The warm memories with sweetness were Past’s favourite food. If the memories were soaked in fear, they were even more perfect.
The screams that reverberated through the lobby excited Past. The fear of the living was like iced wine. Something among the crowd disgusted it but once it avoided that, it could have the greatest feast in the world.
The ease with which it acquired its first meal made Past put its guard down. After it consumed that man, a new pair of limbs grew out of its body. The nails pierced into the wall as it adjusted to another angle to attack the crowd.
There was another wave of screams. The crowd pushed as much as they could towards the centre. They knew that once the screaming stopped, the monster would begin its next hunt.
“We can’t let this continue.” The kind Gao Ming grabbed the leader of Team One. The others couldn’t wait to inch closer to the centre. Only the kind Gao Ming stood at the outer perimeter, shielding the normal Gao Ming behind him.
“The more the monster feasts, the stronger it’ll be. When it breaks through a certain limit, even Gao Yun can’t do anything to it.” The leader of Team One was agitated. He believed relying on others wouldn’t solve this issue. “The two of you will go and grab Gao Yun. I’ll distract the monster. When it tries to eat me, I’ll use my power to stop time.” The white hair floated around his forehead. The man said, “I’ll try my best to create three seconds for you. You have to send Gao Yun into its mouth!” The man came to a great decision. He decided to place his life in Gao Ming’s hands.
The screaming halted. The second human was eaten. Past was the curse that no one could escape. Humans would be eaten by it and become a part of the past. The fingers crawled on the walls. The monster moved rapidly for its size. The crowd curled together like a herd of helpless lambs. They had no way of fighting back.
The fear within the human hearts fermented. The fragrance gripped the monster’s heart! It couldn’t stand it anymore!
Ripples spread in the dark. The stench surged towards Fan Li. The monster sensed something hiding behind Fan Li. Its real target was the man behind Fan Li, who was fully shrouded.
Time flowed slower around him. He looked up. The past of endless humans was congealed on a singular entity. The arms and legs that were used to create the future were buried in the body of the past. Among the blooming limbs, a blurry head opened its mouth. It came closer. The head slowly changed. Right before it ate Fan Li, the head took on Fan Li’s appearance.
“Stop now!” Blood leaked down the leader of Team One’s lips. The wrinkles around his eyes spread. The secondhand on his watch went back four ticks. The monster slowed down until it felt like it had frozen. Fan Li looked at the monster’s yawning jaw in fear. There were many faces inside the monster’s throat looking at him.
Fan Li was knocked away by the leader of Team One, “Two and a half seconds left!”
The two Gao Mings moved to find Gao Yun. Gao Yun also started to move when he saw that the monster had been immobilised. Gao Yun was squeezed out of the crowd.
“One last second!” The leader of Team One looked pale and weak as he croaked.
When the monster noticed Gao Yun’s approach, it struggled hard. The shadow around it shattered like a mirror.
They worked together to send Gao Yun into the monster’s mouth. However, they were still too late. Only half of Gao Yun’s body was sent into the Past’s body. Despairing experience burned Past. Past was poisoned. The limbs on its body went out of control. It attacked everyone indiscriminately. Then, it tried to escape.
“Stop it! Don’t let it escape!” Liu Yi shouted and did as much. She leapt onto the monster. With everyone watching in shock, she pierced the blade that was bound with the red student council badge into the back of the monster’s heart. The blade entered the monster’s body, but she was not done. She grabbed the hilt tightly and used her whole strength to push the blade further in.
She allowed the monster’s limbs to grab her. Liu Yi punched the hilt end of the knife repeatedly until the tip of the knife hit something deep inside the monster’s body. The soul poison exploded. Strangely enough, Gao Yun’s voice came out of Past’s stomach. Even though it was only one sentence, everyone heard it clearly, “Even you want to fight me for it?”
“The monster is dying. Now is our chance!”
There were a lot of outsiders in the lobby. They had certain capabilities since they were chosen by the investigation centre. Earlier, they couldn’t wait to run, but now that it was time to split the winnings, everyone became so brave.
Gao Yun also knew this would happen. That was why he came up with this plan. However, in his plan, more than half of these people should have died already.
The monster’s weakened wails triggered the survivors. They attacked the Past endlessly until Past fully perished. The arms and legs that held up the Past dissolved into shadows. The lights in the lobby flickered.
A few seconds later, the lights all came back on. The scary Past had turned into a pool of stinky black water. No one knew what the murky pool was. Only Liu Yi stood in the middle of the pool. She stepped on Gao Yun’s clothes and yanked the blade out of the pool. A heart that had been stitched many times dangled on the tip of the knife. Without saying anything, Liu Yi put it away. She put her badge back on and walked towards Fan Li.
“We all killed the monster. You can’t take all the benefits for your own.” A security member who followed Yuan Hui tried to stop Liu Yi. Liu Yi drained the black water out of her hair. She didn’t seem to hear the man.
“We used our lives to lure the monster over. Now, you wish to keep the heart for your own. How is that fair?” Before the security member could finish, Liu Yi’s knife was already on his neck. It etched out a bloody line.
“I never knew you people cared about fairness so much.”