Chapter 39: An Unexpected Delight

The door to the room swung open under the gaze of all present, and the woman outside entered uninvited, crossing the threshold without hesitation. Her strange behavior instantly put everyone on high alert. The woman’s feet never left the ground as she advanced, gliding along the floor, her pale, bare feet exposed and unshod.

Tanya instinctively lifted her head to look. The moment she inadvertently saw the woman’s full face, her eyes widened, every muscle in her body tensed, and a wave of terror surged from her heart. Even though she had anticipated something like this, when the moment actually arrived, her body nonetheless went numb, almost losing all sensation.

At the doorway stood another woman, identical to Tanya in every detail, staring at her with lifeless eyes devoid of any spark, standing as stiff and cold as a corpse.

“Well, what do you think? Surprised? I have to say, even I didn’t see this coming,” Chuning appeared behind Tanya like a ghost, whispering quietly to her.

This belated gift was certainly unexpected!

“You bastard, I’ll never forgive you!” Tanya, her suppressed emotions boiling over, made as if to slap Chuning. Even though she knew she could do nothing to him, she still wanted to vent her rage.

Chuning dodged her attack with ease, kindly reminding her, “You’d better pay attention to your corpse! She’s showing you the greatest ‘goodwill’ right now—better deal with her quickly!”

From the moment Tanya’s corpse laid eyes on her, its eyes flushed red, long fangs protruded from its mouth, and with wild excitement, it lunged at Tanya.

A guttural roar split the air.

“Aaah! Stay away from me! Get back! Don’t you come any closer! Please, just go away!” cried the thug, his voice trembling as he brandished the knife he’d used to intimidate the weak, waving it wildly before him.

The others in the room, sensing that something was terribly wrong, quickly slipped out through the open door, leaving only the thug standing between Tanya and the unknown horror.

The last, honest soul who had always been bullied by the others politely closed the door behind them, completely cutting off the thug’s escape route. Cold sweat drenched his body as he silently prayed the thug could hold out a little longer, giving them more time to get away.

Chuning, disgusted by the thug’s frantic barking, strode over and delivered a hard kick to the man’s rear.

The thug stumbled forward, crashing right into the corpse’s arms. Realizing his predicament, he looked up into its lifeless face, then, with a snarl, plunged his fruit knife into its body. When no blood spurted out as he’d expected, he drew the knife and stabbed again and again.

“Die! Die! Stop pretending to be a ghost—you can’t fool me! I’m not afraid of you! Die already!” The thug’s voice took on a whimper as he struggled desperately to escape the corpse’s embrace, but to no avail.

Tanya stared blankly as she watched the scene unfold. The corpse’s left hand unfurled, revealing slender, mechanical-looking silver needles, which it aimed at the thug’s heart, ready to pierce him and drain his blood for nourishment.

Just then, Chuning’s eyes turned ashen and lifeless; he mechanically stretched out his right hand and made a grasping motion at the air. Nine black chains shot out from the corpse, binding it tightly and freezing it in place.

The thug seized the chance to break free, stumbling toward the door. After several frantic attempts, he finally managed to unlock it and fled in terror.

“Stop gawking and help me tie up your corpse! And quit looking at me like that—none of this is my doing!” Chuning snapped Tanya from her daze, urging her to take care of business before things changed again. Whoever was masterminding this from the shadows was unlikely to give up so easily.

“What on earth is going on? Why is my corpse here?” Tanya stared at her own familiar body with a dark expression.

Who was the bastard who’d taken her corpse from the morgue?

“Maybe someone reanimated your body, luring it here. Judging from its appearance, it hasn’t undergone a blood ritual yet—meaning it hasn’t consumed human blood, only been fed on animal blood.”

Noticing Tanya’s confusion, Chuning offered an explanation. The reason he understood the process so well, of course, was that he was an expert in such matters.

“Hmm, so the people conducting the ritual in this room must have prepared the sacrifice in advance. Truly despicable—pity for them that they ran into us!” Chuning looked with disdain at the refined corpse—such amateurish tricks were laughable in his eyes.

“You mean all this was meticulously planned? Does that include my death? Was everything premeditated?” Tanya murmured in a daze, gently touching the corpse’s cheek.

“Perhaps.” Chuning’s reply was soft. He drew Tanya into his arms, letting her lonely soul find a moment of solace.

“Don’t torment yourself. If the mastermind behind all this refuses to abandon their scheme, sooner or later, they’ll have to face us. All the truths you seek will come to light then—so don’t worry.” Chuning’s fingers moved slightly, and Tanya’s corpse danced in response, as if he were manipulating a puppet. The black mist he expelled from his body was not so easy to consume—this, perhaps, was a case of being trapped by one's own schemes.

In truth, Chuning hadn’t known the corpse outside was Tanya’s. He’d merely used the black mist within him as bait to fish for evil spirits—the mist was, in a way, a delicacy for such creatures. Faced with an effortless meal, most would take the bait, and Chuning had only wanted to see what he might catch—never expecting it would be Tanya’s body.

As he recalled the events while tailing Tanya, he realized the person he’d seen must have been her corpse. But then, what was the purpose of separating them? Or was it all just coincidence, and he’d simply followed the wrong person?

“Thank you,” Tanya interrupted Chuning’s wandering thoughts, collapsing weakly into his arms, her eyes lingering uncertainly on her restrained corpse—feeling a strange, indescribable sensation.

“It’s nothing. I just don’t like others meddling with targets I’ve already laid claim to. Don’t think of this as helping you.” Chuning’s gaze grew cold as he stared at the distant high-rise—he could sense someone was watching them from across the way.

Following his gaze, Tanya looked out the window into the pitch-black night, the darkness so thick it seemed to swallow even the faintest glimmer of light. Ever since the unwelcome visitor had left, the room had fallen into a silence so deep it was almost eerie.