chapter 7 I want to live

"Tom Wang?!" Jack Li and his two companions heard this familiar voice and exclaimed in unison.
The three of them exchanged glances, then hurried towards the alleyway where Tom Wang had left. Ben Lin stood alone in his original spot, frowning at the dim alleyway, his expression somewhat solemn. Although he didn't know what had happened, he had a foreboding sense of unease. In the old city outskirts, a deranged killer, a strange stench, screams... Something was off.
He hesitated for a while, but after some internal struggle, he sighed helplessly. In the end, he picked up his white cane and headed towards the alleyway. Normally, if Ben Lin encountered a situation like this, he would definitely not get involved. He would run in the opposite direction as far as he could. After all, if someone was screaming, it definitely wasn't a good sign.
Such things meant trouble. Robbery, murder, or witnessing a crime scene... Ben Lin didn't want to get involved in any of these. He didn't have that strong of a curiosity to know what exactly happened; nor did he have an excess of sympathy to play the hero. Most importantly, he didn't know how to fight. What if he ended up losing his life?
But the current situation seemed different. While Ben Lin didn't want to admit it, Tom Wang's predicament was connected to him. If they hadn't voluntarily escorted Ben Lin home, perhaps Tom Wang would have taken a different route or returned a few minutes earlier, and he wouldn't have encountered this situation, right?
He indeed didn't like meddling in others' affairs, but he liked owing people even less. Regardless, he should at least go and see what had happened. It could be considered a gesture of goodwill. If he ran into any danger, he'd just make a quick escape.
Ben Lin's eyes were covered, but his speed was unimpeded. The closer he got to the source of the screams, the tighter his brows furrowed.
The stench was getting stronger.
"Ah ah ah ah!!!" The second scream came from the corner ahead, but this time it was a woman's voice. Sherry Jiang!
Ben Lin abruptly stopped at the corner of the alleyway. In his range of spiritual perception, he saw the figures of Sherry Jiang and two others. Not far in front of him, Sherry Jiang was collapsed on the ground, wide-eyed with fear, trembling all over. In front of her, Ken Liu and Jack Li were frozen like statues, their eyes locked firmly ahead, also trembling.
Further away... Ben Lin couldn't sense anything.
His eyes couldn't open yet, and he could only perceive within ten meters. This created an extremely awkward situation. He saw everything within ten metres; but beyond that, he was a true blind man.
What did Sherry Jiang and the others see that frightened them like this? Though he couldn't see, his hearing was keen. He could clearly hear rustling sounds not far away. It sounded like someone was gnawing on something, doing so wildly and with relish.
Hmm... it sounded like Black nibbling on a bone.
"What happened?" Ben Lin asked in a low voice.
Sherry Jiang seemed startled by Ben Lin's appearance. She grabbed his clothes in a fluster, her teeth chattering. "Monster... a monster is gnawing on Tom Wang's face!"
Ben Lin's face immediately changed.
"Run!"
Ben Lin and Jack Li both roared. Just as the word left their lips, Ken Liu, like a mad dog, suddenly turned and sprinted back. After bumping into Ben Lin's shoulder and stumbling, he quickly got back on his feet, running for his life.
"Monster... Help! Someone help! Monster!" He screamed loudly as he ran.
Ben Lin, caught off guard by the collision, staggered. Just as he regained his balance, he heard a muffled impact from a distance.
It sounded like a brown bear stomping the ground, charging in his direction.
Sherry Jiang's pupils suddenly contracted. With an unexplainable burst of strength, she sprang up from the ground and screamed, running away.
As for Jack Li... he had already run off after shouting "run". He was even faster than Ken Liu, who had just bumped into Ben Lin.
If it weren't for Ken Liu's collision just now, he would have been far ahead. But just that moment of delay, and he was now in the last position, just like Sherry Jiang.
At this moment, it seemed like everyone had forgotten Ben Lin being a "disabled". The classmates who had just solemnly promised to escort him home had completely left him behind.
Well, not completely, because they had just bumped into him.
Ben Lin sneered inwardly. But now he didn't have time to worry about these things. As he took a few steps, something breached the ten-meter range of his spiritual perception. It looked like a person, but not quite.
It looked like a person because it had limbs and a head like a human. It didn't look like a person because at the moment, it was running on all fours like a hunting dog, with a build as robust as a brown bear!
Most importantly, on its head was a ghostly face.
Pallid, contorted.
Its long and crimson tongue resembled a snake, extending half a meter from its mouth, wriggling agilely.
Ben Lin's expression immediately turned grim.
It was too fast. In just a few steps, it had leaped from ten meters away into his range of spiritual perception, and it was approaching him at an astonishing speed!
Ben Lin believed that even the world's champion in sprinting couldn't outrun it.
In his mind, Ben Lin quickly calculated the distance from here to the exit of the alleyway. His heart sank. With the difference in their speeds, he couldn't possibly escape this alleyway before being caught.
Was there any other way...
Ben Lin's brain raced, perceiving everything nearby. He wanted to use something to block the pursuing monster.
Suddenly, his spiritual force landed on the backpack behind Sherry Jiang.
"Throw the backpack! Delay it!" Ben Lin shouted.
Beside Ben Lin, Sherry Jiang shivered all over. A flash of coldness passed through her eyes. She screamed and yanked the backpack off...
And hurled it at Ben Lin.
Ben Lin's pupils suddenly contracted! He never expected that Sherry Jiang would actually turn on him!
By the time Ben Lin reacted, the backpack had already slammed into his chest!
Through his spiritual perception, Ben Lin could clearly see Sherry Jiang's expression. Her face was incredibly pale, like a startled rabbit, her face filled with terror. But those eyes held an unprecedented ruthlessness!
"You're Ben Lin, right? Your seat is ready. Over there..."
"Ben Lin, I'm Sherry Jiang, the class monitor. If you need anything..."
"What left the deepest impression on us was your Aunt. That day, she stood here with a basket of eggs and gave each of us an egg, asking us to take care of you..."
"We promised your Aunt we'd take good care of you, and we will..."
"..."
At this moment, the shy and kind class monitor seemed to have transformed into a hysterical demon!
She looked at Ben Lin, with guilt, madness, and malice in her eyes...
Yes, I'm the class monitor;
Yes, I promised to help you more in the future;
Yes, I promised your Aunt to take care of you;
I can teach you, take you home, help you with meals... all of this wasn’t a problem!
But now...
I want to live.
So,
Please, just die.
In this moment, time seemed to stand still. Ben Lin looked at Sherry Jiang, his gaze as cold and deep as the night.
Throwing a backpack wouldn't hold the monster back for more than a few seconds, but if he threw a person... the chances of surviving would be higher.
This was Sherry Jiang's choice.
The backpack wasn't heavy, and its kinetic energy wasn't great, but caught off guard, it hit Ben Lin hard in the chest.
Behind him, the rapidly approaching monster leaped up, lunging towards Ben Lin, who was left behind.
In the blink of an eye, Ben Lin smiled.
It was a cold smile.
As if he had eyes on his back, he predicted the monster's trajectory and swiftly crouched down, narrowly avoiding the monster's lunge!
Simultaneously, the white cane he held in his hand swept forward like lightning, the tip hitting Sherry Jiang's ankle!
Sherry Jiang cried out in surprise, losing her balance and falling to the ground.
A heavy figure plummeted down, crashing onto her...
In the next moment, blood painted the night with a vivid crimson.
..