The moment we stepped onto the official park grounds, the air was thick with the sound of soft Erhu music, seeming to come from everywhere at once. It was a slow, haunting melody, drifting in and out of the fog. If it weren’t for the eerie stillness, it might’ve been beautiful.

  Shawn: That’s kinda racist don’t you think?

  Chris: Huh?

  Shawn: Erhu music in a place called Chinese Gardens

  Siva: What were you expecting? Tabla beats?

  Jess: Guys, shut up. Keep your eyes peeled. I don’t like this.

  I brought up the rear, following the group. With the last batch from New Jurong, we were thirty four strong now. Facing mobs didn’t seem as daunting, but it still felt like we were walking into a trap.

  We kept to the jogging path, relying on the flickering streetlamps to light our way. A few people cast [Torch], sending their lights high into the air. I noticed one burned a little brighter than the others. I guessed it was Jess’s. Still, I couldn’t help but think it was a waste. Multiple [Torch] spells didn’t really help anyone, especially when we already had more than enough light.

  We needed to co-ordinate better but the thought of adding them all to the party chat? That’d be like trying to manage a Discord server with a hundred people. It’ll be too much.

  The first sign of trouble came from the water. We heard the splashing before we saw it, the faintest ripple in the lake. We all froze, my bow already aimed. The water stayed still though and nothing came out.

  Just as we were about to move on, something shot up from the lake, fast, like a bullet. It grabbed a fighter in full plate and yanked him under. My arrow flew, but it missed. The thing had already disappeared.

  “Steady!” I shouted, trying to keep everyone calm. Shawn moved forward, hand raised over the water. He swept his arm, as if trying to scan for something beneath the surface, till he seemed to lock onto something. He clenched his fist and raised his arm.

  The fighter’s body floated to the top. But it wasn’t just the fighter. A mermaid rose from the water, and my stomach dropped.

  This wasn’t the cute, Disney kind. No, this thing was fucking ugly. Its naked upper torso had slimy green skin with webbed hands, black scales covered its bottom fish half. It clung to the fighter’s stiff body, baring its fangs, bulging fish eyes glowing red. It looked like something out of a nightmare.

  I looked at the fighter’s stiff body as it continued to rise and realized Shawn was using [Bone Shaker III], but instead of controlling the mermaid, he was moving the fighter’s body.

  “Wait!” Jess shouted. The crossbowmen were already raising their weapons, ready to fire, but I could see the danger. They’d hit the fighter if they weren’t careful.

  I equipped my [Deadeye Scope] and aimed for the mermaid’s head and loosed the arrow in one smooth motion. The mermaid crumpled. But before it even hit the water, five more surged up from below, grabbing more of our people and pulling them down.

  “Back! Back!” I yelled, waving everyone away from the water. The water churned, dark blood rising from the surface like ink. With a sudden gasp, one of our fighters broke through, sputtering and gasping for air. Some rushed forward to help him, while the ranged fighters, like me, kept their eyes peeled, covering the water with our bows and crossbows.

  Shawn stood at the edge, both hands raised now. The [Soul Gem] around his neck pulsed, glowing purple as he searched the water, trying to pull out our missing fighters. I scanned the group on the surface. Almost everyone was in heavy armor, diving in after them would be a death sentence, drowning under the weight. I was about to strip down and jump in when a shout came from behind.

  “Contact Rear!”

  Fuck. We turned, and a large group was emerging from the trees. They moved in jerky, unnatural motions. At first, I couldn’t figure it out. Then it clicked, they were hopping towards us. These weren’t just any mobs; these were JiangShi, the Chinese vampire version. They hopped stiffly, their arms outstretched, their bodies rigid, as blood oozed from their eyes and mouths. Their fingernails, no, their talons, scraped the air, glistening in the dim light. These were definitely not their comedic counterparts normally portrayed in Hong Kong comedies.

  And through it all, that damn Erhu music kept playing in the background, like some kind of twisted soundtrack.

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  “Uh… Jess?” I asked, making my way toward her as our group spread out.

  “Yes. Ghost class mobs.” Her voice was steady, but her eyes betrayed a flicker of concern.

  “Erm… Incorporeal?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  She sighed and nodded, confirming my worst fears.

  “Alright, Shah, Farah, get your guys to strip down and deal with the mermaids,” I shouted, already calculating our next move. “We’ll handle the vampires!”

  I turned to shout over my shoulder. “Shawn! Fucking vampires! Your kind!”

  Behind me, I heard splashes like bodies hitting the water, followed by the unmistakable clink of armor hitting the ground. Shawn appeared beside me almost instantly, his expression a mix of disbelief and irritation.

  “Now that’s definitely racist,” he muttered under his breath as his scythe materialized in his hand.

  I didn’t have time to answer. Siva and Jess fell into formation next to us, weapons ready. Shawn cast [Ghost Touch] on my bow and on Siva’s swords, turning them into the perfect tools to deal with the JiangShi.

  “Thirty seconds. Go!” Shawn shouted, and we leapt into action.

  I counted about thirty of the hopping vampires as Jess, Shawn and Siva jumped straight into the thick of it, dodging their attacks and going to town on them with their weapons. I stayed out of range and started sniping at their heads, providing overwatch for any that tried to flank or go for them from behind. The Jiangshi moved awkwardly with the way they hopped, but they could rotate on a dime, spinning with their clawed hands and forcing the team to constantly duck and shift position.

  Thirty seconds ran out faster than I liked, and Siva and I had to pause to manually apply the [Ghost Touch] potion we had received from our fight with the Pontianaks at Sembawang Park. We went right back to cutting them down, but more of the Jiangshi kept appearing from the treeline.

  I glanced back and saw that someone had cast… something. The rest of the crew were now standing on the lake, footing solid on the water’s surface as they fought the mermaids that still leapt up occasionally to swipe at them and try to drag them under.

  In the middle of all that chaos, I spotted Farah just standing there, surrounded by a rainbow bubble. She looked like she was in a trance.

  “Farah!” I shouted, but she did not react. I ran over just as the bubble around her popped and she dropped to the ground on all fours.

  “It’s the music!” she said, scrambling back to her feet and sprinting off before I could process what she meant.

  “Fuck!” I hissed, turning back just in time to put three arrows through three Jiangshi heads in quick succession as they tried to surround Jess.

  “Shawn! You got this?” I called out, raising my voice over the clash of weapons and the lingering Erhu music.

  Shawn decapitated two more of the vampires with a wide swing of his scythe. He turned and I pointed toward Farah, who was already running full tilt for the pagoda.

  “Go!” he yelled, before forming up beside Siva and meeting a fresh wave of Jiangshi spilling out of the trees.

  I ran after Farah, but she was already ahead of me, a small figure racing up the pagoda steps. I was still some distance away, but she was already at the top. I was about to activate my speed boost to close the gap when a massive fireball erupted from the top floor.

  A Chinese woman in traditional garb blasted out of the pagoda, trailing flames like a comet. She soared across the park and crashed to the ground at my feet.

  I leaped back instinctively as she lay there, smouldering and writhing in pain. A broken, burning Erhu clattered to the ground beside her.

  “Kill her! She’s not human!” Farah’s faint voice carried down from the top of the pagoda, barely audible over the wind.

  She looked so human, writhing in agony, flames devouring her. My gut twisted as I hesitated, torn between the strange sympathy I felt and the gut instinct to do what needed to be done.

  Then she sat up, still ablaze, her eyes burning red as she bared long, sharp fangs and snarled at me. The moment I saw those fangs, my hesitation vanished. I drew my bow and loosed three arrows into her skull. She crumpled back to the ground, her movements finally ceasing.

  At that exact moment, every Jiangshi and mermaid froze. The Jiangshi toppled where they stood, crumbling into ash, the wind catching their remains and scattering them into the air. The mermaids flopped lifelessly back into the lake, floating there, their bodies bloated and still. The air grew thick with the putrid stench of rotten fish.

  I took a moment to catch my breath and immediately regretted it, nearly losing my lunch at the smell. A few others weren’t so lucky.

  “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” Shawn’s voice boomed in our ears, startling me.

  I walked over to Farah as the rest of the group began making their way back to the vehicles. She met me halfway and smiled, a little too brightly for the situation.

  “How did you know?” I asked, raising an eyebrow as she suddenly stepped forward and gave me a hug. I hesitated for a second before returning a quick, awkward pat on the back, then gently disentangled myself.

  “It didn’t seem right the way those creatures just appeared. Something was generating them,” she said, her hands still clasped around my forearms as she pulled back. “I cast [Detect Magic] and found the source.”

  Shawn: She’s sweet on you, boss...

  I snapped my head around to see Shawn laughing as he walked out of the park. My stomach dropped, but I forced a sigh and threw my arm around Farah’s shoulder, leading her out of the park with me.

  “Yeah, sure. Let’s get out of here first.” I tried to sound casual, making small talk in a poor attempt to steer the conversation elsewhere.

  It seemed Eric had doubled back the moment the fight started and was already waiting by the vehicles. When someone questioned him, he shrugged. “My powers are technology-based. Nothing I could’ve done in the park,” he explained. He dismissed the ward he’d placed over the vehicles and we piled into the truck to head back.

  We were the only ones in our truck as we raced ahead of the bus on our way back to the settlement. Shawn was teasing me from the wheel about how I should change my class to Cradle Snatcher, considering the way Farah kept glancing at me. Jess scowled while Siva laughed along. I played it down, attributing it to the adrenaline of battle. That was all. Besides, Farah wasn’t much younger than me, so cradle-snatching didn’t exactly fit.

  We kept joking and laughing, trying to push the tension out, until we spotted black smoke rising on the horizon. The mood shifted instantly. I activated my [Pathfinder] skill, entering the source of the fire as our destination. The blue line traced its way across the map, and I shared the view with the party’s HUD.

  It stopped at the BRTC. At New Jurong.

  Shawn slammed the pedal to the floor, and we sped toward the settlement. All our mouths went dry. The humor drained from the air.