Chapter 15

After a moment of daze, Chen Yang walked out of the basement and into the alley.

It was already close to midnight, and the alley was pitch black. Many households had already turned off their lights and gone to bed, and there were no streetlights in the dilapidated alley, making it terrifyingly dark.

Chen Yang had lived here for over a decade, and even in the darkness, it didn't affect his walking. He turned left and right along the alley and arrived at a relatively large open space.

Although this open space wasn't very big, there was a temporary stall selling beer and barbecue all night. At that moment, a few young men were drinking and chatting with their shirts off.

Chen Yang, feeling extremely hungry, walked over and called out, "Uncle Wang, two bottles of beer and thirty beef skewers, please."

"Oh, it's Xiao Chen. You're still awake at this hour of the night?"

Uncle Wang, who was over forty, had been running this barbecue stall for over a decade and was very familiar with Chen Yang, who lived nearby.

"I'm hungry and want to have some late-night snacks."

Chen Yang replied casually, then moved closer and scanned the area. "Yeah, in addition to the beef skewers, add ten quail egg skewers, ten potato skewers, ten pork loin skewers, and ten chicken wing skewers."

"So many, can you finish all of that?"

Uncle Wang was surprised; this amount was too much for one person to eat.

"Yeah, a friend came over, so please pack it up for me. I'll take it home after it's done."

Chen Yang lied without changing his expression.

"Oh, I see. Wait a moment."

There were five tables at the stall. The three young men occupied one, and Chen Yang sat at another.

Once seated, Chen Yang didn't know what to do. In the past, he could play on his phone for a long time, but after the bizarre events of the past two days, he had no interest in playing with his phone.

He sat there in a daze, while the three young men at the nearby stall were having a heated conversation.

"Monkey, who are you trying to fool? You're talking about water ghosts? Do you still believe in such feudal superstitions?"

A young man with yellow hair drank a cup of beer and said disdainfully.

"I'm not lying. If you don't believe me, ask Brother Liu. He was there too."

Monkey's eyes bulged as he looked at Brother Liu.

Brother Liu naturally wouldn't admit it, or he would seem cowardly. He laughed and said, "Ghost? What ghost? Monkey, you've had too much to drink."

"Who, who has had too much? Brother Liu, don't you remember? It was at East Suburb Park last night..."

Monkey was getting anxious.

"Slap!"

Brother Liu slapped Monkey's head in annoyance. "You still don't believe you've had too much? I was at home sleeping last night. Who went to East Suburb Park?"

Monkey, though foolish, understood Brother Liu's meaning and immediately shut up.

The young man with yellow hair chuckled. "Monkey, you're good at everything except for your courage. If you want to hang out with Old Liu, you need to be braver. Otherwise, you'll embarrass him, got it?"

"I..."

Monkey mumbled a few words but didn't dare say anything in front of Brother Liu.

"By the way, we're looking for something to do tonight. Are you in?"

The young man with yellow hair asked casually.

Brother Liu's eyes lit up. "What? Are we going to...?"

"Hehe..."

The young man with yellow hair gestured with his eyes, directing Brother Liu and Monkey to look at Chen Yang, who was waiting for his barbecue. "See that guy? We'll take care of him tonight."

Brother Liu and Monkey exchanged glances, their hearts filled with excitement. They had heard that Wang Rui was quite bold and had done some dirty work before. They didn't expect to be working with him tonight.

Wang Rui, the young man with yellow hair, saw Brother Liu and Monkey's excited expressions and smiled "modestly." He touched the dagger in his pocket, feeling nothing special.

He had robbed people in this area four or five times, always choosing remote places and late nights. He had succeeded every time, and no one from the police station had come to investigate, making him bolder. This time, he wanted to bring the two "junior" members along to see the action.

The three of them decided on their target, and their eyes became restless, occasionally glancing at Chen Yang's back. They watched him take two bottles of beer, pack a large portion of barbecue, pay, and leave. They quickly got up to pay as well.

There were still some people in the area who hadn't gone to sleep, so the three of them couldn't act immediately. They followed Chen Yang from a distance of about ten meters, walking leisurely behind him.

"Clang..."

After following for about twenty meters, Wang Rui touched his dagger, but before he could react, two beer bottles rolled over with a clanging sound.

"Huh, did that guy throw away the two bottles of beer?"

Brother Liu was surprised, and Monkey kicked the bottles with his foot, saying in shock, "The bottles are empty."

"Empty?

"Drank that fast?"

Wang Rui didn't think much about it. He pulled out his dagger and whispered, "Follow him."

With the dagger in hand, he sprinted into the dark alley, and Brother Liu and Monkey quickly followed. The sound of their footsteps echoed in the alley. However, to their surprise, the person who had just entered the alley was nowhere to be seen after just a few seconds.

"Where did he go?"

Monkey was puzzled.

"Huh, did he go through?"

Brother Liu was also confused. Logically, the alley was surrounded by walls on both sides, with no doors to hide behind. In just a few seconds, it was impossible for someone to disappear completely.

Monkey took out his phone and used the flashlight app to shine around. The alley was indeed empty, but the food bag and the dozens of skewer sticks on the ground were very noticeable.

Silence fell, and the three of them were speechless.

Finally, Monkey managed a weak smile. "It can't be the leftovers from that guy, right?"

"Ha, how could that be? Have you ever seen someone finish over sixty skewers in less than ten seconds?"

Wang Rui immediately denied it, especially since there were about ten chicken wing skewers.

"Then, where did that guy go?"

Brother Liu suddenly shivered.

"Uh, he must have noticed us and ran away."

Wang Rui could only explain it that way.

Ran that fast?

Brother Liu didn't quite believe it. From the time the guy threw away the beer bottles to when they started chasing him, it was only a few seconds. Who could disappear completely in just a few seconds?

Even though he said it and provided an explanation, the three of them felt a chill. Wang Rui was better, but Brother Liu and Monkey had just encountered a "water ghost" at East Suburb Park the night before. Now, they felt their legs trembling.

"Cough, cough, I'm a bit full tonight. I think we should all go home and rest. We can meet up another day?"

Brother Liu was almost covered in goosebumps.

"Uh, Brother Liu is right. I'm a bit tired tonight. Let's meet up another day."

Wang Rui, who was also scared, laughed and said he wanted to leave.

"Um, can we go out together and then split up?"

Monkey weakly suggested.

Wang Rui and Brother Liu looked at each other, then glared at Monkey and cursed, "You coward."

Despite their words, the two of them unhesitatingly accompanied Monkey out of the alley.

On the other side, Chen Yang, who had returned home, didn't realize he had scared someone again. Feeling only half full, he patted his stomach and quickly made himself a pound of noodles, eating them with a few big gulps of soup. Only then did he feel that his stomach had something in it.

Sigh, when will this miserable life end?

Chen Yang was indignant. He felt that he had another reason to hate his right hand: it had turned him into a pig!

No, not a pig.

Chen Yang quickly corrected himself. How could he compare himself to a pig? He should say a food bucket!

Parents often hope their children eat more because eating more means a good digestive system and good health. However, if someone eats seven or eight times more than a normal person, no parent would be happy.

Chen Yang's digestive system was almost beyond the limit. No one in heaven or on earth could save him. He even suspected that his stomach had turned into a food grinder, crushing everything that went in, which was why he was always hungry.