Outside the parking lot, there was a wide street.
On both sides of the street, high-rise buildings stood closely together, and pedestrians flowed in and out of the shops below the buildings, creating a bustling scene.
When the disturbance in the parking lot had broken out, people outside were still somewhat clueless.
Many, upon hearing the screams coming from there, even crowded forward, wanting to see what exactly was happening.
Suddenly, a panicked crowd burst out from the somewhat worn door, their expressions extreme with terror, as if some immensely horrifying monster was right behind them.
Seeing this, many people outside instinctively turned and ran as well.
Although they couldn’t understand what was happening, the sight of their fellow humans fleeing so frantically instinctively made them take action to avoid danger at the first chance.
Still, there were some who were unaffected.
Some stood their ground or stepped aside, while others actively moved forward, wanting to see what had caused such a commotion.
However, these people soon paid for their curiosity.
When they pushed through the fleeing crowd and reached behind it, the scene before their eyes was beyond their wildest imagination—blood, fear, death, and... monsters!
Even the scariest nightmares they had ever experienced were nothing compared to this scene.
After all, nightmares are always just dreams, but everything happening before their eyes was real!
At that moment, many people didn’t even have the chance to react before the monsters pounced on them, and their agonizing screams echoed through the street.
The monsters seemed to be killing simply for the sake of killing, ceaselessly chasing the crowd, rushing down the street.
Suddenly, Changming Walking Street was thrown into chaos, with people nearby screaming and running for their lives, while those farther away were still oblivious.
However, most of them, although still unaware of what had happened, also instinctively started running when they saw the situation.
Ren Huixi was initially relieved that she was ahead of others, but due to her constitution, her speed was not very fast, and soon several people had overtaken her, and she was about to fall behind.
The terrifying cries of the monsters rose behind her, like the reaper’s scythe getting closer and closer.
Ren Huixi even felt a foul breeze blow across the nape of her neck, as if the next second she would be torn to shreds.
"No! I can’t keep running ! I’m going to be caught!"
She was frantic, and inexplicably, images of extras dying miserably in movies flashed through her mind.
Usually, in dangerous situations, those who ran in a straight line seemed to always meet a dire fate.
With that thought, Ren Huixi immediately looked towards the buildings on either side of the road.
It was peak business hours, and the doors of the shops were generally open.
The glass doors might not offer much defensive power, but the interior environment was complex, potentially offering more cover compared to the wide open street, and thus better suited for hiding.
Anyway, it had to be better than falling behind as she was now.
Without another thought, Ren Huixi immediately turned right and dashed into a building.
This was a commercial building, six stories high, mostly housing various clothing and jewelry stores.
Clearly, she wasn’t the only one with the same idea; many others had also reversed their running direction, all hurrying to take cover inside the building.
Consequently, due to too many people choosing the same place to escape, one of the four monsters also changed its course and followed them.
The sound of shattering glass rang out as the monster rudely smashed into the building, causing a wave of screams.
Upon hearing the commotion behind her, Ren Huixi’s heart sank. She cursed her luck and didn’t dare to pause her steps, rushing directly towards the nearby escalator.
At this moment, some customers on the second floor were still clueless about what was happening below, staring bewilderedly at those who were fleeing upwards.
They had only vaguely heard the disturbance outside, many still unaware of the seriousness of the situation, with a few even considering going downstairs to check it out.
"Run! Get out of here! Go upstairs! There’s a monster below!!"
Ren Huixi now disregarded her appearance, running and shouting loudly at the people around her.
However, her actions seemed futile as most people just gave her odd looks and did nothing.
A few even whispered among themselves, wondering if the girl, who had lost one of her shoes, was mentally ill.
Ren Huixi paid no heed to their thoughts; she continued running upstairs while loudly warning the crowds around her.
The building’s sound insulation seemed to be quite effective; customers on the upper floors were still oblivious to the chaos on the streets outside, leisurely shopping in the stores.
Elsewhere in Qionghua City, in a certain neighborhood, seven or eight tall men stood in front of an old residential building, questioning an elderly passerby.
"Old man, is the resident of 302 normally not home at this time? Do you know where she might be now?"
The person who spoke was a man with a square face, the very Hu Hu who was personally leading this operation.
"Are you really police? You’re not some bad guys looking to cause trouble for Xiao Hui, are you?"
The old man being questioned was clearly still skeptical, looking doubtfully at the group in front of him.
Hu Hu smiled somewhat helplessly and said,
"Old man, didn’t I just show you my police badge? Why don’t you believe me? If we were bad guys, we wouldn’t come here openly to find someone. Besides, impersonating a police officer is a serious crime; it’s not something to joke about."
"Then, are you looking for Xiao Hui for some reason? Has she done something illegal? But she doesn’t look like that kind of person..."
"Old man, don’t worry. We just need her to testify about a case we’re working on, so we wanted to talk to her."
Although the old man was still a bit uncertain, he chose to believe Hu Hu’s words and said, "Xiao Hui, that girl, I live directly opposite her home. We’re quite familiar, and she even often comes over to cook. But she’s totally focused on her career, still without a boyfriend..."
"Uh, old man... could you please come to the point?"
Embarrassed, the old man chuckled before adding,
"Ha! My bad, my bad. What were you asking again? Oh, right, where she might be now? You really asked the right person. I just spoke to her a couple of days ago. She has changed her job recently to a singer at a bar called ’Encounter’. She works there every night at this time and won’t be back until late at night. Ah, really tough..."