South of South Avenue in Free City, past the strange little shops that had 'grown' along South Avenue, near the coastline, stood a medium-sized ship repair factory.

This factory, named "Wärtsilä Ship Repair Factory and Maintenance," had been abandoned for a long time. With prolonged erosion from the damp sea breeze, the gray buildings and the steel frames of the ship cranes were covered in dark red rust, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) looking from afar like a bloated, skin-diseased gray monster crouching on the earth.

As for the reason for the Wärtsilä Ship Repair Factory's abandonment, many versions of legends circulated near South Avenue. If one wished to know, they only needed to step into a small bar on South Avenue, buy a few drinks for a local resident, and they could listen all night.

Among the many absurd-sounding legends, there was one that wasn't widely spread but was surprisingly well-recognized—the "Lake Mainas Red Ship."

In fact, a careful investigation would reveal that the abandonment of the Wärtsilä Ship Repair Factory had little to do with the gradually lengthening nights and the decline of Free City's shipping industry after the surge in urban legend events.

As early as five or six years ago, the repair factory's business was not booming, but it could still barely sustain itself with the customer base accumulated over three or four generations.

The true reason the owner of the Wärtsilä Ship Repair Factory abandoned the family business accumulated over three or four generations and moved to another country was that three years ago, they accepted a repair project for a sunken ship from Lake Mainas.

That sunken ship, salvaged from Lake Mainas, was named tiger whale. It was once the largest ferry connecting to the Bairouming Island resort area, entirely black, adorned with pure white streamlined patterns. When it rode the wind and waves, it resembled a giant tiger whale playfully swimming freely on the lake.

As tourism on Bairouming Island declined due to frequent urban legend incidents, the free tiger whale was also "trapped" in the harbor. It sank into the lake at some unknown time, and by the time it was salvaged over a year later and sent to the repair factory, its entire body had turned dark red.

When they received the tiger whale, the repair factory's employees initially thought the dark red substance adhering to its surface was just ordinary rust and didn't pay much attention. They simply followed the usual procedure, sent the tiger whale onto the slipway, secured it, and then went home, preparing to begin repairs the next day.

However, on the very night the tiger whale was brought into the repair factory, more than a dozen workers who had come into contact with it during the day encountered urban legend incidents of varying degrees...

It is said that the worker on duty that night at the repair factory heard a strange sound coming from the slipway: viscous, slow, sneaky... as if a venomous snake covered in thick blood plasma was crawling in an unseen place.

When he bravely took a flashlight to investigate, he followed the source of the strange sound and saw that the dark red substance that had originally adhered to the tiger whale, looking identical to rust, had almost completely peeled off, as if it had undergone a shedding. The remaining scattered red dots wriggled and crawled like thousands of maggots or leeches...

A pungent odor permeated the air.

The employee who was on duty at the repair factory that night soon fell ill with a very rare disease and was hospitalized. His physical condition deteriorated day by day, and within a week, the illness claimed his life. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

During the last period of his life spent in the hospital, the pain made his consciousness hazy, yet he constantly struggled to recount his experience that night in garbled words to others.

He said he saw several tall figures formed by accumulated crimson rust, their bodies distorted, iron rust like blasphemous scales covering their forms...

He said they wore faces highly similar to his and his colleagues', grinning wildly...

He said those demonic monsters had replaced some humans and were mingling among everyone...

Perhaps influenced by those terrifying "illusions," in his final moments, even though his body was extremely weak, he still displayed strong aggression, often attacking the medical staff who approached him, claiming they were the demons that appeared at the repair factory that night.

The workers who went home did not fare much better.

Someone discovered a terrifying figure late that night, constantly lingering near his house. It was a man over three meters tall, unclothed, entirely crimson, and with a face highly similar to his own, bearing a stiff smile...

However, when he called the police, they arrived at the scene but only found a large number of crimson footprints in his yard, far exceeding those of normal humans, as well as a small amount of residual viscous substance resembling blood plasma within the footprints.

Another worker heard continuous noise at home. Following the source of the noise, he found large areas of claw marks and rodent gnawing traces in the underground garage, with the most severely damaged area being the metal door leading into the house.

It, or they, seemed to want to get into the house.

According to the police who responded to the alarm call and investigated the scene, that level of destruction was definitely not caused by any animal within his knowledge.

Dense claw marks that almost pierced the metal door, tooth marks that almost severed the load-bearing pillar... If rats caused it, it would have to be at least dozens of giant rats, over half a meter long, with metal claws, working together, or the work of a single monster several meters long.

After a "terrifying night," the dozen or so workers who had come into contact with the tiger whale died one after another within a week.

Car accidents, accidental electrocution, suicide by gun or poison, severe illness... The causes of death were bizarre and varied; individually, they seemed to lack any signs of murder...

The only commonality found among them during autopsies was bromide salt levels hundreds of times higher than normal in their bodies. Strangely, after discovering this anomaly, the police did not pursue the investigation further and quickly chose to close the case hastily.

As the repair workers who had come into contact with the tiger whale died tragically one after another, on a night of torrential rain, the tiger whale also disappeared into the vast rain curtain. Soon after, the Wärtsilä Ship Repair Factory announced its indefinite closure and went out of business.

After that, rumors spread that the owner of the repair factory had made a deal with a demon in Lake Mainas, hoping to use the lives of a dozen workers as a sacrifice to save the repair factory, which was on the verge of bankruptcy...

But something went wrong during the transaction; not only did he not achieve the desired result, but he was also cursed by the demon and eventually disappeared from people's sight.

After that, local fishermen had witnessed the tiger whale appearing on the sea as night approached. From a distance, one could still see the ship brightly lit, with about a dozen figures faintly moving back and forth on board.

So, some people said that those workers had not truly died but had become servants of the demon, imprisoned on the tiger whale, serving the demon for all eternity and hunting the souls of the living...

As time passed, the terrifying urban legend legends made most Free City residents avoid the Wärtsilä Ship Repair Factory, but this did not prevent bold Psychic from sneaking in to explore.

After all, for Psychic, as long as their strength was sufficient, urban legend were not terrifying; instead, they were a highly valuable resource.

But Psychic who had actually explored the Wärtsilä Ship Repair Factory would scoff at it.

There were no urban legend at all!

There was only a group of lunatics who called themselves Scarlet Pelicans and always wore strange masks.

The only similarity between these human traffickers and pelicans was probably that they could both deliver children to others, but only if a hefty fee was paid.

Their previous leader was a Mexican-American fat man, and recently, after a gang conflict, it seemed to have changed to a silver-haired lady with some difficulty walking...

----

Eastern Time Zone, 1:00 AM.

In the empty and dilapidated Wärtsilä Ship Repair Factory in Free City, a round table was illuminated from the darkness by a dim yellow light.

A silver-haired lady with a pure white mask and a cold demeanor sat gracefully in a leather chair with pelicans carved into its armrests, surveying the Black-Clothed Man wearing different masks around the round table.

"The appointed time has come. Tell me, how far have you investigated the cause of the abnormal Ling Neng fluctuation on Bairouming Island five days ago?" The silver-haired woman spoke calmly, breaking the silence.

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The three men exchanged glances, and then the Black-Clothed Man wearing a Black Bear-shaped mask stood up, "Pelican Lady, we investigated and found that the matter seems to be related to the rebellion launched by those who call themselves the New Elder Council against the Eclipse Society Elder Council..."

"They have recently attacked and destroyed several important strongholds that originally belonged to the Eclipse Society Elder Council, and the Tethys Laboratory on Bairouming Island is just one of them."

"As for more information, we don't know. The degree of night erosion on Bairouming Island has been terrifyingly high since five days ago. Our subordinates dare not go too deep, let alone ascertain the situation at the Tethys Laboratory."

Black Bear revealed all the information he knew without reservation, his voice trembling slightly as he spoke.

He and his companions dared not lie in front of this woman...

This terrifying woman, who had cruelly killed the former leader, gained control of their weaknesses, and held them in her palm like a devil, ascending to power overnight, seemed to possess some ability to discern lies.

After listening to Black Bear's words, the woman called Pelican Lady remained noncommittal. After a few seconds, she said blandly, "That's all?"

It seemed that Black Bear's information alone was not enough to satisfy her.

"Yes! There's more!" Another Black-Clothed Man wearing a fox mask stood up, "Our people found a girl while exploring the outskirts of Bairouming Island."

"A girl?" Pelican Lady tilted her head.

"Yes, we found a girl!" Fox nodded and said, "She seems to be a survivor from the island town. When our people found her, she still had a trace of consciousness remaining and was muttering words like 'town mayor,' 'crimson,' 'conspiracy,' and so on..."

After listening to the additional information provided by Fox, Pelican Lady pondered for a moment and then pressed, "Still had a trace of consciousness when found? So, she's unconscious now?"

"Yes, Lady," Fox replied in his slightly sharp voice, "She is severely injured, and the degree of night erosion in her body is terrifyingly high. She is currently receiving treatment at the underground clinic we control on South Avenue, but it seems she won't wake up anytime soon."

"That's the underground clinic where you usually harvest organs and the core of urban legend entities?" Pelican Lady asked.

"That's right, Lady, that's the place!" Fox said.

"Hmm." Pelican Lady nodded slightly, "Treat her well and try to get her to wake up soon. I'll leave this matter to you."

After speaking, she looked at the Black-Clothed Man wearing a Monkey mask, who had remained silent, and tilted her chin slightly, "And you? Don't you have anything to share with me?"

Monkey's body trembled slightly, and he quickly responded, "Sorry, Lady, I... I haven't been to Bairouming Island these past few days, but, but I did get some other information."

"Oh?" Pelican Lady narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Monkey, "Tell me about it. If it's useful to me, I might forgive your laziness."

"Alright, alright, Lady!" Monkey said with a trembling voice, "I've discovered these past few days that a Night Watch agent who was very active in Free City has gone missing..."

"Also, I re-established contact with our previous superiors. They said they don't care who our leader is and can resume trade, but before that, they need to schedule a meeting with you."

After speaking, he waited for a few seconds.

Under Monkey's fearful gaze, Pelican Lady nodded, "Well done. You will continue to be in contact with them! Just notify me when the meeting time is set."

Upon hearing this, Monkey felt as if he had been granted a great pardon, and excitedly said repeatedly, "Thank you, Lady, thank you, Lady, I will definitely do it well."

"Alright!" Pelican Lady gripped her cane with both hands and tapped the ground twice forcefully, making two light thuds, "That's enough for today. You all go continue your work!"

"Yes, Lady!" The three said in unison.

Immediately after, Pelican Lady stood up, forcefully swept her black cloak, which resembled a pair of wings, and turned towards the shadows, quickly disappearing from sight...

----

Half an hour later.

In an inconspicuous apartment not far from South Avenue in Free City.

Taking off her cloak and mask, Jiang Li wiped the sweat from her forehead, walked to the window, and took a deep breath, enjoying the cool, slightly alcoholic breeze.

Playing the role of the leader of an illegal Ling Neng organization was still too difficult for her.

Although she appeared natural, she was actually nervous every single second.

"......"

If she accidentally exposed herself, she would have no choice but to silence them, right?

But if that happened, this hard-won lead would be cut off...

She wondered why that person always managed to thrive among different Psychic and urban legend.

Jiang Li thought, silently pulled out her phone, opened the message interface, hesitated for a long time, and then sent a message to Lu Yibei.

Miao Miao Jiang: Are you... doing well recently?

After the Calamitys Death video was released, even though the investigation progress was slow and she had to face harassment from various forces in Free City, under immense pressure, she had been trying to restrain herself from contacting Lu Yibei, fearing that her contact would expose the truth of Lu Yibei's faked death, but...

Sometimes, she couldn't help but want to find someone to confide in or rely on a little.

After sending the message, Jiang Li stared at the screen for a moment, and then, when the time in the upper right corner had advanced by one minute, still without a reply, she sighed silently and put away her phone.

However, just as she put away her phone, she felt a vibration from her pocket.

Pulling out her phone again, she saw Lu Yibei's reply.

Lu Yibei: Don't worry! I'm in M Country, just got off the plane, feeling amazing!

Jiang Li, "?"