Chapter 149: The Sleeping Comic Covention

The rain in Xinhai City had never come this fast— nor this unnatural.

Needle-like streams of icy rain, wrapped in low, rumbling roars, hammered down as if determined to nail the entire steel forest straight into the mud.

The whole city was swallowed by a gray-white fog.

“Damn it… does December even have typhoons?”

In front of the exhibition center’s glass curtain wall, Wan Xiaohu wiped his camera with a pained expression while staring at the torrential rain outside that looked ready to drown the world.

He pulled out his phone, wanting to post the few god-tier photos of “Lulu-chan” he’d just taken to show off in Moments—
only to find the progress bar stuck stubbornly at the soul-crushing 0%.

“Huh? Even the signal’s busted?”

He frowned and smacked his phone, staring at the status bar where the signal had actually degraded all the way down to E, completely dumbfounded.

“No way… this is downtown! How did my 5G turn into 2G? Am I retro surfing the web now?!”

He wasn’t the only one. Others quickly noticed the same problem, and complaints started spreading.

Just as the crowd began to stir from the network outage, the exhibition center’s broadcast speakers crackled to life with a notice laced with static:

“Bzzz… Attention, visitors. Due to extreme weather conditions, nearby signal base stations have malfunctioned… bzzz… To express the organizer’s apology, supply points have been set up in Areas A and B. Free hot meals are now being provided. Please collect them in an orderly manner with your tickets…”

It had to be said—this sugar-coated bullet was extremely effective.

The moment people heard “free lunch,” and hot food at that, most of the resentment evaporated instantly.

Visitors praised the usually stingy organizers for finally acting human and began flowing toward the dining areas.

A faint, sweet fragrance seemed to spread through the air, making mouths water and hunger surge.

A few minutes later, Wan Xiaohu received a neatly arranged sushi platter.

“Nice! Score!”

He didn’t think much of it, squatted in an inconspicuous corner, opened the box, and stuffed a piece of salmon into his mouth.

“Ah… what a shame.”

After a bite or two, he sighed regretfully.

“That Lulu totally vanished after her performance. Even if I could’ve waited by the backstage entrance for a photo… Well, she’ll show up at the awards ceremony, right?”

While his head was still full of “Madoka,” his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

Bzzz—bzzz—

The vibration came in bursts.

It was Brother Luo.

Wan Xiaohu hurriedly answered, pressing the phone tight to his ear and shouting:

“Hello?! Hello?! Brother Luo? Can you hear me? The signal here is absolute garbage!”

“…Xiaohu… bzzz… I saw… the message… the expo…”

From the receiver came Luo Shaotian’s voice, distorted and distant through heavy static.

“Yeah, Brother Luo! I’m telling you, this con was totally worth it! The champion cosplayer was insane—I took tons of photos…”

“I already sent a few… I’ll send the rest once the signal’s back, you gotta see them—”

He was bubbling with excitement, but got cut off midway.

“Alright, alright… you know I’m not into that kid stuff…”

Luo Shaotian’s voice came through in fragments. Though dismissive, the familiar concern was still there.

“I’m nearby… just finished my shift. The rain’s too heavy… taxis are suspended… bzzz… I’ll come pick you up…?”

Hearing that, warmth flooded Wan Xiaohu’s chest.

That’s Brother Luo for you!

“Hey, that’d be great! Thanks, Brother Luo!”

Just as Wan Xiaohu was about to say more, a powerful wave of drowsiness washed over him.

His eyelids felt like they had lead weights hanging from them—so heavy he could barely keep them open.

Weird… why am I suddenly so sleepy?

“Hello? Xiaohu? You there? I’m at the… north… bzzz—”

“I am, I am! Brother Luo!”

Wan Xiaohu shook his head hard, trying to shake off the drowsiness, and replied into the phone in a slurred voice:

“Then I’ll… I’ll wait for you at the north gate… when you get here… call—”

Beep—beep—beep—

Before he could finish, the line went dead.

The signal was gone. Completely.

“Hello? Brother Luo?”

He stared at the blackened screen, blinking in confusion.

The next second, a wave of vertigo hit him. His body swayed, and the half-eaten sushi box slipped from his hand and hit the floor with a plop.

What… is… happening…

He leaned against the wall, his vision rapidly blurring.

In the final moment before he lost consciousness, through that hazy blur, he saw something horrifying—

Inside the once-bustling exhibition hall, the visitors eating the free lunches were collapsing in waves—

like wheat being harvested.

The entire world fell into terrifying silence.

Only the endless roar of rain outside continued pounding against the glass.

“What kind of organizer is this? So unprofessional! If you want to dodge paying out, just say it!”

Lin Yu sat on the toilet lid, bouncing her leg irritably.

Her phone battery had turned into the anxiety-inducing red warning,
and the so-called “contestants’ group chat” was still completely dead.

Are you kidding me… where’s the awards ceremony? Where’s my hundred thousand?!

She even tentatively sent a “Anyone there?”

The glaring red exclamation mark beside the message mercilessly mocked her naivety.

No signal.

Damn it…

Lin Yu couldn’t sit still anymore.

At this point, she’d rather be told straight out that the prize money was gone than be left hanging like this.

If she stayed hidden any longer and the organizers really ran off in the chaos, wouldn’t her hundred thousand just go down the drain?

That was one hundred thousand!

For that money, she’d screamed Madoka’s cringe-inducing lines, sacrificed her dignity as a man—everything!

She absolutely refused to let all that effort turn into pure “love-powered volunteer work”!

“No. Even if I die, I’m dying on—”

Lin Yu took a deep breath, gave herself one last mental pep talk, splashed some water on her face to wake up—

“…I’m going out to see what the hell is going on!”

She grabbed the white blob still playing dead on the sink and shoved open the bathroom door, storming out.

But the instant she stepped into the hallway—

A bone-chilling sense of wrongness hit her like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing her anger.

It was too quiet.

The cosplay event—once filled with noise, cheers, and camera shutters—

was now as silent as a grave.

Only the dense sound of rain continued tapping monotonously against the dome above.

“What the—”

Just as Lin Yu opened her mouth, a hand suddenly clamped over it!

“Mmm—!!!”

A huge force yanked her backward.

Scared out of her wits, Lin Yu instinctively struggled, even preparing to fire off 【Don’t Touch Me】 at her attacker—

“Don’t move. It’s me.”

A familiar voice sounded by her ear.

That voice—

Lin Yu froze instantly.

The hand released her.

Trembling, she turned around. Under the faint green glow of the emergency lights, she finally saw who it was.

Chen Bing, dressed in a nun-style long dress, stared coldly at her—
her eyes screaming you idiot, you almost got yourself killed.

Behind her stood Yaye Ying in gothic lolita attire, hugging her teddy bear expressionlessly.

And Li Qing, wearing pink lolita, was crouched on the ground, clearly on guard.

The three big shots… all here.

“I’m… I’m screwed…”

Those three words flashed through Lin Yu’s mind.

Caught red-handed by coworkers in a full-blown social-death scenario—
she’d never be able to hold her head up at work again.

Her survival instincts exploded.

Thud!

Without hesitation, Lin Yu dropped straight into a flawless kowtow.

She even raised Xiao Bai over her head like an offering, her voice breaking with tears:

“I—I’m sorry! Big bosses, I was wrong!
I shouldn’t have skipped work! I shouldn’t have taken side jobs! I shouldn’t have embarrassed the company!

But please let me explain! I have an eighty-year-old mother—anyway, I’m really short on money! Please don’t tell the manager! I haven’t even gotten the hundred thousand yet! Once I do, we can split it, okay?! Waaa—!”

An eerie silence followed.

Li Qing’s mouth twitched. In the end, she rolled her eyes, walked over, and patted Lin Yu’s head.

“Alright, alright. Stop wailing. You’re making it sound like we’re arresting a corrupt official.”

“Exactly,”
Chen Bing added coldly, arms crossed.

“We’re not here about your little mess. There’s something more troublesome going on.”

“More troublesome?”

Lin Yu froze, lifting her head in confusion.

“What kind of trouble? Don’t tell me Manager Qian came personally to arrest me?”

“Shh—”

Yaye Ying suddenly raised a finger to her lips, signaling silence.

“Smell carefully.”

Her voice was soft, but carried undeniable gravity.

“The air… doesn’t it have a scent?”

Reminded like that, Lin Yu subconsciously sniffed.

“…Kind of sweet?”

It was a very sweet smell.

Candied hawthorn?

No… wait…

Her pupils suddenly shrank as a not-so-distant memory snapped awake.

“The aquarium… that D-rank contaminant!”

She cried out,

“It’s the scent of 【Siren Jellyfish】!”

Li Qing shrugged.

“Looks like your nose hasn’t degraded yet, Senior.”

“But… why would something like that be here?”

“Who knows. That’s why it’s a pain,”
Chen Bing said grimly, pointing outside.

“Take a look yourself. See what the exhibition center’s become. And be careful—don’t let those security guards spot you.”

“Security guards?”

Completely confused, Lin Yu still obediently followed instructions.

She clung behind Chen Bing, carefully peeking half her head through the crack of the fire escape door.

The next second—

Her breathing stopped completely.

The once-lively main exhibition hall had turned into a sea of deathly silence.

Cosplayers, photographers, visitors—

all of them lay scattered across the floor like puppets with their strings cut, plunged into some kind of eerie slumber.

And above that ocean of sleeping bodies—

A group of figures in black security uniforms moved silently among them.

Their faces had no features.

Only a single thing—

A mouth…
stitched shut with crude seams.