Chapter 8 Scourge Prevention Bureau

"Heh?!" Rover was startled; he realised that he was in a strange place.

He was standing on the road; around him was darkness; the only light source he had was coming from a street lamp.

However, there was only one lamppost beside him, casting a pale yellow light from the bulb above him. The light only illuminated a two-meter radius around him.

The place where he stood was the only place with light, as if he were standing on a lonely island in a vast ocean.

More accurately... The ocean was darkness, and where he stood was Point Nemo.

Rover looked around, but his body felt as if it were frozen, unable to move.

Only his eyes and senses were functioning normally.

Krit! Krit! Krit!

Suddenly, a strange sound echoed, breaking the silence.

It was the sound of sawing as if someone was sawing something quite hard.

The sound was ordinary, but somehow it felt like it was hammering into Rover's ears, making him uncomfortable.

Krit! Krit! Krit!

'Stop!' Rover wanted to shout, but he couldn't speak because his mouth couldn't move.

Krit! Krit! Krit!

'Stop!'

Krit! Krit! Krit!

'Please... stop!'

Rover screamed in his heart; the sound kept circling in his ears, making him almost go crazy.

After a while of torture, the sound finally stopped.

Before Rover could breathe a sigh of relief, something from the darkness flew towards him.

No, more accurately... it was thrown towards him because it drew an arc in the air, falling into the illuminated area around him.

Thump!

A heavy sound echoed; Rover looked closely at what had been thrown on the ground and was startled.

It was... an arm.

An arm severed from the elbow, fresh blood still flowing out like a small stream.

"??!!!" Rover was terrified; he couldn't scream, couldn't run away, and couldn't even close his eyes. It was as if some supernatural force compelled him to witness this scene.

Thump!

Another thing was thrown, this time a leg.

'What the hell? Stop! Stop!' Rover screamed in his heart; however, he could only scream in despair.

Thump!

Another arm.

Thump!

Another leg.

All four limbs were there, thrown before Rover; fresh blood, like snakes, flowed towards him, forming a pool of blood at his feet.

Rover gasped; he felt his breathing getting faster and faster, his heart about to jump out of his chest.

Thump!

Another sound echoed, followed by rolling. A strange black object rolled towards his feet.

Rover knew it wasn't anything good, but he couldn't close his eyes; he could only stare at it.

When it stopped, Rover looked closely and realised what it was. It was a woman's head with long, messy black hair covering her face.

However, no matter how much hair there was, it coincidentally revealed her eyes, which were full of resentment and staring straight at Rover.

Rover was startled; his body began to tremble uncontrollably, but what surprised him even more was... he knew who this girl was.

Suddenly, she smiled... a ferocious smile that made his skin crawl.

It wasn't a smile that a normal person could possess.

It was the smile of a devil.

Suddenly, Rover felt his neck was bound by countless strands of hair, so tightly that he couldn't breathe.

He realised... that hair... so much hair was wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Ack... ack... ack..." Rover opened his mouth wide, unable to speak, unable to scream, unable to resist.

Despair and pain, like darkness, enveloped his mind.

'Help!'

'Someone... Help me...'

'Help!'

Rover screamed in his heart; of course, no one could come to help him.

Slowly... Rover felt the breath of death approaching... very close...

Then...

...

"ACK!"

Keng! Keng!

Rover woke up with a start, realising he was in a strange room, his hands handcuffed with metal cuffs.

"This is..." Rover was sweating profusely, looking around blankly.

"Ah! Are you awake?"

Hearing the voice, Rover realised this was a criminal interrogation room.

In front of him was a middle-aged man in a police uniform, his face firm, full of righteous air, looking at him.

"Van Rover, right?"

Hearing the policeman ask, Rover didn't understand what was happening, but still honestly replied: "Yes."

"Do you know these three people?" The policeman said, placing three photos on the table.

Rover recognised the people in the three photos.

Akiko, Alex, and Kaito.

Rover nodded slightly, then asked: "Excuse me, but... what's going on?"

The policeman frowned, his face showing displeasure: "You are suspected of being involved in their deaths; we hope you will cooperate with the police investigation."

"What?" Rover exclaimed in surprise: "Officer, are you mistaken? I'm the murderer? Wait! Are these three people all dead?"

The policeman saw that Rover's expression didn't seem deceitful. However, he didn't trust Rover either.

He had dealt with countless cases; murderers could even pretend to be victims, so he naturally didn't trust Rover's expression.

"Yes, they are all dead, in the woods near National Highway 19." The policeman explained.

"You are the only survivor; you weren't even injured, so you are the prime suspect."

Rover opened his mouth wide; he didn't understand what logic this policeman was using to say this, but he really wasn't the murderer; he was also a victim.

Rover was about to explain everything he had experienced, but he suddenly realized... telling them would only make him seem like he was lying.

Everything was like a dream, both real and unreal.

The policeman continued: "First, why were you and these three people in the woods near National Highway 19? What is the relationship between you?"

The more Rover listened, the more confused he became.

The woods?

Wait! We were in a graveyard; why were he and those people in the woods?

Rover suddenly thought of someone, the middle-aged man who had taken him there.

"I... I don't know, but a middle-aged man took me there; he must be the murderer." Rover exclaimed.

"A middle-aged man?" The policeman frowned.

"Yes. He's about 45-50 years old; his stomach is big as if he's seven months pregnant. He... he took me there. He's definitely the culprit."

"Kid, who do you say is seven months pregnant?"

Suddenly the door opened, and the man who had taken him to the graveyard entered.

"Ah!" Rover saw the man and immediately said: "Officer, it's him... He's definitely the culprit; you have to believe me. I..."

When the policeman saw the middle-aged man, it was as if he understood everything.

"Uhm! If he brought you there, then you're innocent."

The policeman took out the key and unlocked Rover's handcuffs.

Rover was startled; everything seemed too simple.

No argument?

No defence lawyer?

No alibi?

No investigation?

The man appeared, and the policeman's attitude immediately changed.

The policeman even smiled warmly, patted him on the shoulder, and said: "Cheer up, young man. If you encounter any difficulties or need any help, just come and see me or call me."

The policeman slipped a business card into Rover's pocket, but he didn't rush to look at it.

Right now, his brain still couldn't process what had happened.

"Come on, I know you have many questions; let's go outside; I'll answer you."

Rover didn't know what to do and ended up following the middle-aged man.

...

Outside the police station, the sunlight felt warm and peaceful, along with an inexplicable sense of security.

His shoulders weren't sore anymore; the heavy feeling had disappeared.

The morning sun dispelled the terrible nightmare of last night.

For the first time, Rover felt that the sunlight was truly beautiful and warm.

He and the middle-aged man entered a restaurant opposite the police station.

Looking at the steak in front of him, although Rover was very hungry, he couldn't eat.

On the contrary, he remembered what had happened yesterday, and his stomach began to cramp as if it wanted to push everything out.

Feeling nauseous, Rover covered his mouth, wanting to vomit, but there was nothing in his stomach to vomit.

The middle-aged man saw this, smiled, and said: "It's normal to feel that way the first time; you'll get used to it later."

He finished, cut a piece of meat, then put it in his mouth, chewing it deliciously.

"Huew!" Rover couldn't hold back anymore and vomited continuously into the trash can at his feet.

After a while, he calmed down enough to eat some salad. While eating, he asked: "Exactly... who are you? What the hell was that place? What happened?"

Rover couldn't wait any longer; he wanted to know everything, and he wanted to ask many more questions.

However, the middle-aged man chuckled, softly saying: "Wait! You ask so many questions; how can I answer them all?"

He wiped his mouth and took a sip of wine.

Looking at the wine in the glass, the memories of yesterday suddenly appeared in Rover's mind.

Red wine, like blood... so much blood...

"Huew!" Rover vomited again.

Luckily, this middle-aged man had rented a private room for the meal; otherwise, Rover would have been drowned by the judgemental stares of other guests.

After Rover finished vomiting, the middle-aged man put down the cutlery and wine glass. He looked at Rover with a serious expression and asked: "Do you believe that devils exist in this world?"

"That..." Rover really wanted to answer 'no', but what he had experienced was too strange, completely overturning his perception of the world over the past 30 years.

"I know... It's difficult for you to accept something you've never believed in." The middle-aged man said: "However, we must face the truth."

"What you experienced... Everything was real."

Rover frowned and asked: "Exactly... Who are you?"

The middle-aged man nodded slightly and said: "Billy, Leader of Team 7, Scourge Prevention Bureau."