Her remaining reason held her back.
The cabin had appeared too suddenly, and the children were inside. They’d searched here many times before and never seen it.
Everything screamed weird.
Lin Juan sensed thick pollution from the cabin.
The vine in his hand—the one like a blood vessel—twitched slightly, trying to break free.
Lin Juan let it go. It dropped to the ground and slithered forward like a snake.
“Follow it.” Lin Juan stepped forward.
You Chuyao hurried after him.
They twisted and turned through bushes taller than a person. You Chuyao lost track of direction and time until she heard Lin Juan’s voice.
“We’re here.”
She halted abruptly and looked ahead.
The bushes had vanished. She stood in a tidy little courtyard, warm and inviting. The neon lights bathed the wooden cabin in warm yellow light. The aroma of tempting food wafted from inside, making her mouth water.
Lin Juan smelled it too.
Did weird phenomena cook?
Or was someone else inside?
“Mr. Lin?” You Chuyao wanted to enter but hadn’t lost her senses. Remembering her friend’s warning, she couldn’t risk blowing it at the last moment!
“Guests have arrived?”
Lin Juan paused at the voice.
A young woman emerged from the open door.
Around twenty, with long hair draped over her chest adorned with small white flowers, wearing a long skirt. She looked entirely like a normal human.
But a cabin that appeared out of nowhere, and a young woman claiming to be its owner? No way she was normal.
“Mr. Lin?” You Chuyao whispered.
Lin Juan shook his head slightly. You Chuyao fell silent.
“We were just passing by and wanted to ask for a cup of water.” Lin Juan did not act rashly. He could only sense an extremely faint weird aura on the young woman. The real anomaly was probably related to that wooden cabin.
He needed to go inside and investigate.
“Welcome, welcome,” the young woman made an inviting gesture. “We’re about to have dinner. Why don’t you stay and join us, guests?”
Though it was a question, Lin Juan detected an attitude that brooked no refusal.
“That works. Did you make the dinner? It smells delicious.”
Hearing the compliment, the young woman smiled with pursed lips. “You’re too kind, guest. Dinner was made by my mom. She has great culinary skills and is very hospitable.”
Lin Juan stepped through the gate.
The instant he entered, it felt like passing through an invisible membrane. Only inside did he realize there were quite a few people in the house.
A middle-aged couple, a young man, plus the young woman who had returned from the door, and two children—if he hadn’t known the two children were You Chuyao’s, the scene would have looked just like a family of six gathered for dinner.
Seeing her own children, You Chuyao nearly teared up. She desperately wanted to hug them, but she was horrified to discover that her children didn’t recognize her!
The two children stared blankly, mechanically repeating only eating and playing.
They called the young woman “mommy,” the young man “daddy,” and the middle-aged pair “grandpa” and “grandma.” They were clearly one family, while she was just a passerby.
You Chuyao couldn’t accept it.
“Little…”
Just as she opened her mouth, Lin Juan cut her off. “How old are you little ones this year?”
He turned back and gave You Chuyao a look not to act rashly.
Though her heart burned with anxiety, You Chuyao held back and forced an ugly smile. “These two little ones are so cute. You can’t help but like them at first sight.”
Her own children, of course, were cute no matter how you looked at them.
The young woman picked up the little girl. “They’re both two years old. Such good children.”
How could they be two?!
The two children’s heights clearly weren’t those of two-year-olds!
The slightly younger little girl sat rigidly in the young woman’s arms, like a marionette on strings.
Mommy’s Little Treasure.
You Chuyao endured again and again, barely suppressing the urge to snatch her child away. “Is that so? Aren’t they at the age for solid foods now? What formula do they usually drink? Children’s stomachs are delicate; they can’t eat just anything.”
The table was laden with big fish and meat—a lavish spread, but utterly unsuitable for young children.
A flash of bewilderment crossed the face of the young woman holding the child. Lin Juan noticed. This family definitely had problems; he just didn’t know the root cause.
Two hours earlier, at the Anomalous Affairs Bureau.
“We’ve found the Landlord Family!” Sheng Tianzong rushed in with the materials.
Director Liu stood up. “Where?”
“Two kilometers west of Yuhe Garden. It’s a remote area overgrown with weeds. They’ve been devoured by the B-Rank anomaly 【Forest Cabin】. Right now, the 【Forest Cabin】 is in a dormant state, with no one affected.”
The 【Forest Cabin】 was a relatively safe anomaly. It spent most of its time dormant. During its active phase, it devoured humans, creating the illusion of a warm family living inside to lure passersby in for a rest, then swallowing them.
Not just humans—any living creature could fall victim.
The 【Forest Cabin】 appeared and vanished suddenly anywhere. The last trace of it had been detected at the peak of Mount Everest. For some unknown reason, it had suddenly shown up in the Imperial Capital.
No matter what, the 【Forest Cabin】 was a B-Rank anomaly—the strongest weird they’d encountered so far. They couldn’t afford carelessness.
“Tianzong, lead the squad there first. If the Landlord Family can still be saved, rescue them. If they’re fully mutated, execute them on the spot. Collect as much intel on the 【Forest Cabin】 as possible without clashing directly. I’ll arrange backup.”
The 【Forest Cabin】 had appeared too abruptly; there was no time to waste. Director Liu sent people ahead while planning the follow-up.
“Yes!”
Sheng Tianzong arrived with his team. The ability users cordoned off the site and were surprised to spot a car by the roadside.
They approached and knocked on the window.
The window rolled down, and Zhao Ruoyan poked her head out. Seeing the uniformed, heavily armed team, she jumped in fright.
“Ma’am, what are you doing here?”
Zhao Ruoyan had never seen such a show of force; her heart leaped to her throat. “You are…?”
Not some illegal outfit, were they? Their uniforms weren’t police or SWAT, yet they were fully geared up in this godforsaken place…
The more she thought, the shadier it seemed. Zhao Ruoyan quietly pulled out her phone, ready to call for help.
The two ability users exchanged a glance. “We’re here on official business. The area’s under temporary lockdown. Do you have companions nearby, ma’am?”
Zhao Ruoyan watched them warily, saying nothing.
The ability users were seasoned at this. “No need to worry, ma’am. We’re government agents handling a special incident. Here’s our ID.”
Seeing the National Special Action Team credentials, Zhao Ruoyan relaxed a little. “I have friends inside.”
The two ability users’ expressions shifted subtly.
One pressed his earpiece. “Captain, we’ve got a lady hanging around outside. She says her friends are inside.”
“Get the details,” Sheng Tianzong’s calm voice came through the earpiece.
The ability user pressed on, needing identities and descriptions for the rescue.
“My friends inside: You Chuyao, female, 28, long hair. And a long-haired man, Mr. Lin.”
Long hair, Lin surname—could it be Lin Juan, that Mr. Lin?
The thought flashed through the ability user’s mind. He tested the waters. “Why are your friends here?”
“To find kids. My friend’s two children went missing, and Mr. Lin came to help.”
Whether it was Mr. Lin or not, they’d find out once inside.
They moved Zhao Ruoyan to safety. Under Sheng Tianzong’s orders, the Vanguard Squad commenced the operation.
With people inside, priority one was locating and extracting them.
Unlike Lin Juan, who followed the vein-like vines as guides, the Vanguard Squad struggled through the shrubbery maze.
Emerging from it, the view suddenly opened up.
There, in the center of the shrubs, stood the cozy little cabin.
Of course, “cozy” was only skin-deep.
The warm glow was glaringly conspicuous in the gloom, like a massive bug light—except this cabin trapped all lifeforms.
No matter how you sliced it, the B-Rank anomaly 【Forest Cabin】 had zero to do with coziness.
“Found anyone?”
“No.”
They had no idea if the entrants were still in the shrub maze, elsewhere, or already done for.
“Look!” an ability user suddenly called. “Isn’t that Mr. Lin?”
The cabin window stood open. Through the large pane, they spotted a man and woman seated sideways to them. The long-haired man’s half-visible profile was unmistakably Lin Juan.
“It’s Mr. Lin. How’d they end up in the cabin?”
Inside the cabin.
The young woman set down the child in her arms. “More guests have come. It’s really lively today.” Clearly in high spirits, the young woman hummed an unknown tune as she went to answer the door.
The door swung open, and Lin Juan saw Sheng Tianzong and the others outside.
Sheng Tianzong spotted Lin Juan turning around.
They tacitly played it cool, not acknowledging each other.
After a brief chat, the young woman ushered Sheng Tianzong and company inside.
Sheng Tianzong brought only three ability users; the rest stood by outside.
Four more meant the table was hopelessly crowded. No ability user dared touch food from a B-Rank anomaly’s body and promptly claimed they weren’t hungry, no need for seats.
“How can you not eat?” The young woman’s face fell, her tone turning ghostly.
It literally fell—not a figure of speech. Lin Juan watched her face melt like a candle, wax dripping down.
Moments later, her entire face turned into uneven, waxen-white tree bark.
You Chuyao clamped a hand over her mouth, choking back the scream rising in her throat.
The ability users went rigid, eyes glued to the woman, primed for combat.
Lin Juan alone grabbed an empty bowl and held it beneath her face. “We can squeeze in. Polluting the food is shameful. Hold your own bowl—don’t drip it into the dishes. I still want to eat.”
The woman froze.
Lin Juan waited. When she didn’t budge, he grew mildly annoyed. “Hurry up and hold it. What are you standing there for?”
Evidently unprepared for someone utterly unfazed by her looks, the woman dazedly took the bowl.
Lin Juan released his grip, satisfied. “Now that’s proper. You’re the hosts, guests are here at dinnertime—how can you act so rudely? Right?”
“Yes, right.” The woman sensed something off but couldn’t put her finger on it.
Lin Juan gave her no breather. “Your family’s clearly sensible and hospitable—that’s great. But once you’ve invited guests in, make them feel right at home. That’s how you build a good rep and draw in endless visitors. Pull a stunt like this at the first hint of displeasure, and who’d dare show up again?”
Bombarded by this twisted logic, the woman gradually bought it.
The dripping goo on her face solidified, reverting to normal. She smoothed her hair, sheepish. “Sorry, I got ahead of myself.”
The stark before-and-after left the four ability users—who’d braced for a freakout—stunned speechless. What a masterful reversal, turning the tables like a pro!
