River City, chaos everywhere.
The corpse found at Peaceful Melody Restaurant was shriveled up like a mummy, as if someone had sucked out all its blood and flesh. The marks left in that alley have the whole police department scrambling.
Even though the case has been strictly sealed off, nosy reporters and gossiping locals have already started spreading all kinds of wild rumors.
Overnight, River City's online forums and message boards exploded with chatter about the incident.
Some say it's a vampire on the loose, others claim there's some kind of unknown monster in town.
As the online storm raged, more and more men were found turned into dried-up corpses, one after another.
They were all people Lena Chu had fed on before.
"Where's Evan Lin? Still not back yet?"
Inside Peaceful Melody Restaurant's main hall, Victor Qin was just found unconscious in the alley and rushed to the hospital for tests.
The emergency left everyone too anxious to eat.
"Nope. Tried calling his phone, but it's been off the whole time," Rachel Liu shook her head.
"Who knows where that guy ran off to. Maybe something bad happened to him," Owen Ou speculated, looking worried.
Just earlier, Evan Lin had left with Victor Qin and Jill Jing.
But after they stepped outside, they vanished.
No one knew where they'd gone.
Both Evan and Jill disappeared together. Just now, Old Man Liu went to the police hoping they'd help, but the cops refused, saying it hadn't been forty-eight hours yet.
"Don't worry, Old Liu. That kid's sharp—I'm sure he's fine," Professor Gordon Gu comforted him, watching Old Man Liu fret and sighing inwardly.
Old Man Liu might seem cold to outsiders, but he actually cares a lot about his students.
Back when he taught, Old Man Liu used to drag students up to the front and scold them over their math grades. Plenty of kids both respected and feared him, and some even cursed him behind his back.
But whether they truly thought Old Man Liu was a good teacher or used to badmouth him nonstop, after graduating and heading off to college or work, years later, most would still sincerely call him a great teacher.
Old Man Liu sighed. "If something happened to that kid because of me, I'd never forgive myself."
When the others heard Old Man Liu, even Rachel Liu and the rest looked at him differently.
Howard Huang walked over to comfort him. "The student wasn't in the alley. Maybe they just went off somewhere and lost track of time. Don't worry, Mr. Liu—once I settle the students, I'll help you look for them."
Just then, someone spotted Evan Lin and Jill Jing walking over from not far away.
Jill Jing, short and petite, kept her head down and took tiny steps beside Evan Lin, looking soft and fragile.
"Evan Lin! Where did you go? Why was your phone off?"
Seeing Evan return, Old Man Liu's worry flipped to stern anger. He yelled at Evan, rare for him to actually lose his temper.
"I just took her out for a walk. She was in a bad mood, and my phone happened to die. Sorry about that," Evan explained, knowing Old Man Liu was really just worried about his safety.
The alley next to Peaceful Melody Restaurant was already sealed off—clearly, things had gotten serious.
"Sorry."
Jill Jing bowed to Old Man Liu.
"It's fine as long as you're safe! Next time, keep your phones on. If something happens, we need to be able to reach you," Old Man Liu took a deep breath, nodded at Evan. "Since you're back, go join the others and get some rest. It's not safe out there tonight."
"All of you, be careful."
He turned to remind the students behind him.
"What about you, sir?"
Someone asked.
"I'm heading to the hospital to check on Victor Qin from River City First High School."
Old Man Liu gave a few more reminders, then hailed a car and left for the hospital with Professor Gordon Gu and Howard Huang.
"Jill Jing, are you okay?"
"Did this guy bully you?"
"Yeah, Jill, don't be scared. If he bullied you, just tell us—we'll beat him up for you!"
As soon as Old Man Liu and the teachers left, a swarm of River City First High students rushed over, glancing at Jill Jing before glaring at Evan Lin with hostile faces.
It looked like if Jill said one word, they'd jump Evan right then and there.
But these study gods were all pretty skinny—just their eyes looked fierce.
"He didn't," Jill shook her head, stepping in front of Evan and seriously facing the River City First High students. Who knew if she was scared they'd bully Evan, or worried Evan might beat them all up in one go.
The others all knew Jill never lied, so when she said that, the skinny study gods relaxed a little.
One boy stepped up, nodded at Evan, and patted his shoulder. "Bro, don't take what we said earlier to heart. Too many people used to bully Jill, so we're just a little jumpy."
"But you better watch out. Even if you mean well, steer clear of Gavin Duan. That guy can't stand Jill getting hurt—even if he saw you with her, he'd probably beat you up first and ask questions later."
"Yeah, Gavin's a violent guy, but he's actually pretty decent. He always buys food for Jill, and whatever she can't finish, he shares with us." Another boy grinned.
"Honestly, we kinda respect Gavin too. So, we all look out for each other when we can—especially Jill. We all treat her like a little sister." A boy in glasses added.
The River City First High study gods chatted on, unusually friendly for once, not looking down on Evan at all.
What they didn't know was that, not far away in the darkness, Gavin Duan stood there wrapped head to toe in black clothes and gloves, watching them.
His hearing was now super sharp. Looking at the guys he'd once beaten up for teasing Jill, Gavin's nose twitched. "Bunch of bootlickers. Damn, guess I'll never get to drink with them again."