"How did you... how did you know my race?"
The man finally understood. He had stumbled upon something formidable. This seemingly harmless little boy, and the man behind him, were not to be trifled with!
"Greedy Blood?"
"Yes, not quite like a sea creature, but both are relatively rare races. They possess self-awareness, know how to seize human bodies, are formed from blood, and adore blood the most. This current body is not its true form; the blood flowing from within is."
Duan Chen flicked the blood from his hands, a frown creasing his brow.
"Sea creatures favor the heart for sacrificial offerings, whereas Greedy Blood simply craves blood, without being confined to a specific organ or part."
Ni Ya explained articulately, the man's complexion growing increasingly grim. He had never imagined that on a mere beach, someone would recognize his race.
Duan Chen activated his mind-reading ability.
"So that fat guy is called Zhu Ke, the skinny monkey is Hou Ce. You're all in this together. Your purpose here... a feast? What is that?"
Duan Chen's brow furrowed.
The man's face contorted in panic, "You... how did you know? Did you read my mind?!"
"A feast... it's actually a feast..."
Ni Ya also frowned slightly.
Duan Chen fixed his cold gaze on the man, "You're the one who harmed everyone in this area, aren't you? I've learned what I needed to know. Since that's the case, you're no longer of any value here."
The man panicked, his bravado crumbling as he roared, "So what? Your abilities can't affect my true form one bit!"
"Oh, really?"
Ni Ya raised his eyes gently, and then.
"Tch!"
His hand pierced directly through the man's chest. Duan Chen watched as the blood flowing from the man's ankles gradually dried up, and his eyes lost their vitality.
"Greedy Blood has only this one weakness. By possessing a human body, they become half-human. The connection point to the human flesh is the heart, so as long as the heart is destroyed, the Greedy Blood will naturally die."
"These beasts."
Duan Chen's frown deepened.
"What was he talking about, this feast?"
Ni Ya shook his head, "It would be best if you reported this to the Spirit Hunter Guild. The feast is far beyond our capabilities. It can be said that even for us apostles, intervening in activities of that level would be extremely difficult."
The severity of the situation far exceeded Duan Chen's imagination!
Given the importance of the matter, he immediately called Ming Yan, informing her of the situation at the beach. Even Ming Yan, upon hearing it, exclaimed, "A feast?!"
"Duan Chen, don't panic. Stabilize the situation at the beach. I suspect it's not just Greedy Blood; other self-aware heretics have likely gathered there."
"It seems your vacation plans are dashed. The feast is no trivial matter. If my guess is correct, the beach has already been occupied by those heretics, and the barrier has been erected. You both must be cautious!"
After saying this hastily, Ming Yan hung up the phone.
"Let's go to the hotel!"
"Alright."
Hotel.
Tu Fei Yuan was comfortably nestled in his cat bed. If not for the plump little Jian Jian beside him, he felt he might have been even more comfortable.
That unscrupulous god actually made him look after a cat? Truly immoral.
Tu Fei Yuan closed his eyes and grumbled mentally. Suddenly, he felt something was amiss. The sensation beside him was sticky and gooey. Could it be that this cat...
"Meow!"
He leaped up instantly, only to see a viscous substance smeared all over Little Jian Jian. The goo wriggled twice and actually sprouted two eyes!
Tu Fei Yuan froze completely. Then he realized that not only was Little Jian Jian covered in the goo, but the entire cat bed, and indeed the entire room, was coated in it. Xi Er, lying on the bed, had her head detached and stuck to the wall by the goo clinging to the back of her head...
"Meow—!"
"Roar—!"
Terrified, Tu Fei Yuan directly mimicked the sounds, alerting everyone.
"What's wrong with you, cat?! It's the middle of the night, ahhh—!"
They each had keys to each other's rooms. Ding Ding had just opened the door and stepped into the goo, falling face-first onto the ground.
"Holy crap!"
Tian Qi, following closely behind, was startled and almost suffered the same fate.
"What's going on? Why is her head detached again?"
On the wall, Xi Er slowly opened her drowsy eyes. Suddenly, she noticed that the position of her body within her field of vision seemed somewhat incorrect...
"Huh?"
"Miss."
Wei Er Ben Ya appeared at the doorway and discreetly attached a small magnetic piece behind Tian Qi.
"Unvirtuous..."
Before she could even utter "ness," Tian Qi, with a blank expression, walked into the room, detached Xi Er's head from the wall, pulled her body out of the goo, and brought it over to Wei Er Ben Ya.
"Meow meow!"
Tu Fei Yuan was extremely scared. Helplessly, Wei Er Ben Ya controlled Tian Qi to take him and Little Jian Jian out as well.
"What is this thing?"
"It's a heretic."
Qi Qing, rubbing his sleepy eyes, appeared behind them at some point.
"A heretic?"
Tian Qi resentfully threw the magnetic piece onto the ground and stomped on it, her voice laced with confusion.
"Yes, but this kind of heretic doesn't usually appear by the beach. What's happening today?"
Sheng Chen took some of the goo from Little Jian Jian. The goo immediately stuck to his hand, and it stared up at Sheng Chen with its adorably blank eyes.
"It seems to have been attracted by something..."
"Aow—!"
"...I think."
The scream came from Bai Ye's room. They rushed over and found Jia Yun Lian already standing at the doorway, her blood vine whip extended, wrapping around Bai Ye.
"What in the world is that thing..."
Bai Ye wanted to cry but had no tears, retreating behind Jia Yun Lian.
Jia Yun Lian: ...
"What's wrong?"
"It's a heretic."
"Another heretic?"
The group of them looked into the room. Inside Bai Ye's room, a disgusting worm secreting goo was wriggling. The worm was human-sized, its plump body undulating as it slowly approached.
"Ew—"
"Who's going?"
"I... I'll do it."
Ding Ding, having just escaped the goo, held her scale knife but hesitated to strike.
Tian Qi kicked her away.
"Go to hell—"
"Clang!"
The angle was surprisingly good. The scale knife directly sliced the worm in half. One half landed on the floor, the other on the bed.
Ding Ding retreated frantically.
"What's going on? These heretics are usually very timid and don't appear in crowded places."
Sheng Chen found it strange.
Another scream, this time from Yan Qiu Ren.
Similarly, her room had been invaded by a strange entity. After eliminating the anomaly and rescuing Yan Qiu Ren, they all felt something was seriously amiss.
Could this hotel be a nest for these anomalies?
"It's not a nest."
Wu Suo Wei walked out of his room, still dragging a broad-shouldered man.
It was Zhu Ke.
His eyes deepened.
"It's the feast."