Nightmare’s Call

Chapter 170: Light: Part 1

“Sheng Sheng, why are you still not coming home? It is late and the dinner is ready.” His mother, Gu Wanqiu, had just served the braised ribs on the table and shot a glance at Lin Zhounian, who was reading a newspaper on the side. “Can’t you show more concern for your son? Don’t you make me more worried than I already am, you old man!”

Lin Zhounian retorted helplessly, “Did he not leave a note? This rascal listens to no one. He is treating his home as merely a hotel!”

Lin Xiao peeked at the sky outside; it was mid-noon. Without an internet connection, the newspaper was the only means of learning news of the outside world. Even then, those news outlets were under the control of Redwin, which would only let the people read what it wanted them to read.

“I wonder when days like this will be over…” Lin Xiao sighed.

“Forget about him. Let us first eat. The rascal has told me that he is working as a trainer in some gym and sports club. I think it is real. Just look at his body shape; he eats like a pig and could wolf down an entire bucket of rice in ten minutes. It would be a waste if he did not work in the gym.” Lin Zhounian grumbled as he pulled a chair over.

“It is pointless to talk about that when the prices of food have soured again today,” Gu Wanqiu said helplessly as she sat down at the table. “I heard that the supply of goods in the market is dwindling. I’m afraid something is happening again.”

“This turbulent times…” Lin Zhounian began to mumble with his head lowered, but no one could hear what he was muttering about. He had closed the shutter of his grocery store recently because it had been running out of supply. He needed to reserve what remained in his store for the family. Now, his family was living off their savings. He heard that Redwin was implementing a ‘work in exchange for goods’ program. But he was not so sure. “The war has just broken out all of a sudden.” Lin Zhounian sighed. “Come and eat, Xiao Xiao,” he called out at Lin Xiao, who was also reading the paper.

“Right away.” Lin Xiao glanced at the chair where Lin Sheng usually sat, feeling slightly worried. “Have you put aside something for Sheng Sheng?”

“He has his portion, no worries,” said Gu Wanqiu as she put a large piece of braised rib in her daughter’s bowl. The braised rib was the mother’s favorite dish too. But the family will be running out of meat soon and meats were getting more expensive by the day, she held back her urge and picked the veggie instead.

As Gu Wanqiu pulled back her sight, she saw a piece of braised pork in her bowl. She looked at Lin Zhounian, her husband, who was tucking in the plain rice with his head lowered. She suddenly felt an emotion rise in her; no matter how hard life was, they would be able to sail through the difficult times as a family.

…

Lin Sheng’s hand and the black-haired woman’s leg collided. Both were forced to bounce a step back before they lunged at each other again. The fire was burning even more fiercely in the surroundings. A rider and a disciple were lying on the floor, leaving five vault guards surrounding and attacking the purple cocoon. The shockwave from the heavy blows of fists and legs stirred the flames dancing back and forth. The blood on Lin Sheng’s mouth and nose had dried up, while the woman’s face was pale with a pair of black wings already spreading open on her back. Both of them had come to the point of no return; they either fought or died.

While sacred power was helping Lin Sheng to heal, the dark energy was healing the woman after she transformed into a Dark Winger. It seemed that they were evenly matched; no one could claim superiority over the other. As the fight went on, Lin Sheng finally sent a heavy blow to the neck of the woman while the woman reciprocated with a brutal kick in his chest. At last, the woman spat blood and passed out.

“It is over.” He clenched the throat of the woman with his hand, and with the twist of his hand, he crackled her neck. The breath left the woman, and she became motionless. Meanwhile, not far away, the male rider was killed on the spot when a pair of swords penetrated his chest.

Feeling dizzy, Lin Sheng tossed the body on the floor and leaned on the wall. He might have won the battle, but he had also exhausted his energy. The injury he suffered this time was more severe than at any time in the past.

“The club might not be sustainable again…” He glanced at the bodies in the corridor. The Ironfist Society had suffered a heavy casualty in the attack. If there were more such assaults, the club would quickly go belly-up by just paying death gratuity alone.

“Just hope it all ends here.” Lin Sheng pulled himself to his feet with a forced smile. “The situation would have been worse had the explosives not removed earlier.”

Coming out of the corridor into the main hall, he could not have cared less about the fire in the premise. Once he was out in the hall, he saw a tall man standing silently outside the entrance. He could roughly make out his appearance: thirtyish of age, wearing a pale-yellow coat, a round hat of the same color—or maybe slightly darker, and gray-framed glasses with a black scarf on his chest. It seemed like he had just attended a funeral.

Lin Sheng felt goosebumps all over his skin the moment he saw the man. He held his breath and took a step back. What was terrifying about this man was that he looked exactly like Major Dondi, whom Lin Sheng had ripped apart earlier. The only difference between this man and Major Dondi, however, was the pervasive dark energy that spread like wildfire from this man. This dark energy, imperceptible to average humans and twice the strength of the dark energy of the two riders combined, was visible when Lin Sheng was in his half-dragon form.

“I hope he hasn’t seen me.” Lin Sheng slowly retreated, too scared to even make a sound. But the man took off his hat and walked into the hall after looking up at the weather in the sky. Lin Sheng turned and ran at once. Just then, several plumes of black smoke flew past him, materializing into vault guards to meet the man.

“Where go?” A streak of yellow light flashed past the vault guards and stopped in front of Lin Sheng. The light materialized and transformed back into the shape of the man wearing the yellow coat.

Lin Sheng ground to a halt, his body muscles stiffened, and eyes staring warily at the man. “Who are you?” he asked back.

Apparently, this man was not with the two riders. That explained why he had waited until the two riders had died before he came in. The man’s mouth twitched as he fiddled with the only bundle of yellow hair on his head.

“Let me ask you a question: did you kill my little brother, Dondi?”

Lin Sheng’s face showed no expression. “Dondi? I don’t’ know. I am merely the chief of a branch, a small potato in the Ironfist Society Headquarters. Do you think I can kill your little brother?”

“You don’t look like you could,” the man nodded in agreement, “and that’s why I have been waiting on the outside.”

“I don’t—”

“If you say ‘I don’t’ know’ again, I will kill you,” said the man threateningly yet calmly, his back leaning against the wall and not minding the fire spreading toward him at all.

“I have volunteered for this mission just because I want to find out who killed my little brother. You may live if you tell the truth.”

Lin Sheng was silent. “I really have no idea,” he then said. “There was an explosion just when Major Dondi walked to the door. My men and I tried to stop him, but it was too late.”

“Lie!” The man’s expression suddenly changed. “Let me ask you again: did you kill my little brother?”

“Of course not!”

“Lie again! Eat this!” The man’s arms suddenly broke up into a swarm of electric yellow snakes, grabbing Lin Sheng. Lin Sheng had no time to dodge. It all happened too fast. He was severely injured, and his body reflexes were slow.

“When the world mourns in sorrow, I gouge the darkness out of my heart and bury it. So light is what is left of me.”

As a crisp, childish voice was heard before Lin Sheng, a hand suddenly reached from a white shadow, caught the yellow electric snakes.

Holding the passed out Elba in one hand and the yellow electric light in the other, Khadula suddenly emerged out of thin air with a murderous look on his face. As their shadows came into each other, white arms under their feet spread in all directions like a flood.

“Now, what do you want to do with my light?”