Chapter 129: Targeted by the Blood Drop Believers?
Once the purge order was given,
Xinghai City was no longer so peaceful.
It was afternoon, and still early.
The streets were bustling with pedestrians.
Some hurried along, while others chatted and laughed.
Students in school uniforms laughed and horsed around in groups of two and three.
Pedestrian streets and shopping malls showcased the city’s prosperity.
But among them,
people in hats weaved through the crowd.
Some were alone, others in small groups.
They all had one thing in common:
they all kept their heads slightly bowed, walking in complete silence.
If you looked closely, you would notice faint green veins covering their faces.
Their eyes, in particular, were tinged with red.
"Stop!"
On a bustling street,
a burly man with a cigarette dangling from his mouth blocked the path of three young men.
The three youths froze, quickly looking up.
The moment they made eye contact with the man,
they turned and scattered without a word, trying to flee.
THUD THUD THUD—
One by one, the three men were kicked back to where they started.
The heavy thuds of them hitting the pavement immediately sent the surrounding pedestrians scattering.
They stared in terror at the three youths.
"Damn it, still trying to run? Take them all away!"
Chu Zhengxiong roared.
Several police officers in uniform came forward and handcuffed the three men.
Chu Zhengxiong walked up to them and tore off their hats.
Hideous, terrifying faces were revealed to the onlookers.
They were all bald, with veins of various sizes.
The disgusting, worm-like veins snaked up from their necks, covering their faces and scalps.
Their pupils glowed with a blood-red light,
and their lips were a bruised, purplish-black.
No matter how you looked at them, you could barely call them human anymore.
"Blood Drop? Fucking disgusting. Take them away!"
After Chu Zhengxiong cursed a few more times,
he completely ignored the astonished gazes of the onlookers and strode toward the police car parked nearby.
However, similar scenes
were playing out all over Xinghai City.
These Blood Drop Believers, hidden among the ordinary people,
were all being rooted out, one by one.
During their capture, any who resisted were killed on the spot.
For a time, the entire city was gripped by panic.
Those who had been out shopping all ended their trips early and hurried home.
The afternoon passed.
Over a hundred Blood Drop Believers had already been captured.
The number killed on the spot had already reached over thirty.
And the "Purge" plan had only just begun.
This was all just an appetizer.
The real battle was about to begin.
...
"I’m telling you guys, don’t take this lightly!"
"Absolutely do not go out, and don’t wander around outside. Just go straight home!"
When the day’s training ended,
Lin Yi, Sun Tao, and Hu Quan left the Martial Arts Hall together.
Sun Tao was still chattering on, warning the others.
Hu Quan and Li Xuewen both nodded.
"Alright, stop nagging! It’s been a whole afternoon, my ears are about to fall off!"
"Master Sun, I promise I’ll go straight home. Happy now?"
Both of them wore pleading expressions.
Only Lin Yi, Zhou Qi, and Shen Mengyi couldn’t stop laughing.
In truth, regarding Sun Tao’s behavior,
Lin Yi could understand him; what happened last night had clearly left its mark.
While he was warning others, he was also warning himself.
"Hurry back. It’s still early, so we’re heading out too!"
At the bus stop,
the group waited for their buses.
After a short while, two arrived in a row.
One was the bus Sun Tao, Zhou Qi, and Hu Quan needed.
Sun Tao nodded, but just before he boarded, he turned back to glance at Lin Yi.
"You be careful too!"
"Yeah, don’t worry!"
After Sun Tao and the others got on the bus, only Lin Yi and Shen Mengyi were left at the stop.
"I’ll take you home."
"Huh? Oh, you don’t have to, do you?" Shen Mengyi was startled.
Her face flushed.
Lin Yi smiled. "I promised your brother I’d take care of you."
"Oh... okay!"
Shen Mengyi lowered her head slightly, inwardly delighted.
She had no idea what Shen Yuzhe had actually said to Lin Yi.
What could make Lin Yi take the initiative to get closer to her?
Not only did he spar with her, but he also gave her all sorts of pointers.
And now, after training, he even wanted to personally walk her home...
Her heart grew restless.
It felt as if a fawn was frantically bumping against her heart.
THUMP THUMP THUMP. The sound was so loud it felt like anyone standing close could hear it.
After waiting for less than five minutes,
a bus slowly pulled into the station.
Shen Mengyi leaned a little closer to Lin Yi and whispered, "The bus is here!"
"Okay!"
Lin Yi nodded, and once the bus came to a stop,
the two of them lined up to get on.
Suddenly, a jolt went through Lin Yi’s heart. A strange premonition left him feeling uneasy.
He quickly glanced back behind him.
He saw five people in black hoodies and hats behind them in line.
Their heads were slightly bowed, and there was no conversation among them.
But anyone could tell at a glance that they were together.
Most notably, a conspicuous talent trait hovered above each of their heads.
[Fanatic (Blue): A crazed believer who has forgotten themselves and devoted their entire being to a religion].
’Blood Drop Believers?’
Lin Yi’s eyes narrowed, and his brows furrowed deeply.
He turned back and silently followed Shen Mengyi onto the bus.
"Let’s sit here. It’ll be more convenient when we get off!"
Shen Mengyi hadn’t noticed the Blood Drop Believers.
The bus wasn’t crowded; there were still plenty of empty seats.
She said to Lin Yi with a smile as she looked back at him.
Hearing this, Lin Yi also smiled. "Sounds good!"
After the two of them sat down in seats near the door,
a moment later, the five Blood Drop Believers in black hoodies also boarded the bus one by one.
The bus pulled away, not even full.
The five Blood Drop Believers, in a bizarre, unspoken agreement, took seats to the left and right of Lin Yi and Shen Mengyi.
They weren’t far,
just two rows of seats away.
Judging by their movements and behavior,
they were like mindless puppets being controlled by someone from behind.
The bus pulled away before it was even full.
"Lin Yi, those people are so strange!"
"Ever since they got on, they’ve just been sitting there motionless with their heads down!"
After three stops, Shen Mengyi had also noticed how strange the five Blood Drop Believers were.
Ever since they got on the bus,
they had been sitting ramrod straight, not looking around, not speaking.
They hadn’t even budged.
Never mind Shen Mengyi; even a random old lady would find their behavior far too strange.
Lin Yi chuckled. "Maybe they just don’t like to move!"
"But that can’t be it, right? Who can stay still for that long?"
Shen Mengyi continued to whisper.
Lin Yi didn’t answer.
’If it weren’t for the fact that they were on a public bus with other passengers,’
’he would have already killed these Blood Drop Believers.’
’How could he let them hang around for so long?’
Still, he was a little curious.
’Are these Blood Drop Believers here for me? Or for Shen Mengyi?’
’If they were after him, it would be simple enough.’
’He could just find an empty place and take care of them.’
’But if they were after Shen Mengyi... it was a good thing he was personally seeing her home today.’
’Otherwise, tomorrow’s news might have been about another family massacre.’
’Or a story about Shen Mengyi’s disappearance.’
About twenty minutes later,
it was Shen Mengyi’s stop. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she said, "This is my stop. Do you want to..."
"Let’s go. I’ll walk you home!"
"Mm..."
Shen Mengyi nodded gently.
Her cheeks were so hot that she was too embarrassed to look up.
One after the other, the two of them got off through the back door of the bus.
As they were walking towards Shen Mengyi’s home,
Lin Yi glanced back.
Sure enough, the five Blood Drop Believers had gotten off as well.
And they were following behind Lin Yi and Shen Mengyi at an unhurried pace.
Seeing this, the corner of Lin Yi’s mouth curved up, and he relaxed.
’He wasn’t afraid of being followed by the Blood Drop Believers.’
’He was only afraid that he wasn’t their target, and that letting them get away would be more troublesome.’
A few minutes later,
Lin Yi walked Shen Mengyi all the way to her apartment building.
This was also an old residential building.
Although the exterior had been repainted, it couldn’t hide the building’s age.
It was actually just like the old building where Lin Yi lived.
It didn’t have a proper complex name; people usually referred to it by its community or street name.
They walked right up to the entrance of the building.
Lin Yi smiled. "Is anyone home? Aren’t you going to invite me in for a glass of water?"