Chapter 166: [Shell]
The factory at night was extremely eerie. The darkness draped an extra layer of black over the already silent abandoned factory building. The rusty tin exterior walls and scattered parts made it seem like a steam-punk wasteland, giving off an inexplicable sense of fear.
Of course, none of this affected Kazumi. Emotions like fear had minimal impact on her, being half-undead. As for darkness, her special physique allowed her vision to not only be unimpeded but even extend further, as if augmented with night vision. Moreover, the four Corpse Crows circling above the factory provided vision that could be switched from various angles.
This was a new hidden feature of the [Black Coffin] that Kazumi had recently discovered. As her entire territory, it was clear that the Black Coffin in reality possessed various special abilities not listed on its status panel.
And it was today, when she sent out the Corpse Crows to scout, that Kazumi discovered that if they were near the Black Coffin, the Death Aura of undead creatures would be absorbed by the Black Coffin. This meant that the problem of being exposed due to aura issues would at least not occur around the young girl while she was using her abilities.
The reason the Corpse Crows were discovered by Mai Shinomiyai before was likely due to them being too far from the Black Coffin, causing their Death Aura to be unsuppressed, thus leading to their discovery.
However, this aura suppression likely wouldn’t be very effective against psychics. Because no matter how much the Black Coffin absorbed their aura, it couldn’t change the fact that they were inherently undead creatures. If they appeared at close range, they would definitely be recognized.
Moreover, undead creatures like Corpse Crows and Ghouls were small, low-level undead. If one day she could summon things like Abominations or Flesh Golems, even the Black Coffin might not be able to suppress the aura emitted by their massive bodies.
Therefore, this small trick with the Black Coffin’s territorial ability would allow Kazumi to use the Corpse Crows to scout the surroundings with peace of mind. After all, she couldn’t possibly encounter a psychic in this dilapidated place, right?
While contemplating these thoughts, the young girl in the Black Robe walked into the factory. The Corpse Crows overhead flew silently, providing Kazumi with vision from different positions.
Regarding techniques for using abilities, Kazumi had searched for a lot of materials online but still couldn’t grasp the essentials. In this case, she could only see if she could obtain some information from the upperclassmen in the Hero Department. After all, with Doggy, she could only ask Grandpa Sato, who disliked such things, and that would be too obvious.
In response to this, Kazumi’s method was to release all her summoned creatures first. Because Ghouls could use their digging ability to hide underground in the factory, and Corpse Crows could hide at high places, coupled with their nature as undead creatures, they were almost impossible to observe if they didn’t move.
After all, the last lesson was too painful. Kazumi hadn’t developed other ways to use her abilities yet. Such a clumsy method at least ensured that she wouldn’t be completely defenseless when encountering danger.
“One… five… with me, that makes seven people?”
Walking on the muddy path, Kazumi headed towards the main workshop at the innermost part of the factory. Relying on the Corpse Crows, Kazumi had noticed the five people who had arrived at the factory long ago.
Perhaps only Kazumi could leisurely arrive at this time. Comparatively, the five people scattered inside the factory must have experienced the organization’s schemes, or perhaps they had gone through unimaginably despairing events, then took a pill, awakened some strange power, and then, guided by a strange voice in their minds, came here.
The Corpse Crows had excellent eyesight. In the blood-red world, the young girl could clearly see everyone’s figure, face, and even small movements hidden under their sleeves.
There was a decadent middle-aged office worker uncle, a yellow-haired delinquent with a tattoo on his hand, three boys who looked like students, and a plump woman with heavy makeup who seemed to be of a special profession.
Everyone seemed to have something on their mind, standing in different positions, hiding themselves in the darkness, observing everything around them.
Her gaze shifted slightly to the glasses-wearing boy by the container. Kazumi had a deep impression of this gloomy and timid-looking boy. He seemed to be from class B-3 next door, and she occasionally saw his solitary and gloomy appearance in the hallway.
“As expected, the target isn’t just in Shikoku?”
Thinking about the other person’s true purpose, Kazumi silently calculated the time in her heart. She entered the factory half a minute before the clock struck four.
Kazumi’s arrival attracted everyone’s attention. After all, her appearance, hidden beneath the black robe, was quite eye-catching. But Kazumi’s behavior of quietly finding a corner to stay after entering also told them that she was one of them.
“Tch— Another one? What does the voice in my head want me to do? Can I get the money I want?”
The yellow-haired thug glanced in the direction Kazumi came from. The glint in his eyes that had flashed earlier sank again when he saw that Kazumi was one of his kind. He scratched his arm with some annoyance, his urgent voice sounding particularly jarring in the silent factory.
“Creeeak—”
Just as the yellow-haired thug couldn’t help but wanted to strike up a conversation with the middle-aged uncle next to him, an ear-piercing door-opening sound rang out. The scrap metal-filled door was opened from the outside, and a thin man in a smart suit walked in.
“Good evening, everyone. I’m very pleased to see you all here… Four, five, six, not a single one missing. I’m truly delighted!”
The thin man walked down from the second-floor stairs, applauded, as if celebrating that all the intended targets were present.
“Hey, you there, what exactly did you call us here so late for? Will I really get the money promised in that letter?”
Finally, someone who seemed to be in charge appeared, and the yellow-haired thug’s grievances had a place to vent. If it weren’t for the strange changes happening to his body and the money promised in the letter, he wouldn’t have come to this place in the middle of the night.
“Sorry, it might be a bit dark here, let’s move to another place.”
Looking at the thug’s somewhat arrogant tone, the thin man maintained his gentle expression, pressing his hands down to signal the other party to quiet down first.
Before the surrounding people could react to what moving to another place meant, the thin man on the high platform suddenly plunged his hand into his throat, then as if grabbing something, he forcefully pulled it out, and his entire body turned inside out like a balloon.
At the same time, the surrounding environment also seemed to change, as if turning over. The discarded machinery was replaced by grotesque, disgusting fleshly organic matter, and yellow eyes on the walls emitted a faint light, illuminating the surroundings.
The entire factory, at this moment, seemed to have transformed into a giant creature composed of flesh and filth. The squirming walls around it testified to its vitality.
And the thin man who had been standing on the platform disappeared, replaced by a strange man wearing a dark brown leather restraint suit with only a mouth on his face.
The mouth, filled with sharp teeth, opened and closed with a sinister smile. He licked his lips as if looking at delicious food served by his mother at dinner. Despite lacking other organs, he seemed to be able to see and stared at the crowd in front of him.
“Then, first, welcome to the darkness of this world. You can call me, [Shell].”
(PS: I’ll write less about Yugan, so please don’t leave, QAQ)
