Chapter 13: Three Heads and Six Arms

Day by day, time passed, but Old Mo was in no rush to take on new jobs. Instead, he devoted each day to training the group. In his former life, Old Mo had been a martial arts coach, and he had quite the knack for teaching. Coupled with his extraordinary abilities, everyone made progress daily—most notably, their teamwork improved by leaps and bounds.

Their usual battle plan was straightforward: Tang Ziran would summon a beast to lead the charge, Chen Jiawang and Old Mo would provide support, and Shen Xin, the sly one, would stay close to Tang Ziran, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. In simple terms, he specialized in ambushes.

After half a month of practice, Old Mo felt that they had trained enough—it was time to face real combat, lest all their efforts remain empty theory. He set his phone on the table and called everyone over to discuss which mission to accept. They skipped over the dangerous ones, and those that were too far away, since Tang Ziran’s summoning range only stretched for ten li. Within that range, she could summon any beast from the courtyard at will. Tasks that didn’t involve monsters were also set aside for now—humans, after all, could be more terrifying than beasts. The murder of Old Mo’s wife at the hands of a nemesis was a lesson seared into his memory.

After much deliberation, they settled on a bounty posted by a factory on the outskirts of the city. The reward was only a million, but from the information provided, the creature didn’t seem too formidable—no stronger than level three at most.

“This is the one! Any objections?” Old Mo asked.

“None,” came the unanimous reply.

Old Mo checked the time—nine in the morning. Driving out, they’d likely arrive by half past nine, and if all went well, might even be back in time for lunch.

“Then let’s go now,” he said.

The four of them piled into their van and soon arrived at the factory. The massive iron gates were shut tight, and all was eerily silent within. A few nervous security guards stood outside. As soon as Shen Xin and the others stepped out of the vehicle, the head of security hurried over, hope shining in his eyes. “Are you the people sent by Director Xiao?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Old Mo replied. “What’s the situation inside?”

The captain, still shaken, recounted, “I’m not sure of the current situation inside, but here’s what I know. Around three this morning, a few of us were patrolling the factory when we saw a shadow dragging a worker away. We mustered our courage and went to have a look, only to discover the shadow wasn't human—it was a monster with three heads, six arms, and a mouthful of fangs.”

He paused, glancing at Old Mo’s calm demeanor, which gave him some reassurance. He continued, “We were petrified. Luckily, the creature didn’t attack us right away, or we wouldn’t have made it out alive. We ran for our lives and reported to management, who then evacuated the night-shift workers. Later, we found that four workers were missing. That’s all I know.”

Shen Xin surveyed the surroundings. The factory was enclosed by a wall over two meters high. If the monster really wished to escape, such a barrier would never hold it.

“Open the gate. Let us take a look inside.”

The captain, hands trembling, unlocked the heavy gate. “Sorry, but once you go in, I’ll have to close the gate behind you.”

“That’s fine,” they replied casually. For them, a two-meter wall was nothing to leap over.

Once inside, the iron doors slammed shut behind them with a clang.

“Ziran, send out the best tracker beast,” Old Mo commanded.

“Alright!” Tang Ziran raised her hand, a flash of light appearing, and in the next instant, a Blast Bear stood before them. This beast’s sense of smell was many times keener than any hound—capable of detecting prey from several kilometers away. The Blast Bear, a mutated species, had an even more powerful nose than an ordinary bear.

Tang Ziran fed it a spirit pill and gently coaxed, “Bear Baby, be good and see if you can find any monsters nearby.”

The bear swallowed the pill in one gulp, sniffed the air, locked onto a direction, and bounded off. The others followed close behind.

The factory premises were simple, with a few workshops, several warehouses, and an office building. Shen Xin had expected the monster to be hiding in one of the warehouses, but the Blast Bear led them straight to the office building, up the stairs, and all the way to the top floor—stopping before the general manager’s office.

One look at the office door and it was clear the creature was inside. The lock was broken, and a monstrous claw print was etched into the wood.

“Everyone, get ready for battle!” Old Mo drew his twin blades, Chen Jiawang flexed his arms and unleashed his Vajra Claws, and Shen Xin clutched his translucent throwing knives, bringing up the rear.

“Bear Baby, break down the door!”

The Blast Bear hurled itself at the door, which crashed to the ground. Old Mo was the first inside, Chen Jiawang hot on his heels, the others following. Shen Xin braced himself for a fierce fight, only to find nothing happening at all. Old Mo and Chen Jiawang didn’t attack, nor did the bear—who merely crouched low, growling.

Curious, Shen Xin peered into the room and saw the three-headed, six-armed monster calmly seated in the manager’s large leather chair. Before the desk, three disheveled workers trembled in fear, heads bowed.

The first thing Shen Xin noticed was the size of the monster’s heads—truly enormous. Yet, contrary to the security captain’s account, it had no fangs, only a ghastly pallor and heavy dark circles under its eyes, with barely any hair left on its skulls.

Its six arms were spindly and malnourished, giving it a pitiable appearance.

The monster snapped in anger, “Who are you? Have you no manners? At least knock before entering!”

Old Mo paused for a moment, then smiled. “Manager, we have urgent matters to report, hence our abrupt entry.”

“Speak, what is it?”

Old Mo glanced at the three trembling workers. “It concerns company secrets. Perhaps it’s best if these outsiders step out first.”

“Very well, you three—out.”

The workers, as if granted a royal pardon, bolted from the room.

“Now!” Old Mo barked.

His blades flashed through the air, the Blast Bear followed in a blur, and Shen Xin’s knife had already severed one of the monster’s heads. In mere seconds, the three-headed, six-armed creature lay dead in a pool of its own blood, the bear still tearing at the corpse.

“Leave some remains,” Old Mo reminded. “We need something to show for the job.”

Tang Ziran immediately recalled the Blast Bear. Old Mo snapped a few photos with his phone and uploaded them to the bounty system, submitting the mission.

Chen Jiawang hadn’t even had a chance to act. Now, he curiously examined the monster’s remains. “So strange,” he mused, “look at the clothes it’s wearing—clearly a worker’s uniform. Why did it act like it was management?”

Old Mo sighed, “Perhaps it was obsession that turned it into such a specter.”

Shen Xin shook his head, “One look at its face and you can tell—before mutating, it must have been one of those beasts of burden, working twelve hours a day, every day of the year.”

“Nothing more to see here. Let’s go home.”

Without another word, Old Mo strode from the office, face expressionless. Reaching the factory gates, he found them already open—no doubt the workers had shared what had happened inside.

As the four of them stepped onto the main road, several cars roared past. Shen Xin instantly sensed that the people inside were all espers. One was hard to detect, but several together gave off a distinct energy signature.

“What’s going on? Why are so many espers showing up?”