HAGLTP Chapter 28

The sky was about to brighten.

A group of uninvited guests entered the small house where Xiao Lu and his companions lived.

They were all dressed in black, their faces covered, armed, and moved with swift precision, quietly slipping through the small door from the back garden into the room.

Inside, it was silent, everything shrouded in the dimness of night.

The group tiptoed towards the bedroom, but what awaited them was only an empty bed. They hurried to the next room, where there were signs of someone having slept there, but the warmth had already faded.

The owner of this room had long since vanished.

“Damn! They’ve escaped!”

“Should we go back and tell the boss?”

“The boss is in a bad mood today; if he hears we didn’t catch anyone, he’ll probably blow up.”

“How about… we burn this house down? That should vent some of the boss’s anger.” One clever guy suggested what he thought was a brilliant idea.

His companion slapped him on the forehead: “Did you forget whose territory this is? It’s the White Dove’s!”

“Xiao Lu and Ye Qi are gone, we can’t burn the house down. Isn’t that fat guy still around? Should we grab him and let the boss take it out on him?” someone else said.

“Fat guy? I heard he got drunk last night, and MIKI personally took him to rest. He’s still on the White Dove’s turf. When did they get so close? They haven’t even been in Yun City for a few days.”

Hearing this, the teammates frowned.

It seemed this soft persimmon wasn’t as easy to squeeze as they thought.

The group returned in disappointment.

·

Across the street, in the house belonging to Xiao Keyang.

Xiao Yimei’s face was pale, with two dark circles under her eyes, trembling in bed, completely unable to sleep. She had covered herself with almost all the blankets in the house, yet still felt cold.

Old Wang hadn’t spoken to her since that day he saw MIKI’s attitude towards Xiao Lu. Although Xiao Yimei was angry at the time, she thought she still had a son, and her son was so capable, with Ye as a backing, she didn’t need to worry.

But now, with Xiao Keyang missing, her last card was gone.

Though they said he was missing, with two squads disappearing in succession, anyone with eyes could tell that Xiao Keyang was unlikely to return.

It must have been that grim reaper Xiao Lu’s doing! Xiao Yimei was filled with hatred.

But she didn’t dare seek revenge on Xiao Lu; if her son, so capable, couldn’t survive in his hands, how could a weak ordinary person like her take revenge?

She even heard that Xiao Lu had returned, hiding alone in his house, not daring to step outside, afraid that Xiao Lu would come to settle the score with her.

However, there was an even more pressing issue at hand.

According to Ye’s rules, as an outsider, Xiao Yimei could no longer continue living here after Xiao Keyang’s disappearance, nor could she inherit anything left by him, even with her status as a mother.

And she still hadn’t found another boyfriend willing to support her.

In other words, Xiao Yimei would soon lose her place to stay. She didn’t know how to do anything; what could she do? Would she have to live in the filthy F district like those she looked down upon, doing manual labor every day?

Xiao Yimei was unwilling; she still wanted to live a comfortable and lazy life.

Now, who could she rely on?

Her eyes were filled with confusion.

·

Shadow City used to be a bustling city.

Here, regardless of day or night, the streets were always filled with a continuous flow of people, and the dazzling streetlights shone like a galaxy. In the massive billboards of skyscrapers, the faces of popular stars constantly rotated; it was more prosperous than Yao City, filled with a sense of decadence.

This was the scene that appeared before Xiao Lu.

Desolate, crowded, extravagant, a brilliant night.

But at this moment, such a scene felt eerie. This place had clearly been occupied by the Altered Ones; why did it still look the same as usual?

Xiao Lu and Ye Qi were hiding in a dark alley at the street corner.

Shadow City was more than half a day’s journey from Yun City, and it was already night by the time they arrived. They didn’t dare drive into Shadow City, hiding the car some distance away.

From a distance, Xiao Lu could only see large groups of shadows but couldn’t discern their specific situations. He could only spot a few with obvious star patterns on their faces, clearly Altered Ones.

The temporary situation of the others was unclear, but since the Altered Ones could walk openly on the streets, the situation was certainly not optimistic.

Xiao Lu observed the surroundings and whispered, “Let’s activate the star patterns and pretend to be Altered Ones to infiltrate.”

With so many people around, one or two unfamiliar faces wouldn’t stand out like they did in the hospital.

Just as he was about to peek out, Ye Qi quietly tugged at his sleeve.

Xiao Lu turned back, puzzled, and Ye Qi pointed to a certain area above.

Looking up, Xiao Lu was instantly speechless.

Shadow City was called Shadow City because of its highly developed film industry. Coincidentally, his teammate was a top professional in the film industry.

In the dazzling advertisements above, Ye Qi occupied several spots, appearing in various styles—cold, serious, gentle, wild… all kinds of styles and angles, high-definition, playing in a loop, more effective than a wanted poster.

If they rushed out like this, no matter how well the Altered Ones disguised themselves, Ye Qi’s face would be recognized in an instant.

Xiao Lu: “…”

Having a teammate who was a big star sometimes brought unexpected troubles.

The two lingered at the street corner for a moment, and suddenly, Xiao Lu’s eyes lit up as he spotted two familiar gray cloaks. They were members of the Divine Punishment Society.

As the two Divine Punishment Society members approached, Xiao Lu swiftly knocked them out and dragged them into the dark alley. It was then he noticed that these two looked strange, their eyes vacant, bodies stiff, resembling Alice and her group.

But these two didn’t seem to have received any attack orders; even when Xiao Lu suddenly attacked, they remained like puppets.

Xiao Lu and Ye Qi exchanged glances, both feeling that Shadow City was becoming increasingly bizarre.

What did this group of Altered Ones want to do?

After changing clothes, the two mimicked the previous two’s mannerisms, moving stiffly through the streets.

As they got closer, they realized that besides those transformed into doll-like abilities, everyone else was an Altered One. They mimicked human behavior—shopping, chatting, even buying a cup of milk tea or ice cream, eating and walking.

They looked more like humans than the humans who were struggling to survive at that moment.

And those transformed abilities acted like NPCs in a game, providing services and accompanying them to experience life.

Could it be that this group of Altered Ones was rehearsing human life? They wanted to completely replace humans and become the rulers of this planet.

That was quite unsettling.

But this practice was clearly effective; they were different from the group seen in the mental hospital. From a distance, these Altered Ones, aside from the star patterns on their faces, appeared almost indistinguishable from ordinary people.

Both of them couldn’t help but become alert.

As they moved forward, they arrived at the busiest place on the street—a coffee shop.

Inside, as usual, soft and soothing music played, and a few customers sat at tables, some reading, others gently sipping their drinks.

A vacant-eyed server approached them, silently handing over a menu.

Ye Qi took it and placed it in front of Xiao Lu. Xiao Lu looked down; besides the basic drinks and coffee, the menu also included many strange items: raw meat juice, pig liver ginger juice, nail cake…

What bizarre things were these?

Indeed, Altered Ones were still Altered Ones. No matter how well they disguised themselves, they were not human at heart.

The two had no interest in trying those bizarre drinks, casually ordering two ordinary beverages, then pretending to be regular customers, quietly observing their surroundings.

Sitting at the entrance of the coffee shop, a fully armed patrol team passed by not far away.

Xiao Lu immediately pulled down his hood to conceal his appearance and signaled Ye Qi to do the same, trying to remain inconspicuous while waiting for the patrol to pass.

But among the patrol team was an Altered dog, and for some reason, this star dog chose a large, strong black dog instead of a human.

The big black dog sniffed the air a few times, suddenly stopping, looking around in confusion.

“What’s wrong?” the leading Altered One asked, looking down at the dog.

“Woof…” The big black dog let out a cautious sound, backing up towards the coffee shop, baring its teeth.

While everyone was puzzled, Xiao Lu noticed that the dog’s gaze met his.

Seeing this reaction, Xiao Lu felt something was off and immediately grabbed Ye Qi, rushing towards the coffee shop’s entrance, diving into the crowd.

“Woof woof woof————” The fierce barking of the dog echoed, chasing after the direction the two had fled.

“Something’s off over there! Go catch them!” the captain ordered his subordinates.

“Yes.” The responding patrol members immediately took the big black dog and began pursuing the fleeing duo.

Shadow City was very prosperous, with roads intricately built, giving newcomers a sense of being in a maze. Without mobile navigation, the feeling of being lost intensified.

Worse still, the other side had a dog.

“Stop right there, you guys!”

“Woof—”

The sounds of the pursuers grew closer, and Xiao Lu couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious.

He had come to find Duan Kai and didn’t want to directly fight his way through Shadow City to the boss point; this wasn’t a game, and both ability and stamina consumption had to be calculated. Rushing in blindly wouldn’t work.

At that moment, Xiao Lu felt Ye Qi grab him from behind. Unlike his usual silent following, this time, he actively led Xiao Lu into an alley.

Ye Qi’s grip was steady, pulling Xiao Lu through the streets like two agile cats.

Xiao Lu suddenly remembered that Ye Qi, as an actor, had been in the entertainment industry for ten years. Although he didn’t live there often, he must have visited Shadow City countless times, even being considered a half-local.

With Ye Qi leading the way, their speed increased significantly, using the complex structure of the streets to shake off their pursuers.

“Chase them!”

“Where did they go? How did they run so fast?”

“Woof woof woof woof—”

“Stop just barking, can you point in a direction?”

Ye Qi led Xiao Lu up to a balcony, putting more distance between them and their pursuers.

“Woof!”

“I can’t understand you!”

The footsteps and barking behind gradually faded away, until they could no longer be heard.

To throw off suspicion, the two quickly slipped into a cinema that was still open.

Unlike the makeshift cinemas converted from clothing stores in Yun City, this was a legitimate, well-known cinema. The decor was luxurious, occupying a significant area in the precious land of Shadow City, with top-notch facilities, all to provide the audience with the perfect audio-visual experience.

Unfortunately, all of this had now become cheap for the Altered Ones.

Almost all the screening rooms were open, showing films of all genres, regardless of era or category.

The two casually bought a movie ticket to enter.

Just right, this screening room seemed to have few people, and sitting in the back corner, Xiao Lu finally felt a sense of relief, beginning to recall the gains from this journey.

The influence of the Altered Ones had already penetrated every aspect of the film city. Along the way, they hadn’t seen a single surviving ordinary person. There were no bloodstains on the ground, nor any corpses found, but the more it was like this, the more unsettling the disappearance of these people felt.

Were these people still alive? Where were they?

Moreover, the Altered Ones had already begun rehearsing human life, indicating they might be planning their next activities.

In the original plot, the territory belonging to the Altered Ones was not limited to just Shadow City. Soon, more places would suffer, and more living people would disappear like the residents of the film city, living without a trace.

Xiao Lu’s mind was racing, and he inadvertently looked up, only to find Ye Qi’s expression unusually subtle.

If someone unfamiliar with him were to look, Ye Qi still appeared expressionless, but Xiao Lu could read an emotion called embarrassment from him.

He was puzzled about what was going on when he heard the audio system with good sound effects say, “Oh… baby… you’re amazing…”

“Don’t worry, my husband isn’t here…”

And on the screen, a steamy scene was playing. From the shabby surroundings and the not-so-great picture quality, it was clear this wasn’t a passionate scene from a movie but some kind of unspeakable short film.

Xiao Lu instantly felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him: “…”

Why on earth was this kind of 18x content playing in a cinema? Can’t you stars have a bit of common sense?

He couldn’t help but glance at the expressionless Ye Qi; the film emperor truly was the film emperor, able to remain unperturbed at such a moment.

Suddenly, Xiao Lu felt a burning sensation from the star vessel on his hand, as if it was reminding him of something.

He followed this sensation and looked in a certain direction.

With the cinema’s wall blocking his view, Xiao Lu couldn’t see anything, but he could sense a powerful presence passing from that direction.

That feeling was so strong it couldn’t be ignored.