Anomalous Creatures

Nangong stood on the platform of the rural train station, taking a deep breath of the breeze tinged with the scent of dry earth. His face, though not handsome, exuded an air of wisdom and pleasure. "Can't you feel it? There's a smell in the air."

Kevin saw his expression and immediately felt uneasy. He thought that Nangong might really be a ticking time bomb. This "demon hunter" was really something—he could sense the chilling wind blowing from the castle as soon as they got off the train?

"I don't smell anything," Wei Lili also sniffed the air. "And we should still be a fair distance from Yorkfold Castle, right?"

"The scent of 'those things' can always spread far," Nangong tidied up his hair blown by the wind, looking very pleased. "As a demon hunter, I'm most adept at capturing their scent—of course, you can't feel it, it requires training. Alright, let's not waste any more time. We need to find a place to stay in town. The sun will set soon."

Saying that, Nangong picked up his large suitcase and walked towards the slope at the end of the platform. After he had walked more than ten meters, Lily suddenly opened her eyes and exclaimed loudly, "What are you smelling? Let me smell too! My nose is very sensitive!"

"Just go back to sleep," Wei Lili patted Lily on the back, and the werewolf girl didn't seem upset. She just nodded and instantly fell asleep again, continuing her jet-lagged sleepwalking state.

"I really don't smell anything," Wei Lili noticed Kevin's gaze on her and shook her head vigorously. "Vampires are also very sensitive to the scent of undead, but I haven't detected anything. We're too far away from Yorkfold Castle ruins, and it's not even night yet, which is not the time for undead activities. That guy who calls himself a demon hunter…does he really have special sensory abilities? But he didn't even notice my and Wei Lili's identities."

Kevin rubbed his chin and thought for a moment, coming to a conclusion: "He's probably just showing off."

Wei Lili: "…You know, you might be right!"

The little station was next to Brushall Town, connected by a narrow rural road. Unfortunately, Kevin and the others couldn't find a bus, so the four of them had to take a taxi to the town. When they entered the town, it was almost completely dark. The last traces of red light lingered on the horizon, while the streetlights in the town gradually came on. Kevin looked at the strange streets of this foreign land and finally felt a little sentimental. He was not someone who traveled much, rarely staying overnight away from home, let alone going abroad. And now he was standing on a piece of land eight time zones away from his hometown, with unfamiliar surroundings, people, lifestyles, characters, and languages—fortunately, the last two were solved by technology, but the other uncomfortable aspects remained unchanged. He hugged himself and sighed, missing the comfort of his home, and by the way, missing that magical little black cat: I wonder how "Gun" is doing at home. At this time, he's probably already running around the streets with those stray cats and dogs.

Kevin, who rarely ventured far from home, was still a bit uncomfortable in this foreign land. But Wei Lili didn't feel the same way. The vampire girl, who had traveled the world several times, was observing this strange country with enthusiasm all the way, from London to this rural town. She had finally observed something: "It doesn't seem as serious as they say on TV. There aren't many outsiders here. Either TV is exaggerating, or those paranormal enthusiasts, experts, and scholars haven't arrived yet."

Kevin made sure Nangong was far ahead and couldn't hear them, then lowered his voice and asked, "How did you figure it out?"

"Listening to heartbeats and sensing bloodlines are my specialties," Wei Lili shrugged. "Heartbeats reveal everyone's emotions, and the taste of blood reveals their family relationships and origins. Native creatures of each place share the same factors in their bloodlines, which can't be changed in a short time—I can vaguely sense how many bloodlines with a sense of discordance there are here, and how many restless hearts. Combining these two, I can roughly judge how many people are here for the haunted ancient castle. All of the above are essential skills for vampires to 'hunt,' although I don't hurt anyone, at least my talents are still there."

Kevin felt goosebumps crawling up his skin, and even Wei Lili's eyes seemed to be glowing red. This girl spoke in her usual tone, but her words were really unsettling. This useless vampire finally showed a bit of the aura of a noblewoman of the night—although this aura was only used to check the local population, and it was a cursory check at that.

He turned his head to look at Lily behind him, who was following with her eyes closed. It was this clumsy werewolf's turn to drop the ball. This guy usually boasted about his keen senses, especially his superb sense of smell. But at this crucial moment, all he was doing was dozing off. The only use of his sense of smell was to prevent himself from getting lost.

"Anyway, it's a good sign. The fewer bystanders, the better," Kevin nodded. "Raven 12345's mission instructions told us to go to Yorkfold Castle. She said that when we reach a certain location, we can naturally sense each other with the 'client.' But she's not sure what state the 'client' is currently in, so it's best not to have too many unrelated people watching."

"Should we leave at night?" Wei Lili frowned. "I have an advantage in night operations, and the big dog will be more alert in the second half of the night. She counts as a bit of combat power."

Kevin smirked and thought to himself, that's a waste of words. A brick could knock you out, a high-level vampire like you. Isn't that combat power?

"We'll see the situation tonight. First, let's observe how much initiative those attracted paranormal enthusiasts have. We have to act by tomorrow night at the latest. The longer we wait, the more people will gather here."

"Having more people has its advantages," Wei Lili pondered for a moment. "Let's just mix in with them and say we're here to look for ghosts too. Sometimes, being open and aboveboard is the best disguise."

"What if a headless knight jumps out of the castle in front of everyone and hugs me, calling me the landlord? What if I suddenly glow with golden light and a subtitle pops up saying 'Pairing Successful'? What if the new tenant we meet is crazy, causing trouble and loving chaos? I have to consider my bad luck—and Raven 12345's ability to trick people. If any of these things happen, you'll have to find a way to get me out of MI5... Do you have the confidence to break someone out of prison in England?"

Wei Lili nodded seriously, "I've done it before—but back then, British prisons still used wooden fences and underground tunnels. I knocked down a dozen knights to rescue a sister from a cell . She was captured by demon hunters..."

"Let's not mention things that happened before 1190."

Wei Lili: "..."

At this moment, Nangong's greeting suddenly came from ahead, interrupting Kevin and Wei Lili's idle chatter, "Hey, let's stay here for the night! It's getting late, and we probably won't find any hotels if we keep going into the town."

Kevin looked up and realized that he had followed Nangong from afar and unknowingly arrived at the entrance of a small inn. The inn was a three-story building, not very large but quite neat and brand-new in appearance, with white walls and blue tiles that looked quite beautiful. There was a line of English on the neon sign at the entrance of the inn. With the convenience of his translation system, Kevin read it as if it were his native language: "Angus's Cabin... Hey, what a coincidence!"

That's right, it was the name of the little inn they had heard about on TV yesterday. The innkeeper here should be the uncle who appeared on TV!

Kevin and the other two quickly followed Nangong into the inn's door. Behind the counter on the first floor were two people. One was a young woman who seemed to be the cashier, and the other was a short and stout, honest-looking middle-aged man, the same one who had appeared on TV before.

"Yo, welcome to Angus's Cabin!" The fat innkeeper greeted the guests warmly as soon as he saw them, then turned to the female waitress beside him and boasted proudly, "Look, foreigners again. No need to worry about business now."

Kevin was startled: So even in England, they like to take advantage of foreigners too?