The Real Awakening

The air was deathly silent.

Every person in the room instantly held their breath, standing dumbly at the top of the staircase and blankly staring at Xue Qing lying in a pool of blood.

Xue Qing had long since stopped moving.

Time seemed to come to a standstill.

There was no knowing how long the silence lasted, but it eventually broke when someone let out a quiet sob.

Yuan Meng Yu covered her mouth, trying her best to control her mental state that teetered on collapse. However, the tears flowed endlessly down from her eyes.

“Exactly when…will all of this finally end…”

She brokenly choked out between sobs, her voice trembling slightly in the stifling atmosphere.

Ye Xiao pulled out that clean and soft handkerchief from his pocket and silently passed it over.

Duo Duo wordlessly stood off to one side, calmly observing Xue Qing’s corpse.

Her face was very tranquil, with no anxiousness or franticness. Xue Qing had plainly died just now because of being pushed down by her, yet she looked like though nothing had happened, her expression unruffled. In fact, there was a trace of a smile on her lips.

Ye Xiao looked at her and slowly said in a low voice, “Two weeks ago at midnight, a 25-year old female named Du Yao that lived in S-City at White Sands Road, #158 was killed with a crossbow. You were the murderer, weren’t you?”

Duo Duo raised her head to lock her large and bright eyes onto Ye Xiao with a trace of astonishment in her gaze. She remained silent, without affirming or denying the words.

Ye Xiao let out a long sigh and continued, “Yang Wen Jie, Zhou Yue, and Shao Yue Ting were all killed by you too, weren’t they?”

Duo Duo only stared at him without responding.

Yuan Meng Yu gaped in shock and exclaimed, “Wh-what are you saying?”

Ye Xiao did not reply, his eyes fixed on the little girl in front of him.

The girl originally wanted to continue playing the pity act, but after a second of hesitation, a sinister grin she couldn’t conceal appeared on her face that had prepared a hurt facade.

She couldn’t help but laugh. Raising a hand, she casually undid the butterfly ribbons in her hair, causing her long ponytail to fall loose over her shoulders.

She smoothed out her front bangs and her thin lips curled upwards. As she shot Ye Xiao a look full of unrestrained charm, she let out a disdained click of her tongue. 

“How boring. I originally wanted to play for a bit longer, but I didn’t think you’d see through me so quickly.”

She chuckled, seemingly with exasperation yet also with intrigue. As her palm slowly tilted, the strands of soft, silky hair slid through her fingers.

“D-Duo Duo, you…”

Yuang Meng Yu gaped in shock.

In the span of less than a minute, the child before them had turned into an entirely different person. It was like the innocent and adorable 12-year old girl had suddenly transformed into a…a mature woman…

That waist-length hair, that playful gaze, that knowing expression, that experienced tone…

How was the person in front of them anything like a 12-year old child? It was clearly another person!

Wha-what’s going on? Who in the world is this?

Yuang Meng Yu simply could not believe her own eyes.

However, no one else at the scene aside from her was surprised.

Ye Xiao, Su Mu, and Zhang Xiao Long calmly stood in place without uttering a word.

Duo Duo maliciously sneered and stomped on her hair ribbon. She took a step forward and looked at Yuan Meng Yu while lazily saying, “Don’t worry, all of this will end soon. Because you…are the last one.”

“W-what? I don’t understand what you’re saying?” Yuan Meng Yu took a step back.

Before she had even finished speaking, the girl in front of her suddenly leapt into the air and lunged at her like an abrupt thunderbolt.

She had no time to react, simply standing there blankly. In a flash, she felt her body tilt as someone grabbed her waist from behind and swiftly pulled her down.

Duo Duo’s attack missed, and she ran headfirst into the wall with a bang. Yet she seemed to not feel anything at all; after pausing for a beat, she lifted her head to reveal that same malicious grin pointed at Yuan Meng Yu.

A bullet ricocheted off her chest.

Ye Xiao stood in front of Yuan Meng Yu with his hands gripping his gun that was aimed at the girl across from him.

Duo Duo was not the least bit alarmed by the gun. Rather, she smiled in amusement. As her smile widened, her expression turned fiercer and more menacing. A pair of sharp fangs slowly extended out from both corners of her mouth, glinting ominously like the pointed teeth of a demon.

“M-monster!”

Yuan Meng Yu was overcome with terror. Her fear was so much that she could not control herself.

The cold, shining fangs grew longer and longer. Duo Duo opened her mouth and a long, slim needle inexplicably came out from the depths of her throat.

Yuan Meng Yu let out a frightened yelp and slowly crawled backwards on the floor, trembling as she retreated bit by bit.

“What, are you that scared?”

Duo Duo rolled her eyes and laughed wildly. Amidst the grating laughter, they heard a squelch and a thin, transparent wing suddenly spread out from her back!

A w-wing?

That’s definitely a wing! She somehow grew a wing!

However, it was not a pair, but just a single one on the right. It was similar to a cicada’s wing, thin as paper and hanging upside from behind her. The bottom reached her knees, crudely covering half her body.

Yuan Meng Yu was completely stunned by the needle leaving the throat, the growing fangs, and the wings that the girl had. Her terror was now impossible to describe with words, and she could only dumbly stand there.

Zhang Xiao Long pursed his lips, his eyes fixated on Duo Duo. His eyes narrowed slightly as though he was deep in thought.

“This is…a Havlen family member’s true transformed state?” Su Mu muttered to himself in a low voice.

Duo Duo lightly shook her wing. With a vicious smirk on her face, she lowered her body with her gaze locked onto Yuan Meng Yu.

Ye Xiao hurriedly raised his pistol. But before he could even aim, he was shocked by a shadow flashing past him. All he felt was a powerful impact striking him before his body instantly flew out uncontrollably.

Bang! He slammed heavily into the wall. For a moment, his vision blurred and he nearly fainted on the spot. The pistol slid from his hands and fell onto the floor.

“Ugh, damn it…”

Ye Xiao clutched his shoulder that was in so much pain that he could not stand. However, his collar was grabbed by someone like an eagle capturing a baby chick. They easily lifted him up and firmly restrained him against the wall.

Ye Xiao gasped for breath and lifted his eyes. The face that leapt into his vision was Zhang Xiao Long.

Zh-Zhang Xiao Long?

That weak and feeble-looking nerd was actually hiding such a shocking amount of strength?

That means this entire time, Zhang Xiao Long’s cowardly and timid good-for-nothing manner was really all an act!

Ye Xiao was quite stunned as he stared dumbfounded at Zhang Xiao Long.

At this moment, he heard Yuan Meng Yu let out a fearful cry.

Duo Duo beat her wing and lunged towards Yuan Meng Yu.

Yuan Meng Yu continued to scream in panic, crying as she desperately flung herself left and right to just barely dodge those fangs. Then, during an opening, she staggered towards the far end of the corridor to escape.

Duo Duo smirked in delight and hummed while giving chase.

“Let go!”

Ye Xiao struggled to resist, but no matter what, he was unable to break free from the hold pressing him down.

Zhang Xiao Long’s grip turned more powerful with increasing strength, to the point where Ye Xiao’s bones were about to be ground into pieces from the force. But then, Zhang Xiao Long suddenly sensed something that made him freeze. He turned his head to see a pair of calm and cold eyes pointed at him.

Su Mu wordlessly took a step forwards while maintaining that frosty look.

For some reason, Zhang Xiao Long was suddenly overcome with panic and fear.

He suspiciously scanned the bee corpses and blood that covered the entire living room, then glanced back uncertainly at the young cop with unknown origins while letting out a low shout, “Don’t come over, or else your partner will lose his life!”

Su Mu levelly met his gaze and raised a brow as he replied in amusement, “You must be mistaken. What does that guy’s life or death have anything to do with me? Besides, I’ve wanted to replace that stupid and clumsy partner for ages. You’re more than free to kill him or skin him alive.”

As he spoke, he took another step forwards.

Zhang Xiao Long was taken aback.

Ye Xiao also stared blankly. After pausing for a tenth of a second, he immediately shouted.

“Oi! Dead Fish-Eyes! Aren’t you the one that’s mistaken? What did you just say?! I dare you to say it again! Bastard! Pighead!” 

As he lashed out, he furiously flailed about.

Su Mu did not even spare him a glance as he continued advancing without permission. With his eyes on Zhang Xiao Long, he smiled faintly and indifferently added, “However, if you do kill him, I’ll make sure to bury you next to him. If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to try.”

Zhang Xiao Long frowned at the man before him and asked, “Who in the world are you?”

Su Mu expressionlessly stared back without answering.

Perhaps because Zhang Xiao Long could vaguely sense a chilling and powerful aura, he nervously gulped before sternly stressing, “No matter who you are, you guys definitely should not have appeared here. This is the Havlen family’s internal affairs; outsiders cannot interfere.”

As he spoke, he forcefully pushed Ye Xiao forwards by the collar.

Ye Xiao stumbled a few steps, then turned his head to ask in confusion, “Family’s internal affairs? I don’t get what you’re saying.”

Zhang Xiao Long gritted his teeth but remained quiet.

After a moment of silence, Su Mu slowly asked, “Do you know how a queen bee is born?”

“Queen bee?”

Yuan Meng Yu backed into a corner while watching Duo Duo. She shook her head and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Duo Duo grinned and replied, “The so-called queen bee isn’t actually born to be queen. At the beginning, she’s just like anyone else—a mere, average larvae. Among the numerous larvae, the worker bees will select a batch of queen bee candidates, then specially build cells in the hive for the candidates to live in.

“The cells for nurturing queen bees are known as the queen cells. But there isn’t only one queen cell in a hive, but rather eight to ten of them. In that case, exactly which candidate would become the true queen?”

Duo Duo paused here and smirked darkly at Yuan Meng Yu.

Yuan Meng Yu was completely lost; she had no idea what any of these words meant. She only stared fearfully at the fangs in Duo Duo’s mouth and continued retreating and retreating without stopping. Then she found a chance to turn tail and run away.

“After breaking out from the queen cell, she must kill all the other queen bee candidates. The last one standing becomes the true queen bee.”

Ye Xiao was dumbfounded as he listened to Su Mu slowly finish explaining this. He ran it through his mind once more before finally understanding.

“You…you can’t be saying that…”

Ye Xiao’s eyes widened at Su Mu as he uttered with dawning realisation, “The house we’re in was a cell specifically built for selecting a queen bee? The eight rooms inside the house are actually queen cells specially meant for nurturing queen bees? And those eight women are…”

“The queen bee candidates.” Su Mu continued, “Every person that received an invitation letter was selected.”

“Then what about you, Zhang Xiao Long? You-you received an invitation letter too, didn’t you?”

Ye Xiao looked at Zhang Xiao Long in astonishment.

“Since you two already know so much, telling you wouldn’t do any harm.” Zhang Xiao Long sighed and said, “A month ago, the previous generation’s queen bee of the Havlen family passed away. That’s why we must now choose a new generation queen bee. What you guys said is correct; all the ones that received the invitation letters are queen bee candidates. However, they are not actually normal people; they were originally descendents of the Havlen family.

“I’m sure that you already know the ancient legends of our family. We have our own civilization, and the family is massive in size with numerous members. Majority of Havlen descendents are actually the same as a normal human until the age of twenty-five, and can assimilate completely into your world. Only after we turn twenty-five do our bodies transform and our memories awaken. We grow bee wings and become a pure-blooded Havlen family member. That is when we return to the world that we belong to.

“Every time the queen changes, we will select eight queen bee candidates among those of suitable age and send out invitation letters. Then we create a special hive just for them, building eight queen cells. And of the eight people being nurtured in the queen cells, one must break out and become the true queen bee. I am the envoy that was sent here to welcome the queen bee.”

After unhurriedly saying this. Zhang Xiao Long looked at Ye Xiao and Su Mu. “That is why I must not allow any outsiders’ disruption.”

“Tch, it’s not like we barged in on purpose. The several of us that don’t have train tickets just happened to be drawn into your ‘family affairs’. We’re victims—”

“I don’t care if you did it on purpose or not. In any case, you are people that should not have appeared here.”

“Heh, that absurd reason is why Ma Hong Liang and Yan Kai had to die?”

Ye Xiao sneered at Zhang Xiao Long.

Zhang Xiao Long did not evade the question, and he answered matter-of-factly, “Yes.”

“Then what about Feng Jing Jing? She no longer wanted to participate in your family competition; she just wanted to live on. That’s why she left so resolutely. Why did she have to die so cruelly as well?”

Zhang Xiao Long looked at him squarely and said, “They are our selected candidates; they have no way of turning back. The instant Feng Jing Jing left this house, she was viewed as having forfeited. Every eliminee must die.”

Ye Xiao frowned. “Eight candidates in a death royale, with only the last one standing becoming the true queen bee—the others are just sacrifices. So that’s why we saw seven unengraved tombstones in the cemetery before; they were prepared for the seven sacrifices, weren’t they?”

“Yes, that is a rule that the Havlen family has held since ancient times, as well as a tradition.”

“What kind of shit rule and shit tradition is that! They’re all humans, living humans! This is intentional homicide!”

Ye Xiao couldn’t restrain his indignation as he furiously glared at Zhang Xiao Long.

Undisturbed, Zhang Xiao Long smiled and replied, “I’m very sorry to inform you, but the Havlen family members are not true humans by definition. As we grow older, we will transform and awaken, obtaining our passed-down memories along with the fangs and wings of our bloodline. We cannot coexist with humans in the same world. There are many things that we cannot understand about humans, just as you cannot understand us.”

At this point, Su Mu suddenly cut in, “Then what about Jin Duo Duo? Even if you did not know that she had murdered a queen bee candidate to get an invitation letter, you should at least know that her age does not conform with the other candidates.”

Zhang Xiao Long chuckled. “Age? How old do you think Jin Duo Duo is this year?”

A bright red dress, shiny, round leather shoes, long, pure-black hair past her shoulders, and a single thin wing behind her…

Duo Duo had her arms crossed as she lightly skipped down the dim, long, and narrow hallway. With every step she took, her red leader shoes would make a clicking sound against the hardwood floor.

Click, clack, click, clack…

“Yuan-jiějie, are you playing hide-n-seek?”

She giggled, her bright laughter echoing through the empty corridor.

Yuan Meng Yu was hiding underneath the bed in one of the rooms, sprawled across the ground. Through the finger-wide crack between the bedskirt and the floor, she just happened to glimpse Yang Wen Jie’s corpse lying nearby.

Now that so much time had passed, the corpse was already rigid and black. The face was covered with dark red splotches from rigor mortis like a chunk of gradually moulding, dry-preserved meat. The round eyes were bulging out from their sockets, its unmoving gaze seemingly locked right onto the place where Yuan Meng Yu was cowering under the bed.

She shuddered and hurriedly shifted her eyes away and lightly shook her head. Her trembling hands tightly covered her mouth so that her frightened sobs wouldn’t slip out. However, the tears spilled down uncontrollably, flowing through the cracks between her fingers and dripping onto the ground.

If I’m found, I’m dead!

If I’m found, I might even become just like that corpse in front of me…

No, I don’t…I don’t want that…Someone, save me…

She bit her lip and cried soundlessly.

“Yuan-jiějie, where are you?”

At this moment, a bell-like laugh rang from outside the door.

“Hiding is pointless, I’ll find you sooner or later.” Duo Duo chuckled happily as she declared this with the tone of a spoiled child. 

“Yuan-jiějie, you don’t need to feel scared. Just hurry up and come out. Everything will end very soon…or are you perhaps still hoping that someone will come to your rescue? Hm, let me guess, is it that foolish and adorable little cop?”

Duo Duo strolled past every single bedroom, reaching out to push each door open.

“Yuan-jiějie, I’m guessing that you might have feelings for that little cop?”

She chuckled with an almost mocking hint. Then she immediately switched topics and her tone abruptly turned to a chilling one, “But I can very definitely tell you that we have no way of being together with humans.”

Yuan Meng Yu froze.

What do you mean by “we”? What do you mean by “no way of being together with humans”?

Wh-what is she saying…what is she talking about…

Yuan Meng Yu shivered as she cried and felt wave after wave of dizzying tinnitus.

My back-back really hurts…it hurts…

Bzzzz, bzzz, bzzz…

The noise around me won’t stop…

“The members of the Havlen family can only marry internally. It’s forbidden to mingle with humans from the outside world. This is a rule, as well as a necessity, or else you’ll end up giving birth to a growth-stunted monster like me…”

Duo Duo walked outside the doors as she spoke with an expressionless face, her tone turning sharper.

“This whole time, you kept calling me child this, child that. Why don’t you guess how old I really am?”

She let out a sad laugh and gloomily stated, “Yuan-jiějie, you’re not necessarily older than me. Let me tell you a secret—today is actually my twenty-fifth birthday as well.”

What? Twenty-fifth?

Yuan Meng Yu felt shock rush through her.

Jin Duo Duo is the same age as me? She’s twenty-five too?

How-how is that possible!

“How is it impossible?”

As though having read Yuan Meng Yu’s mind, Duo Duo chuckled and slowly stated, “Growth hormone deficiency.”

Growth hormone deficiency?

Yuan Meng Yu was stunned.

“My mother had gone against the entire family and got together with a human, even giving birth to a child. However, due to a genetic defect, the endocrine system was dysfunctional and the child’s development was impacted. The bones stopped growing on their own after a certain amount of time. That’s why, no matter how old I am, I will always have the appearance of a child.”

Duo Duo indifferently said this with a level tone, as though she was describing someone else’s business.

“Afterwards, my mother and father were secretly murdered by the Havlen family. Only I was able to successfully escape as my mother shielded me. I did not die, and I have been tenaciously living on. Because I am waiting, waiting for a chance, a chance to get my revenge on the Havlen family. And now, my wait has finally come to an end.

“I couldn’t find the Havlen family’s secret hidden location before. But I knew that the door to the family would only open if I had an invitation letter. That’s why I had to get my hands on that invitation letter by any means.

“Yuan-jiějie, I’m sure you have an invitation letter as well, don’t you? It’s just a pity that after all this time, you still haven’t awoken, and now you can only wait for your fate of being exterminated. Heh, even the Heavens are on my side!”

With this, Duo Duo came to a standstill in front of a bed. She opened her mouth to expose her fangs and yanked the bedskirt up.

“Ahhhh—!”

A lung-splitting scream suddenly came from the bedroom at the end of the hallway.

Ye Xiao instinctively took a step forwards, but was blocked by Zhang Xiao Long.

“Outsiders must not intervene with our family’s affairs!”

“You clearly know Jin Duo Duo isn’t a queen bee candidate, so why are you still letting her indiscriminately slaughter innocents?!”

“Because the true queen will not be defeated!” Zhang Xiao Long’s burning gaze bore into him as he declared, “Conversely, if her insufficient ability leads to her own death, then she does not have the qualifications to become the queen bee of the Havlen family!”

“Bullshit! Like I care if they’re queen bees or not! I just know you guys are committing murder! Move aside!”

As Ye Xia let out an angry roar, he moved to shove Zhang Xiao Long aside. But the moment he stretched out his arm, he suddenly felt a sharp pain at the back of his head. Then his vision blacked out, and his body involuntarily fell down.

“Ugh, Dead Fish-Eyes, you…”

Mid-mutter, he lost consciousness.

Zhang Xiao Long blanched, then raised his head to stare at Su Mu in astonishment.

Su Mu’s face showed no trace of emotion as usual. He wordlessly bent over and grabbed Ye Xiao by the collar, then swung him over a shoulder. He shot Zhang Xiao Long a side-eyed glance and flatly said, “I’m sorry to say that I have absolutely no interest in your family affairs. I simply hope you can tell me how I can leave this place.”

As he spoke, a click, clacksound came from the depths of the corridor.

Zhang Xiao Long turned his head to see a slim figure haltingly emerge from the shadows…

Yuan Meng Yu swayed as she walked, her appearance similar to a devil’s. Her clothes were stained with blood and her ashen face had streaks of tears that had not yet dried, yet a faint, thin smile gradually spilled from her lips.

Her right hand was clutching a fistful of long, jet-black hair. Behind the hair was a small body that she dragged with a smile on her face.

That shriveled, dried-up corpse had a bright red dress and a pair of shiny, round leather shoes.

Click, clack, click, clack.

Yuan Meng Yu slowly came over step by step, pulling the corpse along with her.

Suddenly, her lips parted to reveal a pair of sharp fangs as she began to laugh sinisterly. There was a squelch amidst the grating laughter as a pair of sparkling, translucent bee wings unfurled from her back…