But to our surprise, the call wouldn't connect; it just spat out a string of Japanese, suggesting the other end had no signal. Nobita and Nie Chuan tried several other numbers, but the result was the same every time.

Faced with this, Nobita grew anxious, saying, "Do we really have to search house by house?" I thought for a moment, a realization suddenly striking me, and I said, "Right, Xiaochuan, where is that whistle Jie Yuting gave you?" Nie Chuan quickly retrieved the red whistle from his backpack. I gave him a thumbs-up and instructed, "Blow it softly—just loud enough for anyone nearby to hear." Nie Chuan returned the gesture and began to whistle quietly.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was shrill and piercing. It’s worth noting that this whistle was different from those used by traffic controllers in China.

Those whistles often contain two stones inside the bulb to amplify the volume, whereas this one was more like a long dog whistle—its sound was thin and sharp, akin to the noise an electric kettle makes when it boils. This frequency could travel far but remained highly inconspicuous.

Only someone specifically listening for that particular whistle would be able to detect it. Nie Chuan blew it several times, yet there seemed to be no response from the surroundings.

Just as I was beginning to think Jie Yuting and the others weren't close, there was a rustling sound from the bamboo grove behind a three-story pavilion, and then someone emerged from within. We all looked over and saw three figures dressed in dark gray uniforms, wearing security caps.

Clearly, all three were astonished, because these individuals were the same patrol officers who had given us the whistles earlier. At the time, they had assured us that no matter where we blew the whistle, they would arrive promptly—it turned out that promise was true.

But on second thought, something felt wrong. They had previously mentioned that the shrine area was too dangerous and outside their patrol route.

So why were they here now? Had they discovered us trespassing and come to apprehend us?

Yet, looking closer, that didn't seem right either. The three men moved in a strangely rigid manner.

Moreover, their hats were pulled down low, obscuring their faces completely. "Ah...

um, SORRY, we were just lost..." Nobita started explaining while cautiously moving toward them. "Don't go any closer!" I snapped, halting Nobita.

He stopped immediately and asked, "What's wrong?" I said, "There’s something strange about these men; they have no nian about them." Nie Chuan frowned and asked, "You mean, they have no spiritual energy?" I nodded. "Only things without life lack nian." Hearing this, Nobita scoffed, "So what if they aren't alive?

They're just zombies. Watch your old Nobita tear them apart." With that, he strode forward.

I was about to try and stop him again, but at that moment, I saw a flush of red nian suddenly manifest around the three figures. This nian started small but intensified within a second; by the time Nobita was close, the mass of energy had become larger than the figures themselves, radiating palpable danger.

I could no longer hesitate. With a burst of speed, I lunged forward and slammed Nobita onto the ground.

Immediately after the action, three sharp ping sounds echoed, and smoke erupted everywhere, scattering fragments of the patrolmen's uniforms into the air. Because we were close to the blast radius, the shockwave threw us airborne, landing us five or six meters away.

The explosion nearly shook every joint in my body apart; thankfully, Nobita had been positioned in front of me, or I wouldn't have withstood the impact. However, even with his tough hide, Nobita suffered; he grimaced in pain.

I quickly rolled him over and saw that the back of his clothing had been blown clean off. The wide, palm-span golden belt wrapped around his waist was shattered; had it not been for that item, Nobita’s spine would have been the casualty.

Seeing he was generally unharmed, I pulled him up from the ground. The golden belt jingled as it fell loose from his stomach, and Nobita burst into tears, wailing, "My poor gold...

my gold!" We didn't have time to attend to him, as more uniformed patrolmen were now emerging from all directions. "What the heck is going on with these people?" Nie Chuan asked me as he walked toward me.

I shook my head. "I don't know, but I can't feel any nian emanating from them at all." "Fourth Brother!

Look, isn't that Fourth Brother?" Nobita shouted ahead. We turned our heads and saw none other than Fourth Brother, Xie Tingfeng.

His clothes were tattered, and one of his legs was clearly broken; he was limping out of the small woods. Even though his head was lowered, his uniform confirmed it was Fourth Brother.

"Damn it! What kind of monster turned Fourth Brother into a zombie?

I'll tear it to shreds!" Nobita's face flushed crimson with rage. "Wait!" I called out to the two agitated men.

"There seems to be residual nian inside Fourth Brother." I said this because despite his utterly dejected appearance, a faint trace of white light still flickered within him. Strangely, beneath this column of white light, near Fourth Brother's abdomen, there were several small red spots of light.

Since the lights were small, I couldn't clearly make out what they were. "He's still alive, but there’s something inside his stomach.

We need to grab him!" I commanded. Hearing this, Nobita charged forward like a maddened bull, slamming aside the few patrolmen who tried to block him.

Those officers were sent flying three or four meters away and then exploded into countless fragments mid-tumble. Nobita sustained several cuts and scrapes, but he ignored them all, driving straight toward Fourth Brother.

Seeing his reckless courage, I, too, became enraged. I charged up, kicking aside several patrolmen, and followed him.

When I reached the spot, I saw Nobita had already pinned Fourth Brother to the ground. Nobita held him down, not fearing that he might detonate like the others, but urgently turning back to me and saying, "Tell me exactly where it is, and I’ll pin them all down!" From my previous look, the objects inside Fourth Brother's stomach were lodged dangerously close to his vital organs.

Removing them without surgery would certainly kill him. So, for the first time, I found myself at a loss.

Just as I was racking my brain, Fourth Brother suddenly spoke. In a faint voice, he asked, "Is that...

Brother Nobita? I'm sorry, I can't see you." Nobita gritted his teeth and replied, "It's me...

What's wrong? Hold on, I'll save you right now." Fourth Brother shook his head gently.

"No... don't waste your effort.

We walked into an ambush. Flesh Birds burrowed inside me and laid eggs; I won't survive.

You... cannot save me." When he mentioned Flesh Birds, I recalled the monstrous creature manuals we had examined earlier.

According to the illustrations, these demons sneak into a person's abdomen through the mouth when distracted, then deposit thousands of eggs smaller than a human pore. These eggs rapidly absorb the host's life essence, grow, and hatch collectively—usually within an hour—exploding out of the body like a swarm of birds.

"Are these the birds you mean?" Nobita pointed to the several lumps distending Fourth Brother's stomach. "They're about to come out!

Kill them!" I declared fiercely. Nobita didn't hesitate and drew the black dagger from his waist.

At that moment, the head of one monstrous bird pierced the skin of Fourth Brother's abdomen, revealing its head. Nobita showed no mercy; with a swift stroke, he chopped the bird's head off.

Subsequently, the other birds began to poke their heads out. Nobita acted like a mole catcher, severing the head of each bird in turn, then pulling the carcasses out of Fourth Brother's stomach.

I expected Fourth Brother to writhe in agony and die, but instead, he managed a slight smile. "That's good.

By killing these few mother bodies, they can't harm anyone else." Looking at the bloody holes in his stomach, I turned away, unable to bear watching further. Then, with his last reserves of strength, Fourth Brother whispered, "I'm about to explode...

get away from me. The Boss is in the Dragon Palace at the center of the shrine...

Go quickly... save him."