Bait

Inside the restaurant, Walker and Bella, George and Ava, Gleeson, and the tall, thin man strapped to a chair were all trembling like frightened birds.

"The phone... I can't get through!"

Walker frantically pressed his phone, the screen displaying a "No Service" icon. In despair, he slammed the phone shut.

"No signal at all! We're trapped here!"

"We have to stay here!" Bella gripped her husband Walker's arm tightly, her voice trembling with tears.

"Block the doors! Block the windows! Wait for dawn! When dawn breaks... maybe that thing will..."

Americans are no less imaginative and creative when it comes to filling in the gaps in their knowledge. The various perverts, serial killers, shootings, torture, and horror movies in reality make them even more sensitive.

"Dawn?" Gleeson cried out in near-hysterical agitation, "Look at James! Think about the power he just displayed! I can tell you for sure, these broken doors and windows can't stop it at all—"

He pointed sharply towards Room 1: "If Detective Qin isn't dead, he's our hope. He's the detective in Los Angeles who specializes in dealing with these kinds of people! If something happened to him, then staying here will only lead to our deaths..."

Gleason turned his gaze to the vehicles not far away, his eyes gleaming:

"We need to find a way to get on a vehicle and leave from here; that's our only chance to survive!"

George and Walker began looking around for a solution: either go out and continue searching for Qin Jin, or figure out a safe way to get through the remaining dozen or so meters and get into the car smoothly...

At this moment, Bella and Ava whispered to each other and walked towards the restroom in the corner of the restaurant. Then the two of them went inside to take care of some physiological needs that they could no longer hold back.

The men in the restaurant watched nervously as they went in, closing the door behind them, not even waiting for them to look away—

"Splash—!!!"

A loud crash as glass shattered with tremendous force followed by Ava's piercing, distorted scream! The scream, filled with extreme pain and fear, instantly broke the brief silence of the restaurant!

"Ava!!!" George roared like a wild beast and charged forward first! Gleeson and Walker followed closely behind!

The moment the door was opened, a gust of cold wind, carrying rain and a strong smell of blood, rushed out!

The sight before them sent chills down their spines:

The bathroom window had a huge hole, and cold rain was pouring in.

Several shredded pieces of clothing hung on the broken window frame, along with large splatters of fresh, glaring blood, which were being washed away by the rain.

Shards of glass littered the floor, mixed with dark red liquid. Bella stood fearfully by the window, her outstretched hands covered in blood.

Seeing everyone enter, she burst into tears: "Monster! A monster has kidnapped Ava... I grabbed her hand... it was too strong..."

Ava has been captured by monsters outside?!

"Ava—!!"

George let out a heart-wrenching cry, rushed to the broken window, and tried to squeeze through the sharp shards of glass:

"Ava! Where are you?! Let her go! You monster!"

"Come back! Danger!" Walker and Gleeson held him tightly, desperately pulling him back.

Just then!

"Ugh—!"

That familiar sound of wind breaking through the air rang out again! This time it was so close, seemingly right there in the rain outside the window.

Pfft!!!

To the horrified eyes of Walker and Gleeson, a massive iron hook, gleaming with a cold light, emerged from George's back, still covered in blood and bits of flesh!

Unlike before, this time Gleeson and Walker released their grip almost simultaneously, grabbed Bella, and retreated incredibly quickly.

Whoa!

The chains suddenly tightened and retracted! An overwhelming and terrifying force surged forth instantly!

"Ah—!" George let out a final, inhuman scream.

boom!

His body was firmly hooked by the iron hook, and he was violently thrown backward against the broken window frame. Like a fish caught on a hook, he struggled futilely on the window frame, with a large amount of blood foam gushing from his mouth.

"Help...help me!"

George let out a painful groan. At this moment, he finally realized how naive his madness had been. He hadn't even gotten out yet and this was the result. If he had gone out, he would have died even faster!

Faced with George's pleas, Gleeson and Walker instinctively stepped back again, their expressions pained, but neither dared to reach out again.

"Click!" Another crisp sound, accompanied by George's body's last violent convulsion.

The chain snapped back again!

This time, with George's completely lifeless body and broken spine, they dragged him out through the narrow hole in the window!

Only large swathes of scarlet blood remained on the window frame and the ground, quickly diluted by the rain.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Gleeson was the first to react, immediately pulling Walker and Bella along, stumbling out of the bathroom and back to the relatively safe center of the restaurant.

There are now only four living people left in the restaurant: Gleeson, Walker, Bella, and the tall, thin man strapped to a chair.

"It's not safe here either! That thing... that thing can get in! It can get in from anywhere!" Walker's voice was choked with sobs as he completely broke down.

The tall, thin man, as if grasping at the last straw, screamed with all his might:

"Run...run! Let's run together! Drive out! Maybe...maybe we can survive! All that money...all that jewelry! You can have it all! I don't want it anymore! You can have it all! Please, take me with you!"

The fear of death overwhelmed everything, including the lust for treasure.

Gleeson's bloodshot eyes swept over Walker, Bella, and the tall, thin man's faces before finally settling on the bag of priceless gold and silver jewelry on the ground.

A cold, cruel, but perhaps the only viable idea took shape in his mind, which had become unusually clear due to fear and despair.

"Want to live?" Gleason's voice was hoarse and cold, like scraping against rusty iron.

Walker and Bella nodded frantically, as if grasping at a straw.

Gleeson's gaze shifted to the terrified, tall, thin man on the ground:

"We need bait so that when the monster grabs him, we can rush out, get in the car, and leave this place..."

Walker and Bella instantly understood Gleeson's intention. A hint of reluctance flashed across their faces, but it was quickly overwhelmed by an even stronger will to survive.

Bella even instinctively shrank behind her husband.

The tall, thin man understood, and his eyes flashed with extreme fear and anger:

"No! You can't! You bastards! Devils! I curse you..."

"Let's do it!"

Gleeson immediately lunged forward and grabbed one side of the chair. Walker hesitated for a moment, then followed and grabbed the other side. Amid the tall, thin man's curses, the two carried him into the bathroom they had just been in, and then quickly rushed out.

"Get ready at the door!"

Gleason grabbed the heavy bag and rushed to the door.

Walker and Bella also realized what was happening and rushed towards the door leading from the restaurant to the hotel lobby.

Walker's hand was on the doorknob, and Bella was gripping his clothes tightly.

Gleeson carried the jewelry bag in one hand and gripped the pistol tightly in the other, pointing the muzzle towards the bathroom, waiting for the sound that would herald both death and opportunity.

Time seemed to stand still, each second feeling incredibly long.

"Bang! Crash—!!!"

The familiar sound of shattering glass and a desperate scream suddenly came from the bathroom!

"Go!" Gleeson roared, and Walker opened the door at the same time.

Like arrows released from a bow, the three people unleashed their full potential for survival, plunging into the rain and racing towards their respective vehicles. They quickly started up and sped away.

The car headlights swayed violently in the darkness, like eyes struggling in death.

The engines of the two cars roared, their headlights struggling to cut through the endless darkness and torrential rain, as they quickly disappeared at the end of the open space in front of the hotel, carrying three survivors and a bag of blood-stained jewelry.