart beat wildly! Fear! Boundless fear! It consumed her!
"Ugh...uh...uh..." Leo, lying in the sewage! He suddenly raised his head! His face was covered in mud and blood! His eyes! Yet, they shone frighteningly! Bloodshot! With a near-insane determination! He stared fixedly at the source of the evil energy deep within the sewer!
"It's coming...it's coming..." He growled hoarsely from his throat! He struggled to get up! But his body felt like lead! He couldn't move at all!
Buzz!!!!
The evil aura grew thicker! A thick, tangible black fog rolled in from the depths! The flashlight beam was quickly devoured! Visibility plummeted!
In the thick fog!
Countless twisted, living black shadows! They tumbled and squirmed! Emitting a rustling, chilling whisper! Like countless insects gnawing at bones!
"Ah!" Ella couldn't help herself! She let out a short scream! She saw it! In the thick fog! Something! Moving! Not human! Not animal! But... shadows?! Living shadows?! Dancing?! Grinning?!
Her worldview! Completely shattered! Shattered into dust!
Brandon's report? Illegal drugs?!
Fuck illegal drugs! This is f*****g hell!!!
"Back off...back off..." Leo's hoarse voice rang out, filled with unmistakable urgency! He found the strength to suddenly rise from the slop! His hands! Pressed firmly against the cold, sticky wall! His eyes squeezed shut! Veins bulged in his forehead! As if sensing... something?!
"Energy... residual... this way!" He pointed sharply toward a narrower, darker, and even more stench-emitting branch pipe. "The source... is over there! Go!!!"
Go?!
Ella stared at the swirling, light-devouring black mist! At the sickening shadows writhing within! Then at the three frozen killers, their eyes filled with utter terror! A chill ran from the soles of her feet to her skull!
Stay here! You'll surely die!
She bit her tongue hard, the excruciating pain giving her a sliver of strength to break free from her paralysis. She stopped hesitating and spun around! Wading through the icy sewage! They rushed madly towards the dark branch pipe Leo pointed to! They didn't care about the filth! They didn't care about the stench! They just wanted to escape this hell!
"Ugh!" Leo struggled to his feet! Stumbling! He followed closely behind! Rushing into the branch pipe! He had to find the source! Otherwise, everyone would die!
Just as the two of them rushed into the branch pipe!
Behind them!
The swirling black fog! It had completely engulfed the main passage!
From the thick fog!
A few extremely short, muffled groans filled with utter fear and pain!
It was the three killers!
And then!
There was a teeth-grinding sound!
The sound of bones cracking!
And...
Sticky...
Suckling sound!
Like something... greedily... eating...
The sound!
Suddenly stopped!
Dead silence!
There was only the hissing… of thick fog…
And the pervasive… maddening… whispers…
Ella shuddered! Her stomach churned! She nearly vomited! She didn't dare look back! She ran desperately forward! The powerful flashlight flickered in the narrow pipe, illuminating an even more horrifying scene!
On the walls! It was no longer slime! Instead, it was… a thick layer! A black, mossy substance! Squirming! Breathing?! Clinging to it… were white… fragments?! Like… bones?!
Below her feet! The sewage deepened! The color… turned dark red?! And it exuded a strong… smell of blood?!
"What the… hell is this place?!" Ella's voice was tinged with tears, filled with despair! She had been a police officer for ten years and had seen countless crime scenes! But never had she seen such… unbelievable… horror!
"The shadow demon's… lair…" Leo gasped. His voice was weak, but his eyes were sharp! As he ran, he touched the wriggling black moss on the wall. "They're... absorbing... the city's... negative energy... and... the remnants of life..." He stopped abruptly, his flashlight beam shining forward!
The end of the branch pipe!
A slightly open space, like a small reservoir!
The bottom of the pool! Not sewage!
It was... sticky, like oil! Black sludge!
In the center of the sludge!
Shockingly!
Standing tall!
Twisted!
Composed of countless bones and rotting flesh!
A strange totem pole!
At the top of the totem pole!
Embedded!
Emitting a faint purple-black glow...
Irregular crystal!
That intense, maddening evil energy!
Exactly!
From this crystal!
Flowing endlessly!
Emitting!!!
Like a!
Beating!
The heart of hell!!!
"That's... it!" Leo's eyes gleamed! Pointing at the crystal! His voice was filled with near-fainting excitement and... fear! "Destroy it! Otherwise... the entire downtown area... will be destroyed!!!"
- Writer
