The soil slowly parted, and from within a gray tombstone, something seemed to be trying to climb out. Dozens of guns pointed there until the fellow revealed half his head. I suddenly noticed the photo on the tombstone was identical to this person!
Even the highly trained SWAT team was startled at that moment, yet Xiao Yuande and I advanced step by step toward him!
Side by side, we reached his position and aimed our guns at him.
The man slowly emerged completely from the soil. I saw a lot of bloodstains on the corner of his mouth. His skin was very pale, his build frail, and his ears were long. He wore black devilish attire and a bat mask, resembling a vampire.
Seeing he was alive, everyone quickly approached with their guns to surround him.
The man stared at us with a cold gaze. After a minute, he raised his hands. Everyone thought he was surrendering, but the next second, as a SWAT officer moved to handcuff him, the fellow suddenly pulled out a silver crucifix from his chest and smashed it fiercely into the officer's head!
This crucifix was different from what we usually see; it was at least palm-sized and looked quite sturdy. With just one blow, the officer cried out in pain. Immediately, many people shouted and charged forward. Li Fan directly struck the man with a baton, but the man seemed unaffected by the pain. He suddenly bared his fangs and bit Li Fan's arm fiercely!
Li Fan grunted and used his gun handle to strike the man's shoulder hard, but the man's mouth didn't release its grip and continued to bite. Many people around picked up their batons and repeatedly struck him, yet the man remained immobile. Li Fan pushed hard against the man's chest with both hands, but it was still useless.
Everyone grew anxious. If this continued, Li Fan's arm would likely be ruined. At this critical moment, Xiao Yuande and I simultaneously pulled the trigger. After a bang, the man's legs were hit. He trembled all over and knelt on the ground, his mouth releasing its grip. His eyes were bloodshot, and he glared at us with intense resentment.
Looking at the fellow, I knew he was human, but he seemed ill. I observed that his skin had no sweat at all. After our men pulled him up, I grabbed his clothes and said, "You have quite some nerve, daring to collude with outsiders to lock us here. There are no surveillance cameras. If we shoot you dead right here and bury you somewhere around, do you think the people outside will know?"
"I don't know if you'd do that? You're all police!" the man replied with a loud tone.
"Heh, if we're about to die, we'll do anything!" I glared at him fiercely, my brow furrowed. Of course, I was saying it intentionally, but surprisingly, the man showed no fear.
"Heh." He mimicked my laugh, then spat on the ground and cursed, "The fact that I didn't leave earlier proves I never intended to. So don't expect to get anything from me. I'm just a general laborer here!"
"You? Is Zhao Shisan also a porphyria patient?"
Upon mentioning porphyria, the man's face showed a look of surprise, but he quickly asked anxiously, "How did you know?"
"Your skin has no sweat. If I'm not mistaken, your sweat glands have a problem. You're thin, your face is narrow, your teeth are stained with blood, and there are some bloodstains on your hands. Plus, you're wearing sun-protective clothing. All these factors lead to only one conclusion: you have porphyria! That tomb keeper just now was likely similar to you; I'd noticed him a long time ago!"
"Scoundrel, I won't confess to you. Just kill me, you threatened to shoot me dead here earlier, didn't you?"
This fellow was trying to provoke me. At that moment, I drew my gun from my waist and pointed it directly at his forehead. The people around became extremely nervous, thinking I had gone mad!
"Team Leader..." I even noticed that both Xiahou and Xiao Yuande were sweating profusely, but my hand didn't tremble at all. "Didn't you say I'm not afraid? Let me tell you, at this moment, to escape and survive, we can threaten your accomplices with you at any time. Although he might not care about you, this is our only way!"
The man, with the gun pointed at him, was clearly frightened. He didn't dare to answer my question, only staring at the dark muzzle with immense terror in his eyes. Even without seeing sweat, his trembling body told me he was about to break.
As his pants became soaked, the fellow finally couldn't hold back and screamed, falling to his knees and shouting, "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
I had no intention of letting him off. I pointed the gun forward and cursed, "Take us out!"
"I can't get out either. Just as you said, the tomb keeper and I did it on purpose."
"So you know Alice?"
"Yes, I know her, so what?"
"Scoundrel, this guy deliberately led us here. We fell into a trap! This isn't He Qing's fault!"
Everyone nodded in agreement, but at this moment, the man said, "No, Alice is also a porphyria patient. She's been here before. Because it's remote, all of us use this place as a temporary base camp."
"Oh? How many other porphyria patients are there with you?"
"I'm not sure, maybe a few dozen. My position is very low within the group, and I haven't met many people. Otherwise, they wouldn't have abandoned me at this time!"
"You know you've been abandoned, right? I'm offering you a way out now. As long as you cooperate with our police and help us find other porphyria patients, you'll not only get a reduced sentence but I'll also find the best doctors to treat you. Think about it, are you worth risking your life for a bunch of people who no longer need you and have cast you aside?"
I began to win him over. Tears welled up in the man's eyes. At this moment, a sense of immense humiliation washed over him. He knew he had been abandoned, and he was devastated. He seemed to lose his balance and slumped to the ground, lying on his side. Immediately, his body began to convulse violently!
"What's happening?" Xiahou exclaimed in surprise.
I watched the man incessantly scratching his face and rubbing his teeth back and forth, and quickly understood, "His porphyria is acting up!"