Chapter 31: Sneak Attack

Several people were rummaging through the lobby, searching every possible nook and cranny, yet they remained completely clueless.

"Where on earth is it?" Yuan Yao punched the wall. "This damn place is so small; I've even checked the decorations. There are no mechanisms or secret passages at all."

Indeed, the building was shaped like a "回" (enclosure) character. The central "口" (opening) occupied a significant area, making it the easiest place to hide something compared to other areas. However, the four walls had nothing on them except for decorations behind the counter; there wasn't even a single painting hanging anywhere else, and the walls felt solid when tapped, making a secret room or passage seem impossible.

"This decoration is wrong." Huang Junjie circled around to the back of the counter and pressed hard on a protruding circular piece of solid wood. With a "click," the wooden piece popped open, revealing a space about one or two square meters. A movable wooden plank on the floor slid away to reveal a staircase leading underground.

"It was a pressure plate. Bai spent forever picking at the decorations on top," Yuan Yao said, his face flushing with embarrassment.

Huang Junjie turned back to ask Xu Huo, "Want to go down and take a look?"

The three of them descended into the tunnel one after another. Just as the wooden door above was closed, the rich heir and Liu Yuanyuan emerged from the side.

"I knew Huang Junjie and that kid surnamed Xu were whispering; they must have figured something out," the rich heir whispered. After a moment, he pressed open the wooden door.

After the two left, Abel also emerged from the side and followed them down into the tunnel.

A few minutes later, Zhang Xiong and his two companions returned from the wooden hut. Finding that everyone who should have been there was gone, they began smashing things in a fit of rage.

"It sounds like something is behind here!" Wang Wei pressed his ear against the circular wooden decoration to listen closely.

Zhang Xiong rushed over and kicked it. The circular door popped open immediately. He jumped in ahead of the others, saying excitedly, "No wonder we couldn't find the Headless Killer anywhere; he was hiding in here! Maybe there's a prize for killing him. Let's go!"

The three of them scrambled inside as well.

*

The tunnel was more spacious than imagined; two people could walk side-by-side without issue. After descending the stone steps, the path split into three different branches.

Xu Huo and his group chose one of the paths. They didn't find any trace of the college student; instead, they discovered more branching paths. The exit of one small side path was located under a rock next to the hot spring in a room to the left.

"It seems the Headless Killer uses these tunnels to move around," Huang Junjie said. "Jia Xuyang was carrying so much food; he's likely hidden in here. Was he really the one behind what happened yesterday?"

"Let's find the person first." Xu Huo quickly doubled back into the tunnel. Just as he landed, he heard the sound of a sharp blade striking a stone wall.

Running toward the sound, he rounded a corner and collided with Abel.

"What are you doing here?" Huang Junjie drew his knife.

"Don't misunderstand!" Abel waved his hands hurriedly. "I followed Miss Liu and the others down. I didn't know these paths were connected and got lost. I only came this way because I heard the noise."

Ignoring him, Xu Huo entered the next branch. When his flashlight beam hit the opposite side, he first saw a tall, dark shadow flash past, followed immediately by the corpse of the college student leaning against the wall, his head already severed.

"There's blood over here." Using his peripheral vision, Abel looked at the ground. Two distinct trails of blood led down the tunnel in another direction.

"Chase them, quickly!" Huang Junjie took the lead.

The group followed the bloodstains around two more corners when, unexpectedly, their feet kicked something. In the darkness, a spherical object rolled forward.

The hair on Huang Junjie's neck stood on end.

It wasn't just him; Yuan Yao had kicked it too. "It... it can't be..."

The flashlight beam hit the ground, revealing three human heads scattered about. The bloodstains were a mix of dried and fresh. Because of the recent kick, the heads had bumped against the wall, leaving bloody smears behind.

Looking at the heads, Xu Huo frowned and asked, "When you came down just now, did Wang Wei and the other two come back..."

Before he could finish, he felt someone approaching from behind. Before he could react, a thin wire tightened around his throat, lifting his entire body off the ground!

Abel, who had been asked the question, was about to speak. He turned around, but before he could open his mouth, he saw the flashlight fall. Xu Huo was suspended in mid-air, being dragged backward by a tall, dark shadow!

Xu Huo tore the cross from his necklace and threw it, but it was deflected by an axe. Huang Junjie picked up the flashlight and illuminated the entire tunnel.

"He has no feet!" Yuan Yao grabbed a head and tried to roll it on the ground, hoping to make the Headless Killer slip, but when he looked down, he saw that there was nothing beneath the black cloak!

Seeing that Xu Huo was about to be dragged out of the tunnel, the suspended Xu Huo suddenly lifted his legs and kicked off the wall, slamming his head backward directly into the Headless Killer's mask!

The plastic mask clattered to the ground, and Xu Huo broke free from the Headless Killer's grasp. He wiped the blood from his neck and turned to face the Headless Killer, which was now just a floating torso.

As Huang Junjie and the others caught up, they stared at the motionless figure in the black cloak holding a sharp axe, their scalps tingling with fear!

"No head and no feet... the Headless Killer really isn't human!"

"God, heavens, there really are ghosts!"

"What do we do?"

As the four stood in a standoff with the Headless Killer, the mask on the ground suddenly flew back into the killer's hand and was placed back on his head. At the same moment the killer raised his hand, Xu Huo pulled out a dagger and threw it!

As the metal collided with sparks and bounced away, a lit lighter flew through the tunnel, followed immediately by a second one being opened by Xu Huo

"Burn!"

The lighter hit the black cloak and fell to the ground, but not even a single spark ignited!

"Watch this!" Abel shoved Xu Huo aside. A massive cross appeared out of thin air in his hands. His arm muscles bulged as he hugged the cross and hurled it at the Headless Killer!

The cross slammed into the axe, forcing the cloaked figure back a distance, pinning the arms holding the axe against the ground!

It worked!

The eyes of the other three lit up. Just as they were about to step forward, the heavy, massive cross suddenly turned into foam. Its weight vanished, and the Headless Killer easily flew off into another branch!

The four of them hesitated for a moment before bolting after him, but by the time they reached the junction, the black cloak was nowhere to be seen. At the same time, light from a fire approached from the other side.

"It's you!" Zhang Xiong retreated hurriedly. "I saw Jia Xuyang's body. Did you guys do this?"

"No!" Abel said. "We were attacked by the Headless Killer too. We're chasing him!"

The pursuit group grew from four to five, then wandered through the branches, growing to seven, then nine, yet they still found no trace of the Headless Killer.

"I think we should stop looking," Huang Junjie said, panting heavily. "That thing is elusive, and the tunnels are so dark. We don't even know how many there are. Searching like this isn't working."

"Let's carry the bodies up first." Xu Huo had no intention of continuing; it was a pure waste of time.

The group carried Jia Xuyang's body and the other two heads back to the surface. They placed the three parts together, at least managing to reconstruct a whole corpse.

"Little Jia died such a tragic death." Wang Wei looked at Jia Xuyang's body with great reluctance, then added, "You guys were too careless. You knew the Headless Killer was hard to deal with. Even if you found his tracks, you should have waited until everyone was gathered before acting."

(End of Chapter)