Chapter 109: The Bell

Qin Ye walked inside.

The decor was not good; the entire coffee shop exuded a sense of long-term neglect. The yellowed walls were plastered with movie posters that fit the local neighborhood aesthetic, and the old wooden floorboards smelled of a strange mix of coffee and something odd. The dust-covered overhead light cast a dim, sickly yellow glow.

His shoes creaked against the cheap wooden floor. As he pushed the door open, a young man with dyed yellow hair was shouting at his phone: "I am the Seer! Number 2 is a checked-kill! Don't ask me why I checked him; a Seer checks whoever he wants! Number 8 is a fake-claim... uh, you... hello."

Perhaps he hadn't expected anyone to come in, so he immediately muted his microphone. "What... would you like?"

Terrible customer service!

Qin Ye didn't answer. Instead, he crossed his arms and looked around before asking, "Is this a 24-hour coffee shop?"

"Yeah, someone comes to take over the shift at six." The clerk checked his phone from time to time, seemingly assuming Qin Ye had no intention of ordering. Qin Ye was quite displeased. I, with such a magnificent, world-class beauty, am standing right in front of you, and you still have the heart to watch Werewolf?

Baby is not happy.

"Do you have a menu?" he asked while strolling around.

"No."

"...Cake?"

"No."

"...Tea?"

"This is a coffee shop..." The clerk's eyes were already fixed on his phone, where others were pelting him with virtual eggs due to his muted mic. He forced a smile and spoke rapidly, "Shrimp roe noodles, Gela noodles, Huainan beef soup—we have them all."

*Just order already! I'm about to lose, okay!*

Qin Ye coughed lightly. "Isn't this a coffee shop? You certainly have a knack for selling dog meat under the guise of a sheep's head... What are Gela noodles? Could you introduce them? I've never heard of shrimp roe noodles, either..."

The service was truly abysmal!

The clerk resignedly closed the game. "Gela noodles are..."

"Then I'll have a bowl of shrimp roe noodles." Seeing him put away his phone, Qin Ye smiled and placed his order.

Perfect.

The clerk swallowed, staring at Qin Ye with wide eyes. *Brother... you’re a real piece of work... You came here specifically to mess with me, didn't you...*

"How much weight!" he said through gritted teeth.

"Two taels will do." Qin Ye happily looked for the number four chair. The clerk turned and shouted toward the back, "Two shrimp!" Then, turning around, he saw Qin Ye about to sit in the number four chair. Without thinking, he shouted, "You can't sit there!"

Qin Ye stopped.

"Why?"

The clerk seemed stunned. It took several seconds before he stuttered, "That seat... has been reserved..."

"But they haven't arrived yet, have they?" Qin Ye smiled, preparing to sit, suddenly finding the clerk’s dazed expression somewhat cute.

"Brother!" To his surprise, the clerk rushed over and grabbed his arm desperately. "You really can't sit there... I'll find you a better spot. How about the small sofa at table six?"

*Thump...* Just then, a slight sound echoed from the entrance. The clerk took a deep breath and darted behind the counter.

*Thump... thump...* The sound continued, rhythmic and deliberate. This dilapidated coffee shop seemed to fall silent because of it. A few seconds later, a figure stood in the doorway. Through the gaps in the advertisements covering the glass, one could only see that the person was very tall.

*Screech...* Accompanied by a teeth-grinding sound, the door was pushed open slowly, and a strange figure walked in.

He wore a wool coat, a hat, sunglasses, and a face mask. Even his hands were covered in black leather gloves; almost nothing of him was exposed.

He walked with a limp, leaning on a cane, dragging one foot after the other as he walked straight toward Qin Ye.

*Thump...* The floor sank slightly. The tall, six-foot-one frame cast a black projection. The man's voice was very hoarse. "Is it... you?"

"There was a new reply today." The tall figure stood against the light, his black-gloved hand brushing lightly over table number four. "Was it you?"

Qin Ye nodded. The tall figure sat at table four and pointed to the seat opposite him. "Sit. It's my treat."

The clerk signaled frantically at Qin Ye, but Qin Ye pretended not to see. He sat down with a smile.

Interesting.

No yin energy, no deathly aura, but... also no vitality.

It was like a walking corpse hidden beneath a shell of skin.

The man’s coat was quite old; one could see many lint balls on it. His health seemed poor, and he was breathing slightly heavily. He ordered a glass of plain water and watched Qin Ye through his sunglasses.

"You seem... to have been waiting for a long time?" Qin Ye finally spoke first.

The waiter served the water and fled quickly. Qin Ye took a long look at the man but said nothing.

The visitor set down his cane and picked up the glass of water, but he didn't drink. After panting for several seconds, he said, "Yes... I have been waiting."

"Every day, every second, I hoped someone would take on this post. I’ve been waiting until my eyes went dry." He leaned back in the chair, looking exhausted. "So, when I saw your reply, I came extra early. I hoped to see you sooner."

"My name is Li Jiankang... I'm forty-eight this year, and I live at the Tianxi Fish Market."

"No need for small talk." Qin Ye turned to see his noodles had been served and waved a hand to signal he didn't need them yet. Looking straight into the man's sunglasses, he said solemnly, "Everyone is in a hurry, why not start now?"

At this moment, he didn't know how many others were searching for those 40 extra points. Since he was a step ahead, he didn't mind staying in the lead.

Seemingly surprised by Qin Ye's directness, the room fell silent.

"This happened this year..." After a long while, Li Jiankang finally spoke slowly. "I live alone at the Tianxi Fish Market. Because of the demolition, there aren't many residents left."

"I raised a cat named Bell. She was very cute—a little black cat. She was also very well-behaved and never meowed, but... starting in August this year, she... she changed."

Li Jiankang gripped his glass until it rattled. He took a deep breath and said hoarsely, "At first, I didn't pay much attention, but it happened every single day for the next ten days. She would stay outside the door, right next to it, and refused to enter. Every night at 11:50, she would howl frantically at the house."

"Do you believe it? Every day, without fail, exactly at 11:50... It wasn't because she was in heat; Bell had been spayed. It was as if... as if there was something inside the house that made her hair stand on end. She... she didn't dare come in."

*Clatter...* The water in his glass spilled onto his gloves due to his trembling hands. He set the glass down and leaned back in his chair to suppress the shaking.

"Until the middle of September, that night... for the first time in months, Bell came inside."

He seemed to close his eyes, his head tilted slightly upward, while his hands gripped the armrests of the chair like a taut bow. "I still remember how she looked... Her whole body was arched, her black fur standing on end. She was cautious, staring straight at me, her eyes green, walking toward me step by step..."

"And then... she bit me."

He suddenly bolted upright, staring at Qin Ye as if he were a reanimated corpse. "Do you know? Bell was like she had gone mad. I... I had a feeling she wasn't trying to bite me, but something else... something right beside me, right next to my shoulder!"

"Because she lunged at my shoulder, as if a second head had grown out of it!!!"

He breathed heavily, his chest heaving violently.

His voice was high-pitched, like a broken speaker. After a dozen seconds, Li Jiankang raised his right hand, pointed to his glove, and his voice calmed down, though it remained breathless. "The bite was very deep; it left a scar on my hand. I had no choice but to go to the hospital. But the hours between midnight and five in the morning are for loading and unloading goods, so I had to find a friend to watch the shop for me..."

His voice began to tremble, as if he were struggling to control his own fear, low and airy. "But... but..."

Qin Ye raised his eyelids, spinning a pencil on the table. "He... died?"

No answer.

A few seconds later, Li Jiankang spoke in a hollow voice. "He died."

"How did he die?" Qin Ye asked, completely unfazed.

"Bitten to death..." Li Jiankang shuddered, his arms tightly hugging his chest as he trembled. "That was definitely not a normal way to die... Those were tooth marks that only a large beast could leave, but do you know..."

His voice carried a hair-raising terror as he stared at Qin Ye like a dead man. "I secretly asked a forensic friend, and he said the tearing marks... were human!"

"It was human... it was human!!"

"The door was deadbolted! The windows weren't open! My friend... was bitten to death by a person... inside my own home!!!"

The last few words were shouted; he had lost some control over his emotions. The clerk had already quietly hidden away when he started speaking. Only the two of them remained in the room, and Li Jiankang's voice echoed in the space.

Sunlight streamed in from outside, revealing dust motes dancing in the air. The lonely shop was filled with a cold, oppressive atmosphere.

"Anything else?" Qin Ye finally asked.

Li Jiankang shook as if he had suffered a stroke. "When I went back, the bed and the walls were covered in bloodstains—marks made by fingernails! It had to be! He had been bitten here..."

He pointed to his own neck. "Half his neck was gone... but there was no blood..."

"In the entire room, there wasn't a single drop of blood. My friend's corpse looked like it had been sucked dry... completely shriveled... hah..."

Even though it was daytime, he trembled like a leaf, as if... as if someone were staring at him from behind. He pulled out a silk handkerchief to wipe away his sweat. Qin Ye tapped his fingers on the table. "What about your wife and children?"

"Dead," Li Jiankang replied in a muffled voice. "They died years ago..."

"You haven't looked for anyone else?"