Chapter 390: Exposure
Looking at her brother, who not only didn’t believe her but also refused to leave this place, Jiang Tong wavered.
It seemed that he had something else he cared about more.
She was no longer the center of his life, and he no longer lived for her.
He loved this land beneath his feet, relied on the people here, and cherished the good life he had.
He would not abandon everything here for her.
Jiang Tong felt both confused and angry.
She held back her emotions until she couldn’t anymore and shoved Jiang Yu hard.
“I hate you!”
Jiang Yu staggered back a couple of steps. “Tong—”
When Jiang Tong turned to face him, her pupils suddenly began to split, and the aura of death rushed forth.
Jiang Yu froze in place, feeling as though his blood had turned to ice.
Jiang Tong pushed past him and ran out of Taoyang, heading toward a familiar abandoned alley where she found the person she hated—Huapi.
Huapi had somehow acquired another woman. After killing and eating her, she picked up the corpse’s shoes and slipped her flawless, pale feet into them. With a pleased smile, she said, “Perfect fit!”
Raising her stunning face, she looked at Jiang Tong.
“Looks like your human brother let you down. Didn’t I tell you?”
Jiang Tong stared at her, silent and expressionless.
Huapi chuckled. “What? Want me to give you some advice? It’s simple—if you want him to stay with you, just kidnap him and keep him as a pet. Why bother staying in that place? Sooner or later, those people will figure out what you are.”
Her smile faded as her sharp gaze shifted upward. Spotting a crow circling low in the sky, she licked the blood on her lips and murmured, “It looks like you’ve already been exposed.”
Jiang Tong’s head snapped toward the sky.
Huapi added, “You’d better act tonight. Just grab him—whether he likes it or not, he’ll get used to being your pet eventually.”
She cast another glance at the crow and narrowed her eyes maliciously.
*
Ling Yu, the crow, fled in panic.
Su Tao had never seen it like this before—hiding in White Sesame’s cat bed, shivering and refusing to come out.
After coaxing it for a long while, it finally poked its head out weakly and chirped, repeating the entire conversation it had overheard.
Although Ling Yu didn’t understand many of the words, it had been trained to memorize and repeat sounds accurately within a short time.
Hearing the full exchange, Su Tao felt as if lightning had struck her.
Key phrases spun through her mind—”human brother,” “kidnap him,” “act tonight…”
If it had only been speculation before, this eavesdropped conversation was a 90% confirmation—Jiang Tong was the second Bone Wing.
And the other woman mentioned by Ling Yu was likely the same kind of creature.
Two Bone Wings appearing at once made Su Tao’s scalp tingle, leaving her mind blank for two full minutes.
Ling Yu, still hiding, kept repeating nervously, “She wants to kill me! She wants to kill me!”
When Su Tao asked for clarification, Ling Yu couldn’t explain further and just repeated the same panicked phrase.
Without wasting time, Su Tao found Qi Yunlan and instructed her to keep a close watch on all of Jiang Tong’s activities inside Taoyang.
As for the reason, Su Tao didn’t reveal it.
If the residents found out there was such a dangerous mutant zombie among them, it would cause widespread panic. Worse, they might direct their anger at Jiang Yu for bringing her inside.
She also issued an alert to Dongyang Base.
When Pei Dong heard her theory, his breathing grew heavy.
“There have been five officially reported disappearances in the last three days,” he said grimly.
The actual number could be even higher.
No bodies were found, no records showed anyone leaving the city, and surveillance cameras captured nothing useful.
The missing people had simply vanished into thin air.
Pei Dong had sensed something was wrong but never imagined a second advanced mutant zombie was devouring people.
The devastation Bone Wing had caused was still too fresh and terrifying for anyone to consider the possibility.
“Alright, I’ll mobilize the city defense forces and initiate a capture plan immediately,” Pei Dong said.
Su Tao suddenly stopped him.
“Wait—let me think it through. We can’t alert them too soon; maybe there’s a gentler, safer approach.”
Based on Ling Yu’s report and Jiang Tong’s recent behavior, Su Tao felt that Jiang Tong didn’t seem eager to hurt anyone—at least not Jiang Yu.
Unlike Bone Wing, Jiang Tong still held onto a sliver of humanity.
Despite her powers, she hadn’t harmed anyone in Taoyang—not even the brat who had snatched her glasses.
Su Tao exhaled deeply, regaining her composure.
“Sister Pei, assign extra personnel to monitor the other mutant zombie. Leave Jiang Tong to us for now.”
Pei Dong hesitated. “Su Tao, this is serious. If that zombie goes on a rampage, none of us can handle the consequences.”
“I know,” Su Tao replied solemnly. “That’s exactly why we can’t provoke them. Without Major Shi here, we don’t have the strength to fight them head-on.”
Pei Dong slowly calmed down. As cruel as it sounded, avoiding conflict might mean only a few casualties. But provoking them could recreate the He Kang Base massacre all over again.
After hanging up, Su Tao rubbed her face vigorously, took a deep breath, and returned to her duties at Taoli.
She even chatted casually with Wen Man and her husband about the construction plans for their new house, keeping up the appearance that everything was normal.
When her shift ended and the night grew darker, a sense of dread tightened in her chest.
As she stepped outside, she spotted Jiang Yu standing alone in the night, his thin figure making her heart ache.
He had clearly been waiting for her. When he saw her, he strode forward and suddenly embraced her.
There was nothing romantic about the gesture.
Jiang Yu trembled uncontrollably as he spoke, his voice broken and strained:
“This afternoon, I went to see Mr. Shen. I asked him—what kind of terminal illness, one that even doctors declare incurable, could suddenly improve… and cause terrifying mutations?”
His voice choked as he continued, “Mr. Shen took me to see Bone Wing.”
