Listening to the strange sound coming from outside the door again.
Fang Cheng hesitated for a moment, then got up from the bed and walked quietly to the dormitory door.
Then, he peered cautiously through the peephole.
The sound gradually approached, as if a hammer was slowly and heavily striking his heart.
Fang Cheng held his breath, just staring intently through the concave lens of the peephole at the narrow space it revealed.
After several seconds, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he took a quiet gasp of air.
He finally saw what was making the noise in the dark corridor.
It was... an extremely bizarre figure.
The moonlight spilled in weakly, revealing a vague humanoid silhouette.
As the figure drew closer, its entire form became visible.
The skin was naked, a dim green, with patches of scales covering the back.
Its head was large, with eyes bulging like those of a fish, and its limbs bore webbing akin to that of a frog.
Its body was smooth and slimy, appearing to be some sort of hybrid between a marine creature and a human.
And as it approached Fang Cheng’s room, a rotten, fishy odor wafted in like the tide.
This scent might be imperceptible to the average person.
Yet, in Fang Cheng’s perception, it was exceedingly clear and potent, causing his nostrils to flare with a breath of foul air.
Then, the sound in the hallway ceased.
The monster stood in front of the door, turning its head to look towards Fang Cheng’s room.
Its eyes glimmered with a ghostly green light, as if its gaze could penetrate the door and see the scene inside.
Fang Cheng made no movements; he just lay behind the door, his muscles tensed up.
A man and a monster were thus facing each other through the door.
Almost exactly the same as last night’s scenario.
The stench continued to assault him, constantly burrowing into his nostrils.
The terror of the monster outside seemed like it could burst in at any moment.
Fang Cheng’s clenched fist started to sweat.
Remembering the Meditation Method taught by Professor Xu, he chose to cut off his sense of smell, isolating part of his perception.
Only a faint trace of a fishy smell lingered at his nose end.
Fortunately, what he imagined did not happen.
The thing at the door lingered for a while, seemingly noticing nothing, then twisted its head and walked down the corridor.
About four minutes passed.
Fang Cheng, pressed against the door, heard the footsteps grow distant, then slowly pushed the door open a crack.
He then stuck his head out, looking left and right down the silent, dark corridor.
Aside from an open window at the end, through which a wisp of faint smoke was blowing in, the corridor was deserted, without a shadow of any person in sight.
Fang Cheng turned back to look at Pan Wendi, who was lying in his bed mumbling, seemingly in the midst of a sweet dream.
So, he gently pushed the door open, his figure flashed, and he stepped out of the dormitory.
Outside, the night was deep, and the moonlight, filtering through the mist into the villa, was as if a ghostly blue filter had been applied.
Fang Cheng pricked up his ears, listening carefully, then tiptoed quickly to the stairwell at the end of the hallway.
He peeked downstairs and indeed saw the figure of the monster.
It... was heading downstairs.
Its figure was crooked, and its gait looked awkward.
Fang Cheng lifted his foot, ready to follow, but then pulled back suddenly.
Because at that moment, a similar eerie sound came from upstairs.
After a moment, a figure that also looked like half-human, half-fish slowly came down from above.
After passing by the third-floor corridor, it continued to make its way downward.
In the darkness, Fang Cheng’s gaze shone brightly, watching the second monster that appeared.
Not until it moved away did he take a deep breath, his face showing even greater confusion.
The training camp base was full of oddities everywhere.
Had it not been for the anomalies during his meditation practice, Fang Cheng would not have wished to stir up trouble and delve into the secrets of this place.
Finding himself amidst it, witnessing the terrifying non-human monsters with his own eyes, he couldn’t calm down.
Quietly waiting for a few seconds, and perceiving no other footsteps around, Fang Cheng hesitated briefly before deciding to continue his pursuit.
In the dead of night, everyone on each floor was in a deep sleep, so deep that they didn’t notice any strange stirrings.
The ground-floor hall was dark with no duty personnel to be seen, and the door was left unlocked.
Fang Cheng followed the two monsters out without hindrance and reached the outside.
They didn’t take the main road but ascended a weed-overgrown path instead.
Gray-white mist spread between the mountain forests and buildings, floating with the wind.
Occasional solitary hoots of night owls made the place seem more sinister and unsettling.
This path lay on the east side of the training camp’s main building, extending towards high ground near the coast.
Fang Cheng trailed slowly, passing through a fog-enshrouded forest.
Lifting his head and looking forward, a new change in the scenery appeared before him.
What he was tracking was no longer just two creatures.
Bathed in moonlight, a group of half-human, half-fish beings was scattered across the towering Cape that stretched into the sea.
Their movements were unhurried, as if they were not accustomed to walking on land.
As they neared the top of the Cape, they seemed to get excited, opting to get down on all fours, and suddenly their speed increased tenfold.
They quickly scrambled to the cliff edge and emitted a series of shrill, hoarse throat sounds.
Then, like dumplings, they one after another leapt from the top and plunged into the sea.
Standing below the Cape, Fang Cheng watched this scene in astonishment.
After they all had jumped down, he too hastened his steps, running to the edge of the cliff.