The young man curled his lips into a smile, grabbed a skull and twisted off its head, then crushed the entire cranium and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing with a “crunch, crunch” sound: “Me? My clan is born this way.”

“The soul of the living, the heart of the dead, redemption for the unatoned, the cycle yet unfinished.” The young man suddenly recited, word by word, the inscription on the back of the Soulbound Order. He gripped a skeleton’s limbs, snapping them off like picking corn, holding them in his hands and crushing them. He let out a cold laugh, “Whoever left these words must have been a complete fool!”

Because of Charles Gray’s “special” human status, when he joined, he only signed a labor contract and was not bound by the Soulbound Order, so he only vaguely knew of its existence and had never really seen it. The first time he heard these words was actually from the mouth of some unknown monster, and now Charles Gray’s mind was filled with these sentences, leaving him momentarily stunned.

In his daze, the electric baton in his hand naturally fell silent.

A lurking specter, which had been eyeing him from the corner, suddenly seized the opportunity and lunged at the unresponsive Charles Gray.

At that moment, a skeleton left behind by Carter Shaw suddenly moved like a real person—it stepped forward at an angle, spread its arms, and used its body, with only two rib plates left, to shield Charles Gray.

The specter instantly smashed the skeleton to pieces. Charles Gray hurriedly stumbled back two steps, tripped over a large crack in the ground, and fell hard on his backside. He closed his eyes and raised the electric baton above his head. Just as the specter’s massive claws were about to touch his head, the baton erupted.

…The specter was now about seventy percent cooked.

Charles Gray sat on the ground, gasping for breath. The skeleton that had just been scattered by the specter wobbled and reassembled itself, slowly walking up to Charles Gray.

Although Charles Gray knew they were all creations of Carter Shaw, seeing it slowly reach out its pale, bony hand toward him still made him shrink back involuntarily. But to his surprise, the skeleton merely placed its hand on his head, as if to comfort him, gently patting his hair.

If a forensic doctor or identification expert were present, perhaps they could have told Charles Gray that this human skeleton belonged to a male, very young, probably just over twenty.

The soul of the living and the heart of the dead—perhaps in every set of bones about to turn to dust, there remains a sliver of memory, like a fleeting glimmer.

Charles Gray didn’t understand why, but his eyes stung for no reason.

Then the skeleton turned around and stood guard for him.

Suddenly, a thunder-like rumble sounded. At first it was indistinct, but it grew louder and louder. Charles Gray reflexively looked up at the sky, only to see that the stars and moon had vanished, as if darkness had suddenly fallen. Yet there was no lightning to be seen. Only then did he realize that the “thunder” was coming from underground.

All the skeletons, including those that had been clinging to the strange young man, suddenly fell silent. Their teeth chattered, producing a peculiar harmony, as if they too knew fear and were trembling.

Even the specters on the ground stopped moving, lying in various postures with their ears pressed to the earth, as if listening for something.

Carter Shaw had no idea what was happening, but instinctively sensed danger. He was decisive in a fight and just as quick to flee—leaping down from the wall, Carter Shaw grabbed Charles Gray by the collar. Charles Gray’s vision blurred, and before he knew what was happening, he found himself almost being dragged along the ground, “flying” forward.

Suddenly, as he sped along the ground, Carter Shaw leapt upward, bounding onto the rooftop in a few swift moves. The speed whipped up a biting night wind. Charles Gray couldn’t help but look down, and immediately understood why Carter Shaw had jumped onto the roof—the entire ground had turned into a massive pit of black gas, bottomless, with thick darkness surging from the cracks.

The young man suddenly tore off his human skin, and a gigantic monster burst out from within. Led by him, all the specters howled at the sky in unison.

Without looking back, Carter Shaw dragged Charles Gray all the way to the edge of the small town, found their parked car, yanked open the door, and practically threw Charles Gray inside. He barely bothered to close the door before slamming on the gas, rocketing away with a burst of acceleration.

Charles Gray: “Just now, what was that?”

Carter Shaw replied in a low voice, “I don’t know.”

Charles Gray was still confused: “Then why are we running?”

Carter Shaw was driving at well over the speed limit, treating the car like an airplane. Charles Gray felt as if all four wheels had left the ground. He heard his Brother Carter say coldly, “If you don’t run, you won’t live to see the sun tomorrow, idiot.”

Charles Gray’s eyes widened: “Then what about Director Sullivan and the others?”

Carter Shaw frowned: “Call them.”

Charles Gray fumbled for his phone from his waist pouch and checked: “No signal.”

Carter Shaw’s frown deepened.

“But where are we supposed to go? Where should we run?”

Carter Shaw spun the steering wheel, making a sharp turn as the tires screeched against the road: “Up the mountain—the higher, the better.”

The villa town was built around the mountain scenery and hot springs, at the foot of a mountain about a thousand meters high. Fortunately, it was a well-developed tourist spot, with a winding road for cars to ascend the mountain, though it was closed at night for safety.

Carter Shaw floored the gas and crashed through the safety barrier, driving up the mountain without hesitation—escaping to higher ground seemed instinctive for him. After a brief moment of calm, Carter Shaw remembered that when Buzhou Mountain collapsed in ancient times, all the clans had also sought refuge on a certain immortal mountain.

Fragments of ancient myth seemed to guide him in the dark.

Charles Gray looked down through the car window. Not a single light was on in the villa town below; it looked like a gaping mouth, ready to swallow everything. Suddenly, his vision blurred—it had started to rain.

Amid the sound of pouring rain, he wasn’t sure if it was just his nerves, but Charles Gray heard an indescribable roar, filled with malice and bone-chilling cold. He couldn’t help but shiver violently.

Carter Shaw took just over half an hour to drive to the top of the mountain. The very summit was inaccessible by car; there was a small stone path carved by hand, followed by a precarious-looking suspension bridge. Though it had railings, it looked dangerous in the rain. At the end was a stalactite cave, usually bustling with tourists.

At night, there was no one on duty at the summit. Carter Shaw said, “Take your electric baton. There’s water and food in the trunk—grab as much as you can. There should also be a spare lighter left by Director Sullivan in the car. Find it and bring it. Then let’s go!”

The two of them took off their jackets and covered their heads, rushing up the stone path to the stalactite cave as fast as they could. Only then did Charles Gray have a chance to catch his breath. He glanced down and saw that beneath the crude railing was a thousand-meter cliff. Remembering how he’d just sprinted across the swaying suspension bridge, his legs nearly gave out.

Carter Shaw took out his phone and found he had no signal either. It was as if the entire world had been cut off. He took off his soaked shirt, sat bare-chested to one side, waved away the food and water Charles Gray offered, and looked out with a grim expression: “Something big is happening.”

The two took turns keeping watch. In the second half of the night, Charles Gray insisted on taking over from Carter Shaw. Carter Shaw didn’t care either way, glanced at the little electric baton Charles Gray clung to, and silently leaned against the cold stone wall of the cave to rest with his eyes closed.

Charles Gray forced himself to stay alert, sitting upright at the cave entrance, gripping his little electric baton.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but it felt like dawn should be near, yet there was still no sign of light. At that moment, the whistle around Carter Shaw’s neck, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly sounded a few times, not too loud or soft. Charles Gray rubbed his eyes, turned on his flashlight, dabbed a bit of ox tears, and looked outside—through the wind and rain, he saw a figure, seemingly a young girl, hanging from the swaying railing of the suspension bridge!

Carter Shaw woke up at the first sound of the whistle and glanced outside the cave: “Hmm, a little ghost girl.”

Charles Gray took a few steps forward, squinting hard to see: “I know that girl. I’ve seen her family’s photos and her ID. They say she never came home after her night shift.”

Carter Shaw: “Give me a bottle. You wait here.”