Beep… beep…
Beep… beep…
Inside Little Tommy’s bedroom, a fully armed individual holding a Bole Detector was inspecting the space outside the window, seemingly searching for traces left behind by something.
The reading on the detector gradually rose before finally stopping at a certain number.
At the same time, a woman’s voice came through the communication system inside the armed individual’s helmet.
“Patrol No. 7, report the analysis. Over.”
“This is Patrol No. 7. According to the Bole Detector results, there is indeed residual Nether Breath outside the victim’s window. Based on the time the victim reported the incident, it should be a ‘Baoshou’ level Guiyi.”
“Baoshou level? That is within our capabilities. Patrol No. 3, what is the situation in your field of vision?”
On the roof of another residential building directly across from this one, a Patrol had already set up a heavy firearm similar to a sniper rifle.
A specialized scope allowed him to see everything clearly in the dark, even a Guiyi.
“Nothing found yet.”
“Received. Continue to standby.”
The Patrol in the living room cut the communication and looked toward the small boy on the sofa, who was being held tightly by his parents.
She took off her helmet, revealing a fairly clear-featured face.
She walked over to the boy’s side and asked in a tone completely different from before, “Little one, can you tell this big sister what you saw at the time?”
“Black… black… very long… white face… tapping on the window.”
Little Tommy spoke incoherently, clearly having not yet fully emerged from his earlier terror.
Realizing the boy’s emotional state was unstable and that he needed to rest, the female Patrol did not continue questioning him.
Instead, she reached out to her colleague for several pieces of candy.
These were kept on hand to soothe victims; they had a certain sedative effect and, of course, no side effects.
After stuffing a few candies into Little Tommy’s hand, the Patrol turned to look at his parents.
“How many times has that Guiyi appeared?”
“This month, it has already been the fourth time.”
“Why didn’t you notify us the first three times?”
“Because…”
Little Tommy’s mother’s eyes flickered, and his father did not know how to explain.
The female Patrol did not press them.
They had seen many situations like this.
Parents would not believe a child’s words, treating the “monsters” or “ghosts” the child saw as mere fantasies, which often resulted in grave mistakes.
“What time does it appear?”
“Usually it is close to midnight. At that time, Little Tommy will come and knock on the door, saying he saw a monster.”
“Does it appear again after midnight?”
“That… we aren’t quite sure. Because after Tommy comes to call us once, one of us usually goes to sleep with him. At least under our supervision, we haven’t seen any Guiyi monsters.”
“It only appears when the child is alone? I see… There are about 6 hours left until dawn. We will set up defenses nearby, and then Little Tommy can go back to his bed to rest.”
“That monster… will it really not come back?”
After eating the candy, Little Tommy was still a bit afraid.
Hearing this, the female Patrol came over and patted his head, comforting him, “Don’t worry, everything will be fine. However, just in case… Little Tommy, do you want to learn something?”
***
Time: 2:45 AM.
On the street, only a few cars occasionally drove by, making the roar of engines.
The originally pouring rain had turned into a drizzle, as if veiling the entire night in mystery.
On the roof of the other building directly facing Little Tommy’s bedroom, that Patrol was still positioned with the heavy sniper rifle, observing the movements near the corresponding floor.
Black drones also hovered around, checking the Nether Breath of the entire building.
If there was a sign of sudden strengthening, the drones could immediately lock onto it.
However, as the minutes and seconds ticked by, the Guiyi Little Tommy described did not appear within the field of vision of the drones or Patrol No. 3.
At this time, the rain gradually stopped.
“It seems the Guiyi won’t be coming tonight. Let’s withdraw for now,” the female Patrol, who was hidden in the living room with the other Patrols, said through the communication system in her helmet.
After the other Patrols confirmed the order, they replied that they had received it and left their original positions one after another.
There were other Guiyi in this city; they could not spend all their time on this one family.
Furthermore, just now, they had received an investigation request from another family, and the situation described was strikingly similar to this one.
“We are leaving now. If anything happens, notify us again.”
The female Patrol spoke to Tommy’s parents, who were also hiding in the living room, before she left.
Tommy’s parents could understand.
After all, they couldn’t delay the rescue of others because of their own family’s problems, right?
However, they did not notice that when this female Patrol left their home, she did not completely close the door…
The drones flew away from the target floor, and Patrol No. 3 on the opposite rooftop had already packed up his firearm.
Everything returned to how it was before…
Little Tommy was still curled up in his blankets.
Even though he had eaten the candy given by that Patrol, the intense fear still made it difficult for him to fall asleep.
Whoosh—
The night wind blew in from the window, making an unsettling, howl-like sound.
“Ugh…”
Little Tommy let out a low moan of fear.
He remembered clearly that the Patrol with the detector had closed the window after finishing the inspection.
Rustle…
The curtains were pulled open again by some unseen force.
Under the magnification of fear on his senses, the friction sound was even more pronounced.
“I… know… where… you… are…”
That extremely low and raspy voice appeared again.
A black, distorted figure rubbed against the wall, appearing bit by bit on the glass.
“They… can’t… see… me…”
That voice, which sounded as if it were coming from a constricted throat, still persisted, and… it was closer than before.
It had already entered through the window and was standing in the bedroom.
“But… you… can…”
Tommy could not hear any footsteps, but he knew the monster was still approaching him.
“Ngh… uh…” His voice seemed to be choked off, and he could only let out indistinct whimpers.
Tears of terror gradually flowed from the corners of his eyes.
“Follow… me…”
“Be… me…”
***
Bang!
Just as the distorted humanoid monster reached Tommy’s bed, a pale blue energy bolt suddenly hit it, knocking it violently back to the edge of the window.
At this moment, Tommy was lying on the bed.
The remains of the quilt had flown everywhere due to the excessive force of the impact.
And on his bed lay a firearm identical to the ones held by those Patrols earlier.
Without a doubt, that shot just now had been fired by Tommy.
Bang!
The sound of a door being kicked open suddenly rang out.
Two Patrols who had been hiding at the entrance immediately rushed into the living room and ran all the way to Tommy’s bedroom.
“Patrol No. 3, get in position immediately!”
“Copy that. Patrol No. 3 is in position!”
“Drones released. Continuously locking onto target location.”
Patrol No. 3, hiding on the opposite rooftop, set up the heavy sniper rifle again.
The scope accurately aimed at the head of the Guiyi leaning against the window, and then he pulled the trigger.
There was another bang of a gunshot.
The energy bolt fired from outside the window struck the Guiyi’s head with unerring precision, causing it to explode instantly.
The two Patrols who reached the bedroom did not let down their guard upon seeing the remains of the Guiyi slumped on the floor.
Instead, they took the firearms in their hands and fired follow-up shots until the Guiyi completely turned into Wart Crystals.
Only then did they relax their vigilance.
“Target Guiyi eliminated. Confirmed transformation into Wart Crystals. I repeat, target Guiyi eliminated. Confirmed transformation into Wart Crystals.”
“Copy. Continuing surveillance.”
After hearing the commotion in their child’s bedroom, the parents, who were already half-awake, immediately rushed out of their room and came to the bedroom.
They were met with the sight of Tommy lying on the bed, a messy bedroom, and… two Patrols.
“You… didn’t you leave?”
“Some left. After all, we have other missions to carry out,” the leading female Patrol said as she gathered the Wart Crystals from the floor.
“But we’ve seen plenty of Guiyi like this that only appear before a specific person. So we pretended to leave but actually left two of us outside the door. And while we were at it… we gave this child a weapon. It serves for self-defense and can notify us that the Guiyi has arrived.”
While she was speaking, the two parents had already walked to the child’s side, checking his body up and down for wounds.
Fortunately, the child himself was safe and sound.
As for the things that had been destroyed… please, how could they be more important than the child himself?
“Thank you so much,” Tommy’s father said, weeping with gratitude, while simultaneously taking out his phone.
“How about… I buy some things and send them to you as a gift?”
“No need. It’s just part of the job. We have other matters to attend to, so we’ll be going now.”
“Yes, then let me see you out.”
The mother stood up to see the two Patrols off, while the father continued to stay by Tommy’s side.
The two Patrols confirmed the situation in the bedroom once more.
After finding no other abnormalities, they followed the mother out.
But…
“Captain! Look back!”
Patrol No. 3’s voice suddenly came through the helmet, startling the female Patrol into immediately turning her head toward the bed.
Beneath the child, a pitch-black rift had appeared at some unknown time.
Hands stretching out from within were tightly clutching him, dragging him inside.
The father tried to pull him back, but the strength of those hands was not something he could contend with.
The two Patrols raised their guns, attempting to shoot through some of the hands to slow the descent.
But at the very moment they raised their guns to lock on, an invisible force pinned them firmly against the wall, rendering them unable to move.
Despite the protection of their armor and the self-activating Miasma Shields, which prevented them from taking much damage, the powerful pressure continued to press them into the wall.
“I’m… still here…”
That voice that had terrified Tommy so much rang out again.
And this time… he wasn’t the only one who could hear it.
“I… will watch you… forever.”
Its distorted figure slowly emerged from the ground, rising before everyone’s eyes.
Finally, that pale face stared at the people in front of it, staring at everyone in the room.
“All… of… you…”
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