On the highway, the moonlight glinted like pale blood off the oil slicks on the asphalt.
The car’s headlights wobbled over the undulating road.
“Mmm!
This soft pretzel isn’t bad,” Tony mumbled around a mouthful.
“Don’t touch my portion, or I’ll chop off those dog paws of yours.” “Don’t be so stingy.
Didn’t I share my chicken nuggets with you?” “Take them, take them.” Green shoved the paper bag away with disgust.
“I don’t get what kind of weird habit you rich guys have.
Getting sick of delicacies, only to steal street food from me.” “If you had spent weeks chewing on scorched camel meat in a cave, you’d crave normal food just as badly.” Tony took a large bite out of a pretzel.
“Too bad there are no ‘ifs.’ I’m not a weakling like you.” Green stepped on the brake.
The tires dragged briefly against the pavement before coming to a complete stop.
“We here?” “According to the bartender’s intel, the target’s activity route is right around this area.” Green pulled out a pack of cigarettes, flicking the bottom with his index finger to pop a filter out.
He leaned down to catch it with his lips, tossed the pack onto the dashboard, pulled out a metal lighter, and flicked it open with a sharp *clack*.
The flame flared, lighting the tip.
A plume of blue smoke drifted up as he took a deep drag.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a photograph.
The photo was extremely blurry, barely revealing a humanoid creature wrapped in a trench coat, spreading fleshy wings as it lunged forward.
It was, quite literally, a photo taken seconds before death.
“Target: Creeper.
Solitary, no pack.
Physical traits superior to average metahumans, capable of flight.
Extends its lifespan and self-heals by replacing human body parts and assimilating them into its own flesh.
Operates on a 23-year cycle, feeding for 23 days before going back to sleep.
However, due to recent surges in dark energy, its revival cycle has shortened to once a year.
Takes an unpredictable number of victims each cycle.
Drives a transport truck.” “I’m joining the hunt.” Tony’s face was calm, his eyes unusually firm.
“Just don’t drag me down.” Green casually stuck the photo on the windshield.
“Don’t worry, Van Helsing.
Let’s take him down,” Tony said with a grin.
“Heh, failed heroes love raising death flags.” Green unzipped the gear bag, pulled out a basic bulletproof vest, and tossed it to Tony, along with an assault rifle with a full magazine.
Then he pushed open the door and stepped out.
“I’m using this.
What are you using?” Tony expertly racked the bolt, checking the firearm.
“I’ll just improvise.” Green pulled back the bag flap slightly, revealing the rocket launcher tucked inside.
He rummaged around, pulling out a vial of reagent and a disposable syringe.
Intel indicated that the Creeper marked its chosen targets—mostly teenagers or young adults—from an unknown distance.
However, according to specialists from the Life Foundation, its unique sensory marking range was at least seven miles.
To exploit this, they had extracted a specific compound from the remains of teenagers marked by the creature, using it to develop a specialized pheromone lure—the very reagent in Green’s hand.
“You really are improvising,” Tony muttered from inside the car, staring at the bulky rocket launcher barrel before going quiet.
Green stepped away from the car.
The wooden stopper of the reagent bottle slid off silently between his fingers.
Pressing his thumbs against the plunger, he slowly drew the clear liquid into the syringe.
He tapped the barrel lightly, flicking a tiny bead of liquid from the needle, then lowered his hand and hit the trunk release switch.
*Click.* The lid popped open.
Grabbing the redneck by the ankle, Green dragged him out.
The man’s heavy head slammed against the ground with a dull thud.
As unconscious groans began to escape his throat, Green leaned down and plunged the needle straight into the side of his neck.
The drug surged rapidly through his bloodstream.
The redneck’s eyes snapped open, his pupils dilating wildly as blue veins bulged across his exposed skin.
He roared, standing upright as explosive strength surged through his muscles.
“How many fingers am I holding up?” Green held up five fingers.
“Fuck—” The redneck swung a massive fist forward.
*Snap.* Before the punch could land, Green’s wrist twitched.
The man’s entire lower jaw was ripped free in his grip.
“Rude.” Green tossed the jaw aside like garbage.
The red tail lights reflected off his emotionless face, staining the dead wilderness beneath his feet crimson.
“Er…
er-agh…” The redneck clutched his bloody face, staggering backward, his remaining hand frantically probing the source of the excruciating pain.
“What are you waiting for?” Green’s voice was deathly calm.
“Run.” The redneck stumbled into the side of the car, then sprinted into the darkness like a rabid beast.
“Remember,” Green’s voice slithered up his spine like a demon’s whisper, “step one foot off the highway, and you die.” Wails tore through the night sky.
The redneck sprinted down the endless highway without looking back.
Only now did he realize that the damn “missing billionaire” story had been a trap from the very beginning.
Military deals?
Cover-ups?
It was all a front, created merely to cover up Tony Stark’s absence while satisfying this monster’s sick desire to kill!
These two were absolute psychopaths!
His own petty greed had dragged him straight into the deepest pit of hell.
Green slammed the trunk shut and sat back down in the driver’s seat.
Tony stared motionless at the rearview mirror as the fleeing figure left the range of the headlights, quickly consumed by the dark.
“Intense physical exertion will make the drug take effect faster,” Green said, starting the engine and dousing the headlights.
“The prey will take the bait soon.” “I’m your accomplice now,” Tony gave a bitter smile.
“Don’t be discouraged.
You’re a righteous superhero, after all.” “It’s just one life.
Trading it to save more people—isn’t that a bargain?” “He might have a family, a wife, kids.
There’s a whole chain of living people behind him.” “Then how about I go kill his whole family too while I’m at it?” Green shifted gears and turned the wheel.
“…Are you serious?” “How much seriousness does killing take?” The car slowly crept up a gentle slope.
“I said, while I’m at it.” Darkness enveloped the cabin.
“Heh…
best cold joke ever.” Cold sweat soaked into Tony’s collar.
He didn’t dare turn his head, but he could clearly feel that the person sitting beside him was someone who never put human life on a scale.
Pure evil?
No, something far worse—an indifference that treated killing like breathing.
And yet…
perhaps only someone who fully understood the darkness could hunt the darkness.
The tires crushed sand and gravel, driving deeper into the night.
Far in the distance, the prey’s wails had faded into absolute silence.
Meanwhile, several miles away.
Beside a highway slope, a battered transport truck with chipped paint crushed the tall grass, pulling to a harsh stop in a clearing.
Not far away, the wreckage of a car was detonating, burning flames licking at the surrounding trees and tearing a crimson tear into the heavy night.
A couple pulled their daughter along as they ran frantically through the woods.
Their heavy panting couldn’t drown out the sound of beating wings coming closer and closer behind them.
The sound glided just above the canopy, rustling the leaves.
“Grace, take her and run!
Fast!” The man stopped abruptly, kissing his daughter’s forehead forcefully before shoving his wife and child forward.
“I love you!” Before the words fully faded, he turned and charged in the opposite direction.
“Hey!
You bastard!
Come on!
Eat me!” he roared, waving his arms wildly to draw all attention to himself.
“Daddy—!” the girl cried out, her voice heart-wrenching.
Tears streamed down the woman’s face, but she held her daughter’s hand in a vice grip, sprinting forward.
The girl stumbled, looking back one last time, seeing only her father’s resolute back.
However— *Crack!* Heavy snaps echoed from above as branches snapped in rapid succession.
Mother and daughter looked up in terror, only to see massive, bat-like leather wings instantly blocking out the moonlight.
A foul wind wrapped in an unhuman, sadistic cackle rained down upon them.
Flesh tore and bones shattered with heavy, sickening thuds echoing through the woods.
Amidst a rain of blood, the man a short distance away froze in place, the expression on his face shifting from horror to shock, before finally shattering completely.
The creature turned its head.
A grey, chitinous hide covered its grotesque face, fresh remnants of meat hanging from the corners of its mouth.
It tilted its head, seemingly admiring every inch of despair etched onto his face.
“Heh…?” An unformed sound squeezed out of the man’s throat as his hollow gaze fell upon the unrecognizable remains on the ground.
“Hee…
hehe…” The monster emitted a low, satisfied hiss, slowly closing the distance.
It savored this process.
The prey’s trembling, its mental collapse, the fear pheromones it radiated—it was the finest seasoning for a meal.
The man’s eyes went lifeless, and he collapsed limply onto his knees, giving up all resistance, feeling almost a sense of relief.
*That’s fine too.
We can go together…
back home for dinner…* Right at that moment, the monster’s steps froze.
A scent—distant, yet extraordinarily sharp—carried over on the wind.
It was the unique, tender, intense fragrance of a marked prey, carrying an unparalleled temptation…
Its pupils contracted violently, drool spilling uncontrollably from between its fangs.
The next second, it let out a hungry roar, snapped its wings open, and without a moment’s hesitation, abandoned the easy prey right in front of it, leaping straight into the air!
The transport truck’s engine roared in the woods, its headlights slicing through the darkness as it sped away.
Dead silence descended once more.
The man stood numbly in place, staring in the direction the monster had disappeared.
Dark clouds swallowed the last sliver of moonlight.
A thick stench of blood lingered, coming from the loved ones he could never piece back together again.
“Ah…” He opened his mouth.
“AAAAAAAH—!!!” Flocks of crows scattered in fright as a mournful wail pierced the night sky, yet failed to escape the blood-soaked woods.
That broken heart, much like the remains on the ground, would never be picked up by anyone again.