Chapter 408: No.10

Just like a young couple, the two of them crossed the street and entered an alleyway, at the mouth of which was a food stand and further in were a few cheap hotels.

Gao Yang and Qing Ling went inside, looking up to see a signboard that said, “Goodnight Hotel.”

“Here?” Gao Yang asked.

Qing Ling nodded. “Yeah.”

They went in and registered their name at the front desk. Gao Yang even spent some time bargaining and ended up getting a 10 yuan discount.

Arms in arms, they entered their room. Gao Yang closed the door behind him, while Qing Ling went up to the windows to draw the curtains without missing a beat.

They exchanged a look before sitting down on the bed.

Gao Yang took out his phone quickly and typed a message, handing his phone to Qing Ling.

Having a glance, she rose to her feet and went to the bathroom, opening the shower.

Gao Yang, on the other hand, took the remote control on the headboard to turn on the television, adjusting the sound to maximum volume.

Then they returned to sitting on the bed with their weapons drawn, waiting quietly. All the while, Gao Yang had been paying attention to his system.

About three minutes passed.

Gao Yang heard the system’s warning. He quickly threw Qing Ling a glance.

She decisively rushed to the door and stabbed her Tang Dao through it. Frowning, she could tell from the sensation that there was no one outside.

A second later, she and Gao Yang realized almost at the same time that the enemy was outside the window.

While yanking her Tang Dao out, Qing Ling whipped her left wrist, sending the three Black Gold darts hidden in her long sleeve flying toward the curtain-covered window, as quickly as bullets.

Bam!

The three darts shot through the curtains and shattered the glass. Gao Yang extended his six senses, faintly hearing the sounds of darts stabbing into a body of flesh.

Gao Yang teleported immediately through the window to the outside, standing on the condenser unit. He looked down to find that indeed, drops of blood had been left on the signboard on the side. Their enemy must have been hurt by Qing Ling’s darts.

Qing Ling had jumped out of the window by then.

“Gone?”

Gao Yang nodded.

Ten minutes ago, Gao Yang and Qing Ling were just about to return to their university when Gao Yang sensed someone following them.

Immediately, Gao Yang decided to take her to a small hotel and left an opening purposefully to lure their enemy out.

Knowing that he must be up to something, Qing Ling played along, and that was how things unfolded.

With her eyes closed, Qing Ling extended her senses for two seconds before opening her eyes. “Let’s go!”

She jumped down agilely from more than ten meters up from the ground floor. Gao Yang caught up with her by teleporting and ran out of the alleyway with her.

During the process, he didn’t forget to call Can and have her clean up the mess they left.

“Oh boy! Captain, why, why, why...would you go to a hotel with Green Snake?!” Can lost it on the other end of the call.

Gao Yang didn’t want to waste his breath explaining, so he hung up.

It was late at night, but there were still many pedestrians and shops and stands still doing business. Gao Yang and Qing Ling didn’t dare to show their speed as awakeners. Instead, they chased after their ambusher at normal human speed.

Ten minutes later, they reached a park in the west and stopped at a grove.

“Did we lose them?” Gao Yang asked while looking around.

Silently, Qing LIng took a few steps forward and dropped to one knee, discovering a bloodied Black Gold dart on the pile of fallen leaves at her feet.

After the Twelve Zodiac Signs acquired the Element Rune Circuit, Qing Ling’s Metal had quickly reached level 4.

Her ability to control metal had seen exponential growth. Not only had the maximum weight and range of her manipulation doubled, she could now inject Black Gold weapons with energy to maintain a link with them.

Among the three darts, one had buried into the target’s body and remained inside. That was how Qing Ling had tracked the rough location of the dart to this place.

Now, it was clear that the enemy had drawn them here on purpose.

Splaying her hand, Qing Ling summoned the Black Gold dart back to her. With a simple flick of her wrist, the droplets of blood disappeared, and the dart was good as new.

Qing Ling stood up and looked at Gao Yang, who was standing behind her. “They led us here on purpose.”

“I’ve guessed.” Gao Yang wasn’t too surprised.

With his six senses extended, Gao Yang scanned their surroundings. Suddenly, he felt a slight disturbance and quickened flow in the air on his left, like the signs of an explosion.

Boom!

A second later, a sleeping gas bomb hidden among the tree exploded, making a puff of purple smoke permeate the grove. Inhaling it for three seconds would knock one unconscious, and even one second of exposure would slow one down significantly and put one in great danger.

However, Gao Yang had already grabbed Qing Ling by the waist and got her out of the grove with Teleportation.

He dropped her. The two of them looked at the path outside the grove shoulder-to-shoulder. Under the streetlamp stood a man.

Under the dim light, his short, fat figure could be made out. He was bald, dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and long pair of pants with black and white stripes, his feet bare and his left hand wearing a Black Gold dog tag with the number 10.

He looked both like an inmate and a patient.

His head was covered in lumpy bumps, and his face barely looked human with fleshy pink scars. His swollen, black lips made it seem like he was poisoned.

His voice was cold and slimy like writhing worms, repulsive.

“Hehe, as expected, you’re awakeners. I’m gonna take you as my toys, hehe... I’ll treat you properly, hehe.”

As he spoke, yellowish saliva dripped down from the corners of his mouth.

Although the park was quiet, it wasn’t completely empty.

Outside the grove was a small artificial lake, and a group of college students sat on the lawn by the lake. Judging from the two tents they had put up, they seemed to be here to camp.

Witnessing all that, they fainted, meaning they were likely wanderers.

One girl was an exception, however. She dropped the poker cards in her hand and slowly stood up, her body shuddering violently as fangs grew out in her mouth. Thick, hard hair gradually covered her body, and her face distorted. Soon, she had turned into something resembling a wolf.

Shit, a summoner!

Gao Yang shouted at Qing Ling, “I’ll deal with him. You deal with the...”

Before he could say the word ‘summoner’, Qing Ling was already rushing toward the ugly, repulsive mouse of a man with her Tang Dao.

Hey, can’t you show me some respect as your temporary supervisor?

While grumbling inwardly, Gao Yang activated Teleportation.

The summoner’s monsterhood had awakened. Without hesitation, it tipped its head up and was about to howl to awaken all the wanderers in the area, triggering their frenzy.

Unfortunately for it, Gao Yang had already teleported to it and grabbed its throat before it could make a sound.

It thrust its sharp claws at Gao Yang. Before it could exert its strength, Gao Yang broke its neck with a crack.

At the same time, Gao Yang drew the dagger he brought with him and stabbed the monster in the heart, making sure it was dead.

With a shudder, the body in his grasp went slack, its head and limbs drooping.

Gao Yang slowly laid the summoner down on the ground, pulling the dagger out. The dead summoner reverted back to its human form.

She looked just like a regular girl.

Before her monsterhood awakened, she could’ve been a student attending the Li City University. Perhaps she had come camping with her classmates, having snacks, playing cards, drinking beer, and playing truth or dare. Perhaps one of the boys was her crush, and her friends were trying to set them up...

Yet an accident woke her monsterhood and turned her into a summoner, leading to her getting killed by an awakener, thus ending her life.

Was it a misfortune, or a release?

I’m sorry.

Gao Yang sighed softly and closed her eyes.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He then turned to Qing Ling and jumped in shock.