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墨書 Inktalez
The candlelight flickered dimly, casting uncertain shadows on the faces of the few people in the room.
In this post-apocalyptic world, where electricity was scarce, humanity lacked proper lighting and entertainment facilities. Aside from the children who could still play joyfully after dark, adults had few means to pass the time, leading them to sleep early most nights.
However, there were exceptions.
The individuals in this room were those assigned to patrol during the latter half of the night. They sat in a circle, using the dim light of the candle to play cards, their laughter and chatter occasionally breaking the silence.
In half an hour, when the clock on the wall struck midnight, the first shift of patrollers would return, and it would be their turn to take over. As they waited, four idle individuals gathered around a card game to pass the time.
Of course, in this world where paper money had lost its value, gambling with food was strictly prohibited by Ban Qingya. Thus, their card game had no stakes; it was merely a way to alleviate boredom.
"One pair, anyone want in?"
"Can't afford it."
"Pass."
"One Ace."
"Not interested."
"Pass."
"Hey... are you guys going to make room for me?"
Liu Zheng chuckled as he revealed his last two cards—two jokers that glimmered under the candlelight. "A pair of jokers... you two farmers lose. Who's next?"
The two who lost exchanged glances and shrugged. Li Feng tossed his hand onto the table. "I still have three cards left."
Wang Bo sighed and set down his cards. He voluntarily gave up his spot. "I have more cards left; I'll go this time."
He then gave up his position to Shi Hui, taking a seat beside him to watch the game.
Just as the newly formed trio finished shuffling the cards and prepared to deal, the door suddenly swung open.
Creak—
The sound of the door latch was unusually jarring in the quiet night, and a gust of cold wind rushed in, causing everyone to instinctively shrink their necks.
"Who is it?"
They looked toward the doorway, but saw only darkness; the entrance was empty, as if the door had merely been blown open by the wind.
"Damn! Who left the door open? Can't anyone close it properly?"
Wang Bo stood up and walked toward the door. "You all keep playing; I'll go shut it."
The remaining three nodded, redirecting their focus back to the card game as they continued to draw cards.
"Uh... whose turn is it to draw?"
"I have six cards."
"I also have six cards."
"I have five... alright, it's my turn to draw."
Once again, a cold breeze swept through the darkness, making everyone shiver involuntarily.
"Hiss... it's so cold!"
"Old Wang, weren't you supposed to close the door? Why is it still not done?"
The three of them instinctively looked toward the entrance. One of them complained, "Old Wang, are you a turtle or something? It's been so long and you still haven't closed the door?"
However, when they raised their heads to look at the entrance, they froze.
The doorway was empty; there was no sign of anyone. It was as if Wang Bo, who had gone to close the door, had vanished into thin air.
"Uh... where's Old Wang?" one asked. "Did he go to the bathroom?"
"But even if he went to the bathroom, he should have closed the door first, right? He can't be so lazy that he can't even remember to shut the door behind him!"
At that moment, Shi Hui stood up. "I'll go close the door... Tsk... Old Wang really can't be relied on."
Yet just as Shi Hui approached the entrance, he noticed a dark figure squatting at the doorway, hidden from view in the living room. He couldn't help but pause.
"Old Wang?"
It was a figure crouching in the shadows, indistinct and hard to see, seemingly gnawing on something. A faint sound of chewing echoed in the darkness, and Shi Hui instinctively thought it was their missing companion.
However, as he looked closer, he realized that the figure in the darkness was large and bloated; it was clearly not Old Wang.
He took two steps forward and raised his flashlight. "Who are you?"
The beam of light illuminated a twisted face with bulging eyes and protruding veins, looking grotesque—this was a face Shi Hui recognized all too well.
Just moments ago, this person had been playing cards and joking with them. Now, however, his eyes were wide open in a ghastly stare, blood streaming from his eye sockets. A bloated shadow was hunched over him, its head moving as it gnawed at him. The sound of flesh being torn echoed in the darkness.
Shi Hui's eyes widened in terror, and he instinctively opened his mouth to scream. However, a Tentacle shot out from the darkness, wrapping around his head and stifling his scream in his throat.
Then, with a powerful tug, the Tentacle pulled Shi Hui completely into the darkness.
Thud thud thud—
Amidst the sounds of piercing strikes, the two people in the room were horrified to realize that the sounds of Shi Hui's struggles outside quickly faded away.
They exchanged a glance and instinctively tightened their grips on their knives.
A cold wind swept through, extinguishing the candles in the room, plunging the small space into an eerie Silence.
In the pitch-black darkness where one could not see their own hand, the remaining two instinctively groped around, trying to reach for the Alarm Bell. However, two silent Tentacles wrapped around them, cutting off their chances of survival.
Crack—crack—
Amidst the sounds of shattering bones, under the cold moonlight, a bloated monster dragged four human corpses away from there, heading toward its next hunting ground.
…………
………………
Knock knock knock—
When the door was knocked on, the couple cuddling on the sofa looked up in surprise at the sound echoing from the door.
"Who could it be at this late hour?"
The husband's tone was somewhat annoyed.
The wife smiled lightly, stood up, smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes, and walked to the front door to open it. "It might be the neighbor next door. I'll go see what’s going on."
However, when she opened the door, she could only see a bulky figure standing there.
The wife paused for a moment, recalling the identity of this person.
"You are... uh... Mr. Pan Dayou, right? Is there something you need at this late hour?"
The bulky shadow lifted its head and grinned widely at her, sharp fangs glinting ominously in the dim light.
"Delicious..."
At that moment, several tentacles suddenly shot out from the shadow's chest, wrapping tightly around the astonished woman at the doorway before twisting violently.
With a sharp crack, the sound of shattering bones echoed as her body was contorted at an unnatural angle; her arms fell limp and motionless.
Inside the house, the terrified husband instinctively opened his mouth to scream, but a tentacle suddenly flew in and filled his throat, piercing through his skull in an instant.
As his lifeless body collapsed, the grotesque creature outside grinned foolishly.
"Giggling... killing... quiet... I want quiet... giggling..." (To be continued...)
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