Fang Marks

Chapter 9 Mysterious Warning and Vampire Mystery

On the way back, Lila Bennett looked back several times to make sure that the group of hooligans were not following him. The underground square is a must-pass on his way to work. After such an incident happened this night, he didn't know whether to call the police or try to leave work with colleagues as much as possible.

After arriving home, there was an extra email on his phone. After reading this email, Lila Bennett quickly opened the window and looked downstairs.

The residential building where his family lives is very old. Just like most residential areas in Wutong City in that era, many plane trees are planted here. The building spacing is very wide, and the cement ground in the center soaked by snow water is full of cars.

In the early morning, it is very quiet. Even the stray cats in the community are nowhere to be seen. And no one is standing downstairs at his home.

Lila Bennett closed the window to block the cold wind and re-read the email content.

Lu23121873: [For your safety, please don't go to work at N° anymore.]

The email was sent one minute before he arrived home. It clearly put forward the request as if it knew what had just happened.

Lila Bennett's expression was tense. He sat cross-legged on the sofa and typed quickly: [Were those people in the square tonight your people?]

After typing this line, Lila Bennett stared at the screen tightly, and his heart beat a little fast. No wonder it was so coincidental that several pedestrians appeared at that time. Neither early nor late, just when he was entangled by the hooligans.

But he waited for a full two minutes, and the email account that contacted him didn't send any more messages. Guessing that the other party should not reply, Lila Bennett suddenly felt that he was a bit stupid and also had an uncomfortable feeling of maladjustment.

It seemed that there was a pair of eyes around him, observing his every move to see if he was safe or in danger.

Those were a pair of dark eyes. The pupils reflected a faint deep red. The outer corners of the eyes were slightly upturned, looking down from above, looking down at him.

It seemed to be wrapped in an airtight emotion.

Lila Bennett had palpitations. Like being possessed, he couldn't help but recall Alexander Reed's face, recall Alexander Reed's pale lips and fingers loosely holding the glass.

His body was as if burned by fire. Even his chest was burning.

Lila Bennett hugged his knees tightly and buried his head.

After a moment, when most of his thoughts returned to normal, he let out a breath gently.

He thought he had to stop his brain from going crazy like this. He couldn't continue like this.

*

The tone of speech in that email was very polite and the request was not resolute.

Lila Bennett thought it was just a suggestion. Moreover, he couldn't confirm that the people who appeared in the square that night were from Du Island. At least he went to work at N° as usual next, and he never received an email from Du Island again.

He never saw those pedestrians again, nor did he see that group of hooligans.

Sometimes when Lila Bennett walked on a secluded path at night and stopped and looked back, there was only an empty road behind him.

The weather was getting colder and colder. There were fewer and fewer people in the underground square in the early morning. Even the street singers didn't appear for several days in a row. There were fewer guests at N°, and the closing time became very early.

Most nights, Lila Bennett stayed at home and looked for a part-time job that was suitable for him and allowed him to be absent for a few days a week. The result was unsatisfactory.

Half a month later, Du Island sent the second batch of ingredients and recipes. Lila Bennett didn't need to go out at all.

After that, everything in life returned to calm. He never received any news from Du Island again.

The days were getting shorter and the nights were getting longer.

This winter came very late and was too long.

When there was still a week before the second trip to Du Island, Su Jianzhou called him.

"Don't donate blood anymore."

Su Jianzhou's tone was quite serious. It was the first time Lila Bennett heard him speak like this.

And the first sentence was about donating blood.

"What's wrong?" Lila Bennett was puzzled.

As a blood bag, he was very conscious of being a blood bag. In the past half month, he had eaten according to the recipe given by Dr. Ling and had taken a lot of nutritional supplements.

His physical condition was even better than before donating blood, and his complexion was also much better. Donating blood didn't seem to have much impact on him.

Su Jianzhou seemed to be in a secluded place. There was a little echo when he spoke.

"I have a classmate who works in the forensic department of the city." he said. "A few days ago, two victim bodies were received."

Victim?

Lila Bennett was stunned for a moment: "I didn't pay attention to the news these days."

Su Jianzhou was a little anxious: "It's not a question of whether you watched the news or not... Do you know that because the situation of the victim is too strange, this matter is not allowed to be reported in the news at all."

He paused and then lowered his voice and said to Lila Bennett: "The deceased were a man and a woman. The man's head and neck were almost completely separated. The head didn't fall off only because there was still some skin on one side of the neck connected. The woman's neck also had a lacerated wound. Preliminary judgment is that it was caused by human teeth. Both of them died of massive blood loss."

Su Jianzhou said that the police had extracted possible residual saliva from the wound for DNA screening, but because the death was too terrifying and strange, it was not allowed to be reported publicly.

It is precisely because the means of committing the crime are too cruel. Police and forensic doctors are also human beings. Inevitably, they will talk about this matter privately.

Lila Bennett hesitated and said: "Does this matter have anything to do with Alexander Reed?"

"I don't know. Maybe it has nothing to do with Alexander Reed. I haven't seen the photos of the victims." Su Jianzhou said, "But these two victims had donated blood at the hospital before."

This news was sensational. Lila Bennett was a little scared.

Su Jianzhou knew he was scared and said, "I'm not trying to scare you or say that Alexander Reed and them are going to do something to you. Otherwise, come and live at my house for a few days and don't go anywhere. Wait until this matter is over."

Su Jianzhou was very busy. After giving a few more instructions, he hung up the phone in a hurry.

Lila Bennett touched his neck with his hand and remembered the two small wounds.

He had looked in the mirror a few days ago. The two wounds had completely healed and disappeared without a trace just like the wound on his palm.

He had already forgotten about this matter.

At this time, he thought of it again.

He re-logged in to the "Unsolved Mysteries" forum he had visited that day.

Perhaps because there were too few active users on the forum, the post posted by Lila Bennett was actually pushed to the homepage and there were already more than a hundred replies.

He clicked in, and the first thing that caught his eye was the photo he took and the description of the question.

Under the light, his neck looked very white, and the two small holes were also very clearly photographed.

Some people said that his photo was Photoshopped. Soon someone verified it through technology and refuted this point. Everyone had different opinions and said all kinds of things, which were roughly the same as what Lila Bennett found in the search engine.

But soon, someone gave an incredible opinion.

23L: [I think... was it bitten by a vampire?]

There were many replies in this floor.

The forum was unattended, and the UI design had an ancient aesthetic, which was very eye-straining to look at.

Lila Bennett clicked and read one by one.

[Yes, it really looks like it! By the way, you should have all watched vampire movies? It's*** like this.]

[Hehe, vampire, Dracula?]

[Could it be stung by a bat? Which city is the poster in? See if there are bats or snakes at home. It is recommended to see a doctor and don't get infected.]

[Upstairs, bat? Are you serious?]

[Actually, I heard that vampires and bats are originally the same thing.]

[Do vampires really exist? Why haven't they come out to destroy the world?]

[This is an unsolved mystery, not horror literature. Obviously, the wound was poked out by the poster himself. It's just for grandstanding and attracting replies.]

[+1. How long has it been since there was an interesting post on this forum? The poster is still a newly registered account.]

This building gradually deviated. Most of the later replies also discussed how Lila Bennett's wound was obtained from a technical aspect.

Lila Bennett exited the forum and returned to the search engine again.

This time, he entered three words: vampire.

The search results popped up.

Lila Bennett's eyelids also twitched.

Vampire, English: Vampire, supernatural creature. According to legend, it lives by sucking human blood. It is a creature that crawls out of the grave after death. It is afraid of light, has no body temperature, no heartbeat, has stiff limbs and long fangs. Its appearance is no different from that of the dead. It is a demon from hell.

There are some links to film and television works below this entry. Lila Bennett has watched some more or less, so he didn't click on them.

Immediately below are some entry pictures.

Except for film and television materials, most of the vampires in the pictures have dark circles under their eyes and pale skin. Some faces expose blood vessel traces, and some have bat wings on their backs. Their nails are long and curly, but without exception, they are all hideous.

These pictures are often bloody, accompanied by the desperate struggle of human beings, gloomy and terrifying.

Those bite marks are bloody and fleshy, and only a very few can see clear tooth marks.

Looking through all the way, except for the two characteristics of pale skin and being afraid of light that can be related to Alexander Reed, nothing else has anything to do with it.

Or, for Lila Bennett who has only officially met Alexander Reed once, except for these two characteristics, he has no basis at all to judge.

Alexander Reed's pale skin is due to a blood disease.

Does Alexander Reed draw the curtains during the day at home because of living habits?

Lila Bennett didn't know.

At least Sebastian, Dr. Ling and others he had contacted all appeared during the day and all had normal body temperatures.

But what about the marks on his neck and the disappeared wound on his hand?

Du Island is too mysterious.

Just like Alexander Reed.

Lila Bennett knew nothing.

The question raised by Su Jianzhou was what he needed to consider at present. After a day, Su Jianzhou called. There was a third body with a similar situation in Wutong City.

The next morning, Su Jianzhou drove over and picked up Lila Bennett.

The fog was pervasive.

It snowed again at night.

The whole city was damp and cold.

When sitting in the car and being stabbed in the eyes by the skylight outside the glass window at that moment, Lila Bennett suddenly felt that the information he had searched online was too unrealistic.

This is the real world.

He sent an email to the people on Du Island. In the email, he explained what happened in Wutong City and his explanation that he could not go to Du Island for the time being. And at the end, he added that if Alexander Reed needed it, he was willing to cooperate with blood collection locally.

In fact, suspending the plan to go to Du Island, Lila Bennett secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Those dreams he had and those inexplicable emotions he had for Alexander Reed made him feel addicted and ashamed.

Wanting to stop, they became even more intense.

He was at a loss.

The fatal thing is that -

On Friday morning, Lila Bennett received a call from Alexander Reed himself.

Title: Mysterious Events and Uncertainties