38 Chapter 38 (Two in One)
◎Your barbecue stall is unhygienic!◎
"There are still people selling barbecue at noon on rainy days. There are not many real charcoal barbecues nowadays." Ye Ping'an became interested.
The charcoal fire illuminated a small area of rain curtain. The moment the fire appeared, a vague red color appeared at the end of the rain curtain.
It was a big red umbrella, and there was a noisy sound coming from under the umbrella.
Something is jingling, like cola cans and beer bottles, grilled skewers and iced drinks are the best match, and these are always indispensable for lively gatherings with friends.
The fat sizzled and dripped onto the charcoal fire, making a hissing sound and emitting charcoal smoke.
Just by listening to the sound and smelling the aroma, it's as if you can already see the golden skewers of meat rolling on the grill, making people swallow their saliva uncontrollably, forgetting their original destination, and involuntarily turning their feet to the barbecue stall.
The flames from the oven grew brighter, illuminating the figure of the chef standing in front of the stall.
The chef was wearing a black and red leather apron, was of medium build, and had an unusually large head.
Its head was as fat as a giant hairless pig, with layers of pale, greasy fat piled up together. Its fangs were bared outward, and its small black eyes were squeezed in them, scanning the table in front of it with vicious and cold eyes.
A greasy, tattered plastic table and chairs were placed in front of the oven.
The tables and chairs were squeezed under the umbrellas and were almost full. People were squeezed together, back to back, but no one protested.
Two men in cheap suits, pale-faced, mechanically gnawed at the charred skewers of meat in their hands. With each bite, a new wound appeared on his body, and a piece of flesh disappeared.
But they were completely oblivious, their faces filled with an expression of utter ecstasy, their nibbling speed uncontrollably increasing. "Smells so good... smells so good."
Ding Dong——
The iron frame next to the stove was slightly bent, and dozens of iron hooks were densely hung on it, which were clearly the hooks used in butcher shops and slaughterhouses.
Most of the hooks were empty, slowly dripping dark red sticky liquid, shaking slightly and colliding with each other, as if the objects hanging on them had just been removed.
A few iron hooks had "fresh meat" stumps hanging on them that were still twitching and bleeding, as well as people with their eyes closed, looking like corpses!
As the man in the suit ate the skewers, half a piece of leg meat appeared on the hook, which was still hanging with hair and flesh scraps. The tendons were curled up at the break, and the bone fragments were glaring white.
The chef's gaze stopped at the man in the suit and he nodded as if he was satisfied.
It's not like staring at customers, it's more like picking out new ingredients at the market.
The chef reached out methodically, grabbed the "seasoning" and sprinkled it on the skewers.
Amid the sizzling sound of cooking oil, the stinky seasonings and the bloody skewers seemed to create a perfect balance, emitting a strong and suffocating aroma, evoking the most primitive and irresistible feeling of hunger.
It held a thick-backed boning knife tightly in one hand, casually moved the charcoal skewers on the grill, and left the grill.
At the barbecue stall, seven or eight children over one year old were crawling around stiffly.
Some of them were missing arms, some were missing half of their heads, some were missing legs... but otherwise they were almost exactly the same as the children in the parking lot.
Some were drooling over the fresh meat on the iron hooks, some were crawling around on the grill, pulling out the skewers. On the greasy ground covered with blood-red fragments of unknown origin, there were also pale-faced children licking the crumbs.
"Woo-woo-cluck..."
Amidst the strange, childish cries and shrill laughter, the toddler climbed onto the plastic table, holding a skewer that had fallen out of the oven, and passed it around to all the guests.
"I haven't seen it. Hold on. The master said we haven't seen it..."
Sitting next to the man in the suit was a woman with dyed blonde hair, mumbling over and over again with tears in her eyes. She could clearly see how her colleagues were being controlled, and she fought hard to resist the urge to pick up the skewers.
There were plates of grilled skewers on their table. Some looked delicious but were already cold, some were completely burnt to charcoal but the outline of the elbows was still recognizable, some were still bright red and throbbing, and some...
A large roasting pan was placed in the middle of the table, like a staple dish on every table. A little over a year old child curled up in the pan's sauce and greased with oil, making it look like a fish frying pan.
The table was full of shiny skewers and the aroma was fragrant.
But... it's really hard to swallow.
The ghost child covered his face, staring at the humans on the table outside his eyes, and cried together with the child who handed him the skewers.
"Woo woo...eat, eat."
The blonde's eyes gradually blurred and she took the skewers.
The high school student who was sitting at the table next to her also became confused and went to get the skewers together, drooling uncontrollably.
"Wake up!" The two investigators sitting next to them grabbed their hands tightly. Their nails dug into their flesh, the pain irritating each other. They held their hands down and refused to take the skewers offered to them.
The blonde girl and the high school student shuddered, and finally saw clearly in the chaos that there were several ears on the skewers, and one of them had a gold earring.
Even though they were feeling nauseous, they actually thought the roasted ears, which were golden brown and red, looked delicious.
My appetite and rationality were constantly tugging at each other. Investigator Lao Jiu's voice came to my ears, "Don't look at the new skewers. Eat, eat the skewers on the table, just a little bit. They won't stop until you eat them."
The blonde girl stared down at the skewers on the table and reluctantly picked up a piece of unrecognizable black charcoal.
Picking up the skewers, the crying kid on the table staring at her indeed slowed down, but the skewers in her hand, which looked disgusting at first glance, began to emit an enticing aroma.
The blonde took a bite, and the little ghost in front of her crawled away. Her lips trembled as she whispered, "My colleague is about to be hooked. If we keep eating, we'll die! How many times do we have to eat? How can we escape? Will the authorities really come to rescue us?"
"Yes." The uniformed investigator's face was pale but he replied firmly.
The same "food" was placed in front of them. They watched as a strange creature, suspected to be the "Night Cryer," crawled towards them after being swallowed. Its condition was only slightly better than the two remaining living people at the barbecue stall.
Lao Jiu's fingers were broken, and he used the severe pain to resist the pervasive temptation of appetite in front of him.
She dipped her palm in blood, used the table as a cover, tore off the inside of her clothes and wrote scribbled words with difficulty, each stroke was extremely slow.
"A strange combination, the fragrance is alluring. Eating meat will harm oneself..."
Before setting off, Lao Jiu thought that the captain's speculation was too exaggerated. It was impossible for the [Coal Butcher] to grow so strong and devour all the weirdness so quickly.
The entire five-member team was previously tracking the traces of the "Old Lady Asking for Directions", but in the end they found not it, but another strange one.
After smelling the aroma and sitting in front of the "barbecue stall" in a daze, she realized: the captain's speculation was not only not exaggerated, but also completely underestimated the "Charcoal Butcher"!
“Woo woo… cluck…”
The ghost child crawled in front of Lao Jiu, and the ghost child curled up on the table began to cry at the same time.
Lao Jiu gritted his teeth as he carried the ghost boy until he was about to climb onto him. He grabbed the skewer that looked like charcoal and took a bite.
No one took the skewers from Gui Tong's hand. It crawled between the three tables, stared at Lao Jiu coldly, and put new skewers in front of her.
The shadow on the barbecue stall slowly crawled out from the skewers and wrapped around her, making the skewers look more and more tempting.
Lao Jiu's face turned pale. He resisted the temptation that almost filled his mind and stuffed the scrap of cloth to the investigator next to him, "Xiao Tang, you continue to remember..."
If he didn't eat, the ghost boy's temptation wouldn't stop. Once he took the skewers, he'd instantly go into a feeding frenzy. But if he only ate what was on the table, with every bite, a piece of meat would be lost, and his vitality would continue to be slowly devoured by the barbecue stall.
[The Charcoal Butcher] is still "roasting" non-stop, and the frequency of the ghost child temptations that have to be accepted is increasing.
People who are drawn to the barbecue stall as if possessed by ghosts will wake up when they sit down in a daze, face the horrific scene soberly, and gradually fall.
Lao Jiu knew full well that the strangeness hadn't killed them immediately, but was merely torturing them, allowing them to absorb more fear. The chill had already stiffened their brains and bodies, making escape nearly impossible.
The [Charcoal Butcher]'s previous performance and remaining aura had him judged to be E-rank. The captain speculated that if he doubled in strength after devouring it, he might very well be a new C-rank!
Even if it has not completely swallowed up other weirdness, the rules at the [Charcoal Butcher] barbecue stall are much more complicated and smarter than the E-level.
The three reserve investigators who came out with the team to search were hung on iron hooks by ghost children and butchers one by one when they tried to test the rules, and their lives and deaths were unknown.
The other customers at the stall turned into corpses one after another, and the few who were still alive had become unconscious ghost slaves, and perhaps they would become new "ingredients" in the next second.
Even if he tried and reminded others of the rules to avoid more deaths, Lao Jiu couldn't save everyone.
If you try to rescue someone by force, you will only get yourself into trouble in an instant, and you won't even have the chance to leave any clues to reduce more casualties.
When they entered the barbecue stall, it was full, with three tables of five or six people each. But half an hour later, only five people were still sober.
Lao Jiu had to be thankful that an evacuation notice had been issued in advance when the search began today. Citing heavy rains that had flooded the streets, he informed citizens to refrain from traveling.
The Charcoal Butcher wasn't powerful enough to directly form a ghostly den, enveloping and attracting everyone in an area. The empty table had yet to attract any new "guests."
Lao Jiu didn't expect to survive, but it would be better if he could leave more clues before dying and delay others until they find this place.
Lao Jiu scratched her body with bloody marks with her nails. She murmured to herself and her companions, "Remember as many copies as possible. Save as many as you can... even if it's just fragments..."
Behind me, I could hear the sound of two people wolfing down their food, their teeth scraping against the wire skewers, making a creepy friction sound.
It's over.
Lao Jiu's eyes were bloodshot as he realized that Xiao Tang beside him had forgotten to continue recording.
Xiao Tang stared blankly at the delicious food on the table. Without the ghost boy's urging, she couldn't help but grab the second string.
Outside the red umbrella, there was a dark curtain of rain, and suddenly two beams of bright lights lit up.
Amid the noise from the barbecue stall, there was also the clatter of wheels passing through the rain.
Someone is coming!
Lao Jiu's eyes suddenly widened, and Xiao Tang's eyes also became clearer, with a glimmer of hope.
Someone is coming! Maybe a passerby who strayed in?
No! The car was driving very fast, heading straight for the barbecue stall. The more likely possibility was... reinforcements who had noticed something unusual!
The two remaining investigators looked towards the source of the sound with bloodshot eyes.
They gathered up the strength to maintain their sanity, squeezed out the most important reminder, and shouted with all their might, "Don't eat!"
But the noise from the barbecue stall drowned out their voices and they didn't travel far.
The charcoal fire illuminated the vehicles coming from outside the dark rain curtain, and a brand new silver van appeared.
It's not the bureau's operational vehicle.
Looks familiar...
Lao Jiu remembered that it was the foreign aid who was invited to fight against ghosts.
But, but Boss Ye can only control E-level and has no other abilities!
She encountered the stronger [Coal Butcher] with her strange creatures. Where was the reinforcement?
It's clearly the Eighteen Levels of Hell tour group that's delivering food to the barbecue stall to make the butcher stronger, and it's buy one get one free!
The hope that had just risen in Lao Jiu's heart was extinguished in an instant.
"What? Eat?" Ye Ping'an stuck his head out of the car window and only heard a faint half-shout.
Ye Ping'an followed the directions of his crutch and drove all the way to the end of the street corner. The faint fragrance was wafting from here.
She spotted the diners at the table and waved cheerfully, "What a coincidence! Aren't these police officers? Are you guys out for dinner after get off work?"
She didn't do much work in the cafeteria, unlike in the store where she knew all the regular customers by heart. But Ye Ping'an still remembered the police uniform.
When Lao Jiu heard the call, he raised his head again hopefully.
Boss Ye didn't let the aroma lure her in! She was still awake, and there was still hope!
Lao Jiu moved his scarred and stiff arm, ready to throw away the fragments of the record.
In front of the fire at the barbecue stall, the butcher stared at the oncoming vehicles with his small eyes. The crawling ghost child blocked the plastic table, leaving Lao Jiu with nowhere to hide.
The iron hooks clanged against each other, the flame in the oven suddenly shot up a few degrees, and the fragrance wafted out, as if welcoming new guests.
Ye Ping'an sniffed, his eyes brightening. "Boss, I can smell your aroma from so far away! Wow, you even kill and grill the food fresh and serve it to the table. That's really good."
The barbecue business is booming these days, and I've heard some provinces have even organized barbecue festivals to attract customers. Here, to stand out, they've even started an art experience, with rows of people standing under the grill.
The only problem is the strange shape, where one hangs himself on a southeast branch by pulling an iron hook. Ye Ping'an is not optimistic about this experience project.
It was late at night, and one must have a very dark aesthetic to like this kind of thing. No wonder the aroma was so strong, but none of the three tables were full.
When Lao Jiu heard this, his eyes went dark.
She had heard that this Boss Ye seemed to be unable to admit that ghosts existed.
But pointing at the ghost children crawling all over the floor and the barbecue stall strewn with corpses, could Boss Ye really not be fooled by the strange hallucinations?!
Ye Ping'an pulled over to the side of the car, and the crutches had fallen to the ground in the car, as if they had completed their mission of guiding the way.
The old lady closed her eyes, and the child, who had been huddled obediently all the way, became restless, and the cricket pupa hanging on her neck crawled down.
"Don't sleep, don't sleep. We've found your house, and now you're pretending to be deaf and dumb and don't want to get off the bus? You too, what are you making such a fuss about? Get out of here right now!"
Ye Ping'an opened the car door and carried the "grandparents and grandchildren" out of the car in one hand and a fierce look on his face.
The old lady, a skeleton, hung her head without any reaction. The Night Cryer was picked up and her wailing was extremely piercing.
"You're acting like I'm bullying you, and you're crying again! You're acting arrogant now that someone's backing you up, right? Even if your parents come today, you still have to give them money!"
Ye Ping'an carried it and quickly walked through the rain, strode towards the chef with a fat face in front of the barbecue stall, and raised his voice with confidence.
"Finally, I've found the real culprit. Boss, this is your child and mother, right? They're so young and naughty, and so disrespectful to their elders! They're out here in the middle of the night, trying to scam people and scratch cars. How do you discipline them as a parent?!"
"Pay compensation! Car wash fees, mental damage compensation... Hurry!"
Before he finished speaking, the chef who was grinning and coldly froze, the ghost child who was climbing onto the empty table froze, and the investigator who was struggling desperately froze as well.
Lao Jiu stared blankly at the "three people" who got off the bus, "Xiao...Xiao Tang, am I dazzled?"
Xiao Tang, whose mind was almost entirely focused on food, swallowed hard, "No, no. That thing Boss Ye was holding really looked like the Night Crying Man and the Old Lady Asking for Directions!"
When the "Half-Body Ghost" was captured, Lao Jiu was patrolling outside and didn't see it. He just heard other colleagues talk about it and felt it was outrageous and unbelievable.
How could someone arrest Guiyi as a stalker? Didn't anyone else notice anything wrong?
Now she knows.
Of the two weird creatures hanging in Ye Ping'an's hands, one seemed to have no power to resist, and the other one [Night Cryer] was much smaller than the fat ghost child at the barbecue stall.
At first glance, it seems that they are just catching the family members who are causing trouble and holding the parents accountable.
But who would ask Guiyi for compensation?! Even the most greedy person wouldn't dream of such a crazy thing!
...Oh, Boss Ye can.
The fat-headed and big-eared butcher stared at Ye Ping'an. Several ghost children surrounded Ye Ping'an's feet, and some climbed onto the iron hooks, drooling, holding on to the remaining limbs.
The butcher swung his knife, and the ghost child, along with the meat, was chopped off the hook and dropped into the roasting pan over the fire, becoming a new "dish." The ghost child licked the "fresh meat," and its malicious fake crying surrounded Ye Ping'an, urging her to sit at the table.
The aroma and crying sounds floated around the barbecue stall. Lao Jiu, who was awakened a little by the shock, picked up the skewers again in a trance.
The ghost children were crying loudly around him, but Ye Ping'an was indifferent and only felt annoyed.
Ye Ping'an glanced at the children gathered around the barbecue stall and was 100% sure that they were a family.
Look, he is just as naughty as the naughty kid in her arms.
Naughty children are spoiled by their families. Letting children play with fire at the barbecue stall, touch the ingredients, and crawl all over people is a ridiculously poor parenting practice.
[Charcoal Butcher]'s face, covered with flesh, trembled. He looked at the oven full of skewers, and then at Ye Ping'an who was standing in front of the oven and not leaving.
As if he couldn't understand why she was standing there and smelling the fragrance, but had no reaction.
Ye Ping'an, carrying an old man and a child, waited for a few seconds. Seeing that the stall owner didn't respond, he casually shoved the "grandparents" over and said, "Here, keep an eye on your naughty child and his mother. If they run around, they might get caught by human traffickers. Can you pay me now?"
Lao Jiu choked and regained some consciousness, "Don't... let go... control it!"
What human trafficker?! It should be a treacherous trafficker, right?
Boss Ye, wake up and control the weirdo until the main force arrives! Don't let the weirdo go back to the mountain, give the butcher more boost rations!
"What are you talking about? Speak louder."
Ye Pingan scratched his ears and looked at the officers in confusion. "You came to the barbecue stall but didn't eat. Are you full or what else are you doing here?"
Lao Jiu: ...
Please, Boss Ye, listen to me! Can't you see we're dying?
As soon as Ye Pingan let go, Night Cryer rolled among the other ghost children, crawling away from her. The "old lady" collapsed beside the stall, clutching her cane, motionless.
Ye Ping'an and the butcher stared at each other, and their dissatisfaction gradually turned into suspicion.
"Your stall can afford so many ingredients, right? Speak up."
The butcher glared grimly at the Night Cryer who had crawled back, grabbed a handful of seasonings, and sprinkled them on the grill.
The aroma grew stronger and stronger, a mixture of grease, charcoal and delicious seasonings, making it almost impossible to walk.
"Who are you trying to suffocate by doing this?"
Ye Pingan frowned, "Your barbecue stall is unsanitary! How dare you set up a stall like this?"
She smelled the fragrance and saw from a distance that the ingredients looked fresh, so she wanted to try the cooking.
When I got closer, I was shocked to see that the hygiene conditions were terrible. There was a strange smell of decay in the rich aroma, which was really disgusting.
"The food ingredients were not handled properly, the blood was not drained away, and your child was touching everything.
“The seasoning is moldy, and if you look closely, the color of the skewers isn’t right either.
"Sprinkle lots of seasoning on it and grill it over high heat.
"We're all in the catering business. Even though I don't make this kind of shady money, I still know it's a cover-up!"
To be able to roast such a bunch of things and make them so fragrant, I can only say that the chef has some unconventional methods.
Ye Pingan concluded with disdain, "What the hell are you baking? It's a complete waste of food! Hurry up and make a new one after paying the price."
Lao Jiu's will was shaky in the strong aroma. He heard the disgusted scolding and opened his mouth dully, "Ye——"
...Boss Ye has a trick, so it's normal for him to resist the temptation for a while.
But the butcher was devouring other monsters, E-level monsters that were growing stronger. Had Boss Ye remained lucid until now? Could it be that the attraction of the barbecue stall had no effect on her, or was simply weak?
Lao Jiu knew that Boss Ye’s strange thing was special, but the captain never said it was so special!
Ye Pingan looked at her and suddenly understood. "Oh—I understand. Officer, you are here to check the food safety, right? Does this stall have a health certificate? What about the food business license?"
"Hurry up, officer, check his ID!" Ye Ping'an pushed aside the stall owner who was blocking his way and squeezed directly into the stall, looking around for a place to put money and a mobile phone.
After being in turmoil for so long, I must get the compensation no matter what!
Lao Jiu's eyes widened: "Huh? Checking weird IDs? Me?"
The butcher was pushed by an ordinary-looking arm and staggered. His head was big and his body was small, and he almost fell down.
The cold shadows on the barbecue stall faded a little, and Lao Jiu broke away from the rich aroma and was immediately startled.
She saw the butcher's face full of trembling flesh, and he stood up and rushed towards Ye Ping'an's back.
"Strange! Back--"
Lao Jiu exclaimed.
She couldn't finish her cry. The red umbrella over the barbecue stall seemed to fade, a crimson splattering across the rain. The stench of blood filled the air, mingling with the aroma of the scorching charcoal, a rich, alluring, and cloying aroma.
An extreme chill crawled out of his stomach and gripped everyone at the table. Lao Jiu was as stiff as a walking corpse.
The butcher pounced, his tall, strong shadow twice as wide as a man.
Ye Ping'an was busy rummaging through the barbecue stall. He didn't even turn his head, but just turned sideways.
thump!
The butcher missed his target and fell into the rain, landing flat on his face and sliding for several meters before stopping.
"Ghost?" Ye Ping'an was speechless. "Why do you police officers also believe in feudal superstition?"
The butcher climbed up from the rain, and the blood rain from the red umbrella turned into strands of blood, which penetrated into his body, and his body swelled up little by little.
Ye Pingan was furious. "Did you forget to take your medicine when you set up shop, or did you eat too much hormone-treated meat? I'm afraid your whole family is suffering from mania. I came to you to ask for compensation and to say a few words to you, but you resorted to violence? Look, you're such a grown-up, and you're not careful. You fell, didn't you?"
The butcher stared at her. The ghost child tied to the barbecue stall shrank and howled, with blood-red burn marks crawling out of his body, as if he was forcibly fused into the body.
The butcher rushed over again, waving his boning knife.
Scarlet blood dripped from the tip of the knife, a chill filled the air, and the wind whistled, as if thousands of resentful souls were roaring at the same time!
Yan Mingyue led a team to search for strange activities throughout the city. They discovered that a team was missing. As they were narrowing down their search area, they were suddenly grabbed by the [hanging rope].
A strange explosion occurred nearby!
When she rushed to the scene, she was horrified.
[Charcoal Butcher] had the upper hand when devouring [Half-Ghost]. The current bone-chopping knife must have stronger attack power than [Half-Ghost].
Ye Ping'an had no magical object capable of resisting the attack. Even if this attack was physical and not a regular killing blow, how could she block it? Using the metal bucket and skewers from the barbecue stall to block it?
Yan Mingyue swung out the hemp rope, trying to entangle the butcher's wielding blade, and shouted, "Retreat!"
This is not something Ye Ping'an can deal with!
Before the hemp rope could wrap around the bloody blade, a slender iron hammer clanged against the knife.
Snap!
The heavy bone-chopping knife broke in two, fell from the handle that was hit, and hit the ground with a thud.
“Ah——!!!” The butcher let out an inhuman scream, as if his spine was pulled out in an instant, and he collapsed to the ground with a bang.
Ye Pingan threw away the barbecue skewers he had picked up and shook his head, "Your knife is no good. It's like Zhang Xiaoquan's, it breaks with one chop."
“…”
The flames in the oven stopped dancing, the ghost child's crying stopped, and the investigators who had just arrived were confused.
The entire barbecue stall fell into an eerie silence, and only the butcher's screams could be heard.
Its entire body was like a pool of mud, and it was almost unrecognizable as a human.
The fat on his pig-like head was shaking constantly, and the skin and flesh were peeling off into countless bloody threads, falling off layer by layer.
Ye Pingan grabbed the collar of the stall owner who was sitting on the ground and urged him calmly, "You said you didn't take the medicine, but you really put it on? Hurry up and pay me!"
If you still have the energy to shout, you still have the energy to take the money, no problem!
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