Extraterrestrial demons invaded; I laid the groundwork eight years in advance.

"I'm a security guard, I love eating bear-shaped cookies, my salary is only enough for breakfast, and I only go to work to get off work..."

Xiao Sun was patrolling along the park's perimeter wall, flashlight in hand.

He was wearing a brand-new security guard uniform, his hat askew on his head, and he was humming a popular tune from a few years ago.

"bite."

My phone beeped with a notification sound.

He took out his phone and glanced at it; the gold price curve on the screen made his eyelids twitch.

He pulled a flattened pack of Xuanhe brand cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, lit it, and looked melancholy.

Gold prices surged before the Lunar New Year, and he invested all his savings from the past few years, only to see the price of gold plummet like a parabola after the holiday.

He exhaled a heavy puff of smoke, as if he could already smell the bland taste of noodle soup that would accompany him for the next few months.

It was my own choice, after all.

After graduation, I followed the crowd to work hard in big cities for a few years, only to be caught in a bad economic environment.

Between involution and lying flat, he decisively chose to lie flat.

After the New Year, his second uncle introduced him to this security guard job.

Having avoided forty years of detours, he chuckled self-deprecatingly and went straight into retirement mode.

As the cigarette burns out, I cast aside all my distracting thoughts.

He stubbed out his cigarette and threw it in the trash can before continuing his patrol.

Just as the patrol was about to end, he caught a glimpse of an unusual color out of the corner of his eye.

He turned to look at the window of the roadside warehouse, where a faint dark red light shone through.

Xiao Sun frowned, walked over, and knocked on the roller shutter door.

Is anyone inside?

  

"No one can stay in the warehouse; it needs to be cleared out after get off work."

No one responded.

But the dark red light shone through the windows high up, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

Xiao Sun hesitated for a moment, then took out his keychain from his waist.

He's a security guard at the park; he gets paid to do his job, so he can't ignore things when problems arise.

He found the key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it. The roller shutter door popped up with a whoosh.

He pulled up the curtain, shone a flashlight, and went inside.

The beam of the flashlight cut through the darkness, illuminating rows of shelves piled high with goods.

The air was filled with the smell of cardboard boxes and plastic, mixed with an indescribable metallic odor.

A faint sound came from behind.

Xiao Sun stopped in his tracks, gripped the stun gun at his waist, and shouted in that direction, "Who's there?"

His first thought was whether they were from nearby villages doing odd jobs.

The logistics park often hires villagers to help move goods, and sometimes after finishing their work, they will take some of the fruits and vegetables they transported back with them.

The warehouse manager turned a blind eye to this, and Xiao Sun also pretended not to see it.

"Are you here to move some goods?"

"No one can stay here. Go home immediately."

He called out again, passing the message forward and leaving a way out.

Still, no one answered.

But the sound was clearer.

It was a low, rhythmic sound, like some kind of panting.

Xiao Sun swallowed hard, steeled himself, took a few steps forward, and turned a corner—

The scene before him left him stunned.

Ten meters ahead, a crack floated silently in mid-air.

The crack resembled a scalded wound, with jagged edges. Dark red light surged from the depths of the crack, staining the area a blood-red hue.

From within the crack, a hideous monster is crawling out.

Its upper body had already emerged, resembling a hyena but several times larger. Its scales were jet black, and its muscles bulged. Its head was open, revealing two rows of serrated teeth, and saliva dripped down its chin.

Its two front paws were gripping the edge of the crack, and its lower body was still buried in the crack, trying to squeeze out.

Xiao Sun instinctively took a step back.

The soles of the shoes scraped against the ground, making a slight rubbing sound.

The monster suddenly raised its head, its dark red eyes fixed on him.

It let out a low growl, and with a sudden struggle, it squeezed completely out of the crack.

When they landed on their limbs, the ground shook.

Holy crap.

Startled, Xiao Sun turned and ran towards the door.

But after running two steps, he suddenly realized something.

The area outside the door was completely open. How could he outrun four people on two legs? He wouldn't even have a place to hide, and he would die even faster.

Xiao Sun suddenly turned a corner and plunged into the aisle between the shelves.

The ear-piercing sound of claws scraping against the concrete came from behind.

He didn't dare to look back, frantically weaving left and right among the shelves.

The shelves were more than a meter apart, but the thing was much larger, and it was noticeably slower when it turned.

Xiao Sun heard the sound of a shelf being hit behind him, mixed with the low growl of a monster.

He ran while scanning the shelves on both sides.

The iron shelf was taller than a person and piled high with things.

A thought flashed through my mind—

He suddenly turned to the side, grabbed the corner post of a shelf with both hands, braced his right foot against the post leg, and pulled his whole body backward with force.

"boom--"

Xiao Sun rolled over.

The shelf tilted, and the items on it crashed down.

The monster was following behind when it was knocked down by the falling shelves and items.

Xiao Sun stood up, supporting his lower back, and the throbbing sensation in his back made him gasp.

He used all his strength just now.

The monster was pinned down by the shelf and struggled angrily.

Xiao Sun was just about to take the opportunity to escape—

The red light in the warehouse surged.

The second monster rushed out of the crack, followed by the third, fourth, and fifth.

Xiao Sun's face turned pale instantly.

"I just want to make a living..." He looked at the monster bursting out of the crack, a bitter taste in his mouth. "In this world, even lying down costs lives?"

Just when he was almost in despair—

A figure rushed in through the door.

The man suddenly leaped up, his body twisting in mid-air, a flash of cold light passing by.

The second monster that charged out let out a scream, a deep gash appearing on its neck that exposed bone, black blood spurting out, and the monster staggered and crashed to the ground.

A person dressed in dark gray combat gear stood in front of the monster's corpse.

The man held a curved short knife in his right hand, which gleamed metallically under the flashlight beam, with black liquid dripping from the blade.

At the same time, four more people rushed in through the warehouse entrance.

They wore the same dark gray combat uniforms, their movements were synchronized, and their teamwork was excellent.

One person stood guard at the entrance, another rushed past the monsters into the crevice, and the remaining three each faced a monster, their movements as if they had practiced a thousand times.

One of them faced the charging monster, and with a low movement of his waist, he punched the monster in the forehead.

Xiao Sun could see clearly that the moment his fist struck the monster's forehead, the dust on the ground scattered like a shockwave.

The monster was struck hard, roared, and staggered back a few steps, shaking its head.

Taking advantage of the opening, the man drew a curved knife and plunged it into the back of the monster's head.

The monster screamed and thrashed about, then twitched twice and collapsed to the ground.

The other two also quickly killed the monster.

One of them walked to the overturned shelf, found an opening, and stabbed it in. The struggling figure stopped moving completely.

In less than three minutes, all four monsters were dealt with.

The dark red crack in the air began to shrink, and the cracks at the edges gradually closed.

A dozen seconds later, the warehouse returned to normal darkness.

The five people began cleaning up the battlefield.

Someone took out a sealed bag and put the monster's corpse inside; someone used spray to clean up the bloodstains on the ground; someone used a device to scan the site for residual energy.

Xiao Sun leaned against the wall, his legs still trembling.

A tall man walked towards him. The man wore a tactical mask, revealing only his eyes.

"Are you alright?" the man asked.

The sound wasn't loud, but it made people feel very reassured.

Xiao Sun opened his mouth, only to find his throat so dry he couldn't make a sound.

He swallowed hard and said to the man, "Thank you."

"You did a great job," the tall man said. "Interested in changing jobs?"

He pulled a dark gray card from the side pocket of his combat uniform and handed it to him.

Xiao Sun took the card instinctively; it was thin and the material was cold.

He glanced down at it—it only had a phone number and a line of small print: Shuguang Group · Security Liaison Office.

When he looked up, the tall guy had already turned and walked towards his teammates.

A short while later, the five men finished cleaning up the scene and disappeared into the night.

Xiao Sun stood there, watching the direction they left in, still clutching the card in her hand.

He didn't know who those people were, nor did he know what the Dawn Group had to do with this matter.

But he knew that the world seemed to have changed.

Besides lying down, he had another option.