Chapter 9: Entice and Control/ Entrapment

Officer Liang was about to speak, but at this moment, his son pushed open the stall and came over to continue: “Of course, it should be reported immediately.”

“A person parasitized by aliens is no longer just a human, but a monster harboring monsters. Being lenient toward them, as depicted in movies, will only lead to greater disasters.”

The young man continued passionately, “In my opinion, once discovered, it should be swiftly dealt with, cut off at the root! Right, Dad?”

Officer Liang couldn’t be bothered to argue with his son about such impractical topics and simply said, “Hmm, you’re right.”

Then he waved his hand towards Ming Ci. “The movie is about to start. Let’s go first.”

Ming Ci’s expression remained unchanged as he watched them leave the restroom.

After a while, he turned his face to the mirror, gazing at the faintly visible red mark on his collar, murmuring to himself, “I guessed as much.”

Under his gaze, the red mark slowly wriggled, sending out a few blood-red threads that spread upwards like the tentacles of a predator, absorbing the delicious juice of prey. These hair-like blood threads moved erratically on his neck, licking away the remaining water stains.

Such a greedy demeanor made Ming Ci increasingly uncomfortable.

He lowered his eyelashes, tightened his collar with his hand, and turned to leave.

Human emotions, complex and sensitive, were difficult for the creature to understand or empathize with.

At the moment when the host felt disgusted, it was content. After retracting the blood threads, it settled comfortably in his clavicle, worry-free, and asked, “Ming Ci, what about it?”

Ming Ci pursed his lips slightly, not answering it.

The feeding behavior on the subway disgusted him so much that he didn’t want to say a word to it now.

After getting out of the subway station, Ming Ci didn’t immediately go home but went to a nearby convenience store to buy vegetables, eggs, and instant noodles.

It was two o’clock in the afternoon, the sun was high, the ground was scorching hot, and the air was unusually dry and hot.

After hesitating for a moment, he also grabbed a bottle of ice-cold cola from the freezer.

After paying, he walked out of the store and twisted open the cola, drinking it as he walked.

The refreshing beverage slid down his throat, suppressing the faint taste. As long as he didn’t think about it, he could pretend he hadn’t eaten that thing.

Just as Ming Ci entered the residential area, the black car parked outside the east gate started moving. The driver gently stepped on the accelerator and followed him slowly.

Chang Zijin sat in the passenger seat, his head lowered, nervously muttering to himself.

“A’jin, take a look for yourself.” Boss Wu in the back seat opened his mouth leisurely, watching Ming Ci’s silhouette through the car window. “Ming Ci is walking under the sun, drinking cola. Does that look like a ghost? Stop chanting! Look up.”

As the chanting stopped, Chang Zijin held his breath, slowly raised his head, and looked forward.

Indeed, it was Ming Ci.

The pale, cold, and eerie face in his memory was now flushed by the sun, full of the vitality and vigor of a living person.

Chang Zijin widened his bloodshot eyes, staring at Ming Ci’s profile without blinking.

In the end, what was going on?

Could it be that he had lost his mind, confused and suspicious? Did he actually never stab Ming Ci?

That’s right, there was not a drop of blood on him when he hurriedly fled back home.

Thinking of this, Chang Zijin broke free from the terrified and restless swamp, his eyes lighting up a bit.

He released the jade Buddha clenched in his hand and said firmly, “Big brother, you’re right. I never stabbed this kid! It’s just that I mistook it, got paranoid, that’s all.”

Boss Wu: “Are you coming to your senses?”

Chang Zijin nodded repeatedly, “Yes, I’m clear now, clear.”

“Good.” Boss Wu nodded and instructed the driver, “Stop the car. Let’s have a chat with Ming Ci.”

Beep—

Just as Ming Ci was about to enter the building, a car horn suddenly sounded behind him. He paused, turned his face, and saw a black car parked about seven or eight meters away.

The rear door opened, and a familiar figure stepped out, waving at him.

Upon closer inspection, it was Boss Wu.

“Xiao Ming, are you out to buy groceries?” Boss Wu smiled, looking quite friendly. “You didn’t buy any meat, huh? At your age, you need more than just vegetables and eggs to grow.”

Ming Ci replied expressionlessly, “Are you looking for Ming Hui? He’s not home.”

Boss Wu narrowed his eyes slightly, his smile disappearing as his tone turned cold. “I know he’s not home. Your dad has been missing for the past two days, did you know?”

Ming Ci’s expression remained unchanged, showing no concern about his father’s whereabouts.

He replied coldly, “I don’t know, and I don’t care. Your debts and grudges have nothing to do with me.”

Boss Wu’s smile vanished, and his voice turned cold as well. “Ming Ci, that’s not how you should speak. The bond between father and son is not something you can just dismiss. You—”

“Your little brother is here too,” Ming Ci interrupted him without hesitation, looking at Chang Zijin who was approaching. “Perfect timing.”

Boss Wu: “Perfect timing for what?”

Chang Zijin had already prepared himself mentally, but as he approached Ming Ci and met those pitch-black eyes, that eerie feeling surged up again.

He couldn’t help but shiver involuntarily, subconsciously stopping under the steps.

“Swallow, bad humans… he wants, Ming Ci, to die… I want, to kill, bad humans…”

It kept chattering in Ming Ci’s ear, its voice particularly cold.

Ming Ci stood on the steps, looking down at Chang Zijin. “You broke my computer screen. I spent a thousand bucks to replace it, and you must compensate me for that.”

At the mention of this, Chang Zijin uncontrollably recalled that scene, the computer falling to the ground, the knife in his hand—

Blood, so red and sticky, so much blood, suddenly splashing out!

No, no, no… Ming Ci was standing here perfectly fine; he never stabbed anyone!

Seeing Chang Zijin’s silence, Boss Wu turned his head and noticed that something was off with his expression. Frowning, he called out sternly, “A’jin!”

Chang Zijin trembled suddenly and answered in a daze, “Yes, yes.”

He took out his phone, seeming to want to transfer money immediately.

“A’jin?” Boss Wu’s face turned as solemn as water as he reached out and patted his shoulder heavily. “What are you up to?”

Ming Ci took out the receipt from his backpack and unfolded it in front of both of them, saying coldly, “Take a good look, one thousand bucks, no cheating you guys.”

With that said, he opened the payment QR code on his phone and waited for Chang Zijin to pay.

Normally, Boss Wu wouldn’t scold his subordinate in front of others, but he couldn’t help it at this moment and shouted, “Chang Zijin! Are you still out of your mind?”

Before he could finish, Chang Zijin had already paid the money.

“He owes me two hundred thousand, and you’re giving him money?” Boss Wu couldn’t help but laugh angrily, pointing at Chang Zijin’s nose and scolding, “You’re really sick! Nuts!”

After scolding him for a couple of sentences, Boss Wu stopped and stared at Ming Ci with a cold gaze before turning away.

“I just wanted to settle this matter,” Chang Zijin wanted to explain, but Boss Wu had already walked away quickly. “Big brother, big brother!”

Just as he was about to chase after him, Ming Ci said, “You can take back the things you left at my place.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t have time to bring them down for you. Come upstairs with me to get them.”

Chang Zijin didn’t know what he was thinking, but by the time he reacted, he was already following Ming Ci into the elevator.

In this enclosed and narrow space, he felt an inexplicable sense of panic and dared not look at the person beside him, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor display.

A few seconds felt like an eternity. When the elevator door opened, he rushed out impatiently.

Why did he follow Ming Ci upstairs?

He clearly…

Chang Zijin didn’t want to admit that he was actually afraid of this frail student.

It was absurd. He had confirmed multiple times that he never stabbed anyone. Ming Ci wasn’t a ghost, so what was there to be afraid of!

Creak—

The sound of the iron door opening was particularly harsh, like the cry of a dying bird.

Chang Zijin stood at the doorway, the dark red wooden floor reflecting in his eyes, instantly reminding him of the coagulated blood.

“… “

He swallowed hard, feeling his breath growing heavier.

Ming Ci walked over and handed him something familiar.

It was a folding knife… the knife he had stabbed Ming Ci with!

Ming Ci stood very close, silently watching him, as if waiting for something.

Chang Zijin’s pupils contracted sharply, his hand gripping the handle of the knife spasming uncontrollably. His thumb instinctively pushed, and the bright silver blade suddenly revealed itself.

Ah… he remembered now. He held the knife like this, thrust it forward, and stabbed Ming Ci to death.

Yes, how could someone who was already dead still be alive?

Wasn’t that too terrifying?

Ming Ci seemed completely unaffected by Chang Zijin’s emotional fluctuations, his face calm and indifferent, but his whole body tensed up.

He just stared straight at Chang Zijin, then slowly pulled the iron door.

The iron door had just been pushed in half an inch when there was a muffled sound!

The tip of the blade pierced through the thin fabric, touching Ming Ci’s skin for a moment. In an instant, crimson surged like a bursting flood, spreading and engulfing the folding knife, along with swallowing up Chang Zijin’s hand.

Chang Zijin couldn’t even make a sound. He was pushed backward by Ming Ci and fell to the ground.

Immediately, the iron door slammed shut, cutting off his line of sight.

After a full half-minute, Chang Zijin belatedly felt the pain. Looking down, his right hand seemed soaked in scalding water, with flesh and skin melting away, almost revealing the bones.

“Ah… Ahhh!”

He let out a scream akin to a slaughtered pig, scrambling towards the stairs.

Inside the room.

The monster gradually grew larger, its agitation and ferocity accompanied by surging crimson blood, filling the entire space.

“Ming Ci! I want to swallow him, kill him!”

It tightly entwined Ming Ci, its howls exceptionally terrifying.

“I said, no eating others…”

Ming Ci’s heart raced, and his words squeezed out intermittently from between his lips.

“If you want me to nurture you, you must listen to me… You’re itching to go mad, right?”

“He wants to kill you! I want to kill him! I want to kill him!”

It was furious and frenzied, countless wriggling appendages entangled and tore at each other, blatantly revealing its monstrous and bloody form.

“Monster, let me teach you another new word.” Ming Ci clenched one of its appendages tightly, his pupils trembling slightly.

“Restraint.”