Chapter 66: Skin-peeling Demon
In the afternoon, Li Ye received the information sent by Sun Shun.
A total of three matters.
Skin-Peeling Demon, Ren Family, Locust God Cult.
Skin-Peeling Demon and Ren Family are the most important, while Locust God Cult is vague, only known to be an evil cult that appeared very early, derived from the White Lotus Society.
Among them, Skin-Peeling Demon has an event span of about ten years. Ten years ago, Skin-Peeling Demon had already appeared and has never been resolved.
This matter seems completely unrelated to ordinary people, with no one having heard of it, but now presented before Li Ye is an even more cruel demonic creature harming people event, spreading from Ningjiang downtown area to various counties.
Especially since last year, the incidents have increased, doubling this year.
【January 1, Yunlu County nightclub ‘Glorious Mortal World’ Room 8 had a love murder incident, leaving one corpse, with the perpetrator leaving a human skin.】
【February 17, Xuanyue County foot bath establishment ‘Landscape Impression’ K9 room had a love suicide incident, two people dead, Skin-Peeling Demon born, annihilated in time.】
【February 26, Yunxiu County nightclub ‘Night Encounter’ Room 6 had large-scale lewd ritual traces, everyone’s skin peeled off.】
【March 5.】
There are many cases; clicking on a title shows more detailed content inside, with post-crime photos attached.
The love murder photo shows a male customer with his throat slit, blood flowing all over his body, and beside him a lifelike female human skin left behind.
The love suicide photo shows a man and woman dead with bluish swollen faces, as if they drank some kind of poison, with battle traces around; from the information, Skin-Peeling Demon was discovered, but Disinfection Officers couldn’t defeat it, and the severely injured Disinfection Officer fled.
Below is a 2D and 3D photo of Skin-Peeling Demon, with a green face and fangs, body like black ink, like a humanoid object formed by congealed and hardened filth.
As for why no real-time photo or video of Skin-Peeling Demon, afraid of pollution; after all, Information Officers below Three Dragon Gates may not fully resist it.
And in Jingpu County nightclub’s room, under garish lights blood and filth flow everywhere, several people lying haphazardly, all with human skin peeled off, extremely eerie, making him click his tongue.
The demonic creatures he has recently fought were naturally derived, showing traces of original animals.
But this thing has no trace of a ghost.
Li Ye has lived in this world for so many years; strictly speaking, he has only taken down two truly harmful demonic creatures.
One Five Plagues Ghost, one Chameleon Lizard Demon.
The former’s joy of obtaining authority diluted it, the latter was just casually fought in the mountains and forests; as for truly experiencing demonic creature harm, he really has no experience.
After all, how dangerous can being a student be? Even experience is strictly controlled, but the things Disinfection Officers encounter, no one controls.
He couldn’t help thinking of the previous information on Skin-Peeling Demon he had seen.
Common records in “Liaozhai” and “Yuewei Cottage Notes”: monsters wearing human skin, secretly harming people. Once polluted, three symptoms appear: mild ‘Appearance Disorder’, moderate ‘Cognitive Confusion’, severe ‘Flesh and Blood Mutation’.
Appearance Disorder: contactee’s skin develops irregular bluish-purple bruises, accompanied by unbearable itching or burning pain, becoming abnormally sensitive and fragile, minor friction may cause rupture and pus.
Cognitive Confusion: produces identity recognition disorder, contactee forgets who they are, can’t see their face clearly in the mirror, gradually obeying Skin-Peeling Demon’s commands.
Flesh and Blood Mutation: pollution penetrates bone marrow, contactee’s body begins to crack, local areas twist and mutate, showing seam-like traces. Ultimately flesh collapses, spirit distorts, beginning to crave new skin bags.
“Human Skin Slave”
Li Ye thought to himself: “Yunxiu County’s case was done by Human Skin Slave; Skin-Peeling Demons generally eat people with flesh and blood clean and strongly occupy skin bags, only Human Skin Slaves peel skin, Skin-Peeling Demon influence is very deep.”
Skin-Peeling Demon is a demonic creature that can enter general knowledge textbooks, like Hungry Ghosts; although the taught information just touches on it, Li Ye himself checks various information, so he understands Skin-Peeling Demon’s habits.
General Skin-Peeling Demon, right after birth, first devours flesh and blood and wears human skin, hiding in the human world; at this stage, Skin-Peeling Demon mainly learns human habits, imitates human life, reaching standards indistinguishable from ordinary people.
Normally, such Skin-Peeling Demons use human skin to find close relations, either family or friends, and those people will show early symptoms of ‘Appearance Disorder’.
Over time, pollution deepens, contactees get Cognitive Confusion, and at this point, Skin-Peeling Demon eating food in front of them is fine, even they will help Skin-Peeling Demon find food—this food definitely isn’t for humans, it’s purely eating people.
Pollution deeper, then Flesh and Blood Mutation, turning into Human Skin Slave, harming the human world.
For one Skin-Peeling Demon to derive Human Skin Slave, it must have survived a long time.
Most importantly, this thing seems to be more than one.
Those lust-related murders and orgies can birth new Skin-Peeling Demons.
Secondly, Human Skin Slaves; if they peel enough skins, after mutation they also become Skin-Peeling Demons.
And now the quantity of these files.
Li Ye frowned and said: “Ningjiang City is probably wrapped up by Skin-Peeling Demons.”
But this matter can’t be said yet.
Disinfection Bureau’s main duties are killing demons and maintaining stability; unless it’s the last moment, it can’t be publicized, or everyone panics, causing Ningjiang City panic would also birth demons.
Li Ye knows some demonic creatures feed on fear.
The most typical are ghosts.
Moreover, this kind of demonic creature is very cunning, probably can evade even calls for physical checkups.
There are no means in the world to detect pollution sources, otherwise there wouldn’t be Information Officers everywhere checking surveillance for demonic creature traces; demonic creatures with intelligence that cause pollution, even one is a great harm.
It’s not like normal disaster demonic creatures; once they turn into disaster polluting an area, those demonic creatures seem related to people, but actually influence all aspects, can disasterize even without people.
So once appeared, easy to discover, just take down directly.
Skin-Peeling Demon isn’t; Skin-Peeling Demon special attacks people, won’t cause area pollution, but influencing one person starts a chain reaction.
Indeed a tricky demonic creature.
Then looking at Ren Family.
Even more extraordinary.
Ren Family, since the Qing Dynasty, has been a local hegemon rooted in Ningjiang; ancestors produced officials, contributed during Central Plains fall, later when Shenzhou was established and fought world powers again, also sent people to war.
Early on positioned well, sensible and obedient, with own strength, slowly accumulated many resources in Ningjiang City, including real estate covering half of Ningjiang, one-third of livelihood aspects related to them, entertainment establishments master two-thirds share from behind the scenes.
But in these information, Li Ye also saw quite a few bloody things.
For example real estate, from earthwork contracting to land deals, many cases of coercion and inducement.
Kidnapping others’ children, forcing others to withdraw.
Breaking a fellow martial artist’s leg, making people understand the stakes.
Even remotely controlling others to arson homes, forcing submission.
Bullying businesses, beating men harming women… basically did it all.
But the other side is smart, not doing it themselves; things in the information are all done by their nurtured black gloves.
A complete black evil major force.
But this is just folk side; above there are positive aspects too.
Ren Family guarantees that industries they operate absolutely won’t birth demonic creatures; these years also rectified Ningjiang City’s chaos, pay taxes when due, provide employment when due; in the mundane aspect, maintained stability.
For demonic creatures Disinfection Bureau can’t solve, even sent people to help, jointly take down.
But the more so, the more dangerous Li Ye feels in his heart.
Director Pan said Ren Family isn’t yet noble family standard, but even so, he confirms, he really can’t withstand this scale.
That Ren Xu was spun like a top and sent abroad, if he returns again.
Can’t really wait for others to make a move before acting himself.
Strike first to gain the advantage!
Local Tiger is also a tiger; when meeting a tiger, kill it first before it eats people!
